It’s not entirely clear why it is pancakes that are traditionally consumed on so called Shrove Tuesday (or the more secularly named Pancake Day) in most English speaking countries. It’s probably due to the fact that traditional pancake ingredients like milk, butter and eggs were forbidden during fasting and so needed to be used up before the feasting began.
In this sense, my pancakes or crêpes don’t quite meet the brief as they obviously contain none of the aforementioned ingredients. They are effortlessly vegan and gluten-free (if you don’t mind gluten in your food, use all purpose wheat flour instead*) and if not for the decadent caramel sauce they would ALMOST be a health food 😉 . As I’m still patiently waiting for the first real strawberries of the year and a combination of apples and cinnamon happens to be one of my favourites, I’ve decided to go for that quintessentially autumnal and winter flavour combo here. I am, of course, biased but it works really well against nutty buckwheat flour and indulgent caramel sauce. Just a word of warning when it comes to caramel making though. Regardless of whether you are making a vegan or a non-vegan version, making caramel requires a bit of skill, so please don’t be discouraged if you don’t nail it at your first go. I’ve wasted a fair amount of sugar and coconut milk in honing my caramel-making skills so I know what I’m talking about. If your are not an experienced caramel wizard and cannot afford for things to go wrong, go for the second of the two sauce recipes I included below. It’s way easier! Bon appetit!
1 tbsp coconut oil or mild olive oil 3 sour apples (I used Granny Smith) 2 tsp cinnamon
CARAMEL SAUCE (SUGAR VERSION)
100 g / ½ cup sugar 120-180 ml / ½ cup full fat (tinned) coconut milk + ¼ cup (see instructions) a good pinch of salt
CARAMEL SAUCE (HEALTHIER ALTERNATIVE)
120 ml / ½ cup maple syrup 2 tbsp smooth (100% natural – almonds only) almond butter a good pinch of salt
CINNAMON APPLES CARAMEL SAUCE (SUGAR VERSION) CARAMEL SAUCE (HEALTHIER ALTERNATIVE)
