How time flies! 2022 has gone by so fast and we are already in the midst of autumn. Unfortunately in sunny Dubai, the climate doesn't really reflect the season, but that doesn't stop me from celebrating all things autumn. It's probably one of my favorite seasons, because Pumpkin is in abundance and I just love to indulge is this super healthy fruit.
Yes, Pumpkin is technically classified as a fruit, and is choc full of valuable nutrients like - Antioxidants, Fiber, it improves prostate and bladder health, it's high in Magnesium, can potentially help cancer and heart patients and can lower Blood Sugar levels. I use pumpkin in a variety of ways, both sweet and savory, I also use pumpkin seeds as a salad topper. But today's recipe is specifically made for kids. These Mini pumpkin pancakes are made in the appe pan, so it's easy for the kids to eat for breakfast, carry as a school lunchbox treat or works as an after school snack. These cute lil pancake bites are glutenfree and processed sugar free, so it really works as a wholesome and nourishing treat for anyone.
Dry Ingredients
1 cup gluten-free flour
1 tsp baking powder (gluten free)
1.5 tsp pumpkin spice mix
1 pinch Himalayan salt
Wet Ingredients
1-1.5 cups roast pumpkin purée
1 cup milk or dairy of choice
2 eggs
2 tbsp date syrup (feel free to add more)
1 tbsp coconut oil
Toppings
Maple syrup/ honey/ date syrup
Fresh cut fruits
To get the roast pumpkin purée, peel and slice up your fresh pumpkin, then cut it into cubes. Add it to the airfryer drizzled with a little coconut oil or olive oil and let it roast till its nice and golden brown, and can be mashed easily. I find the flavors of roast pumpkin is simply amazing as compared to any boiled or steamed version. If you don't have an airfryer, then you can use an oven for roasting.
Blend together all the wet ingredients in a blender. In a separate bowl, add the glutenfree flour, salt, baking powder and pumpkin spice mix and gently mix it so it's well incorporated. Now slowly pour in the wet mix, bit by bit and start mixing the wet and dry together until you get a fairly thick cake like batter.
Heat the appe pan on the hob, add a few drops of coconut oil in, use a silicon brush to spread it around. Now add the pumpkin batter into this and cover it, let it cook on a medium to low flame. After 3-5 minutes you will notice bubbles and a bit of browning on the side, this is the time to flip it. Once you flip it, just cook it for another 2 minutes and it's done. With this batter, I got a quantity of 48 mini pancakes.
These pancakes are mildly sweet, because I prefer the natural sweetness of pumpkin. I always control the amount of sugar that goes into the batter even if it's something as natural as date syrup. Instead, I like to top my pancakes with loads of fresh fruit, which lends a natural sweetness and over that you can drizzle honey or maple syrup.
If you like my recipe and make these pancakes, feel free to share your pics on socials with #saffronbowl and tag me on IG @anupa.210