Healthy blueberry pancakes recipe

Thick blueberry pancakes laced with coconut and topped with a sticky citrus syrup. 

These healthy blueberry pancakes are thick and fluffy - American-style. The blueberries are actually incorporated into the batter, so they cook as the pancake does, making them juicy and delicious. Unlike our regular blueberry pancakes, this batter is dairy-free and gluten-free. However, it still tastes like a regular pancake - ideal if you have food intolerances in your family but you want to cook the same recipe for everyone. This recipe makes 16 pancakes - perfect for four stacks of four. Enjoy them on Pancake Day, or for a special weekend brunch.

Ingredients

• 55g unsweetened desiccated coconut
• 60g quinoa flour
• 1 tsp gluten-free baking powder
• 1 medium egg
• 160g coconut milk
• 30g natural sweetener like Sweet Freedom
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 200g blueberries plus extra to serve
• Rapeseed oil or coconut oil, to cook

For the syrupy orange topping:

• Finely grated zest of 1 orange
• 225ml orange Juice
• 60g natural sweetener (or to taste)
• Segments of 4 large oranges

Method

1. For the pancakes, blitz the desiccated coconut in a food processor for 2-3 minutes. Add to a large bowl along with the quinoa flour and baking powder and mix together. Whisk in the coconut milk, egg, sweetener and vanilla extract until it forms a thick batter. Now leave the batter to stand for 20-30 minutes to give it time to thicken. Finally stir in the blueberries.
2. Heat a frying pan and lightly grease with the oil. Pour a spoonful of the batter onto the pan and quickly spread the mixture out slightly with the back of the spoon. Ensure there are some blueberries in there. When the pancake is golden brown on the bottom and the top is beginning to set, carefully flip it over with a large palette knife. Gently press the pancake down onto the pan with the palette knife and cook until golden brown. Remove from the pan and keep warm whilst you cook the remaining pancakes - grease the pan between each batch and leave plenty of room between the pancakes to make it easier to flip them over.
3. To make the syrupy oranges, place the orange zest, sweetener and orange juice in a pan and boil until syrupy. Keep warm and just before serving add the orange segments.
4. Serve the pancakes with the syrupy oranges and some fresh blueberries.

Top tips for making healthy blueberry pancakes

To properly segment an orange you need to remove all the membrane from around the segments. First slice the top and bottom off the orange. Then use a sharp knife to cut off the remaining peel in downwards strokes, removing all the peel, pith and membrane from the outside. Cut into the centre of the orange on either side of the vertical membranes, to remove segments of orange, entirely free of pith and membrane. If this feels too fiddly, just use normal segments from a satsuma, clementine or easy peeler, but remove as much pith from them as possible.

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