Caramelized Banana & Belgian Pearl Sugar Pancakes

During my middle school years I attended the American International School of Bucharest and there was a little Belgian waffle shop down the street that I used to walk to with my friends after school. They had the most delicious Belgian Pearl Sugar Waffles I’ve ever tasted! The waffles were slightly crunchy on the outside and super soft and chewy on the inside. And when you were lucky to have a bite with the caramelized pearl sugar, it just melted in your mouth. Every time I think of those waffles my mouth waters so I wanted to create something with similar flavors but quick! Belgian waffles are yeast based so they take some patience. Pearl sugar can be found at specialty stores, I got mine from Sur La Table. If you don’t find pearl sugar, these pancakes will still turn out just as fantastic because of the caramelized bananas on top! I actually didn’t have any milk on hand so I used soda water instead and I’m happy I did because it cut some calories and added a light and airy texture to the pancakes.

If you want a dessert style pancake for breakfast I definitely recommend these! Perfect for a weekend splurge!

If you’d like to make these Vegan, simply take out the egg and add 1/4 cup of applesauce and instead of using butter for the caramelized bananas, use coconut oil!

Yields 12 pancakes

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 cup soda water
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg (separated) or 1/4 cup applesauce for Vegan recipe
• 2 tablespoons vegetable or coconut oil (melted and cooled)
• 2 overripe bananas mashed
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
• Pearl sugar

For the Caramelized Bananas

• 1 sliced banana
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter (or coconut oil for Vegan recipe)

Directions

1. Heat griddle to 350 degrees F.
2. To make your caramelized banana topping melt 1 tablespoon of butter (coconut oil for Vegan recipe), add your sliced bananas and coat them with the brown sugar. Cook until bananas are a golden brown color and have caramelized. Flip each piece gently during cooking so you don’t get a big mush.
3. In a small bowl whip your egg white until stiff peaks form (skip this step for Vegan recipe).
4. In a large bowl sift flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda.
5. In another bowl mix your egg yolk, oil, soda water, vanilla extract, almond extract, and banana. For Vegan recipe, substitute the egg yolk with applesauce.
6. Add your wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporate. Fold in your whipped egg white (skip this step for Vegan recipe).
7. Add about 5 pieces of pearl sugar in one spot on griddle. Let heat up for about 15 seconds. Add 1/4 of batter on top of the pearl sugar. Add 5 or so more pieces of pearl sugar on top of batter so that when you flip you’ll have pearl sugar on both sides. Flip once bubbles start to form. Cook another minute.
8. Plate and serve with caramelized bananas and maple syrup on top.