If the buttermilk pancakes I made last week were too tame for you, try these tropical banana pancakes with macadamia nut sauce instead.
Banana pancakes, made by adding two mashed bananas to pancake batter, are a fun twist to plain pancakes. Topped with a creamy toasted macadamia nut sauce and sprinkled with ground macadamia nuts, these are definitely a good reason to get out of bed in the morning.
Similar pancakes are served up at Boots and Kimo's Homestyle Kitchen in Kailua, HI, and are quite a hit. Since Hawaii might be a tad far to travel for breakfast, here's the recipe.
You can make the sauce ahead of time, and just warm it in the microwave before serving.
Banana Pancakes
Makes enough to serve 4 people
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1. Combine flour, white sugar, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together egg, milk, vegetable oil and bananas.
2. Stir flour mixture into banana mixture; batter will be slightly lumpy.
3. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Cook until pancakes are golden brown on both sides; serve hot.
Macadamia Nut Sauce
1 cup macadamia nuts
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoon flour
1 cup whole milk
1 cup cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon lemon juice
Grind macadamia nuts in a food processor until fine. Place nuts into a medium saucepan and fry over medium high heat for 5 min or until fragrant. Remove from pan, and set aside.
Lower heat to medium and add the butter, stirring until melted. Stir in flour and cook 1 min. Slowly pour in milk and cream, constantly whisking the whole time. Add sugar, salt, vanilla to the pan. Cook 5 min or until thickened, stirring constantly. Stir in lemon juice and half of the ground macadamias.
Pour sauce into a serving dish. Serve warm and sprinkle remaining ground macadamia nuts on top of each serving.