I’ve skewered a lot of sweets in my 5+ years of blogging – brownies, Easter candy, santa strawberries – and it was only a matter of time before pancakes were added to that list. It’s the perfect way to serve pancakes at a buffet-style event, and they’re really, really cute too. Last weekend my friend hosted a surprise birthday brunch for her sister, and she had a mimosa bar, bagels, a beautiful fruit salad, and I contributed these banana pancake skewers. I love brunch parties (mmmm carbs) and now I’m going to be obsessed with them even more since now I have a pack of like 200 of these cute bamboo toothpicks and more pancake skewers need to be made! They were a huge hit at the party and added a nice touch to the beautiful brunch spread.
The concept of pancake skewers is so easy – just take your favorite pancake recipe and make them miniature-sized so they can be stacked together and served on a platter. I added the banana slice and a blueberry for a little extra flair, but depending on your flavor of pancake, you could coordinate any fruit you want. I opted for a “healthy” banana pancake recipe from Sally and I was so happy with how they turned out, and especially how fluffy they looked! No one wants a skewer of sad, flat pancakes. Another great thing about this recipe is that the pancakes freeze really well, so you can make your pancakes well in advance, freeze them, and heat them up whenever your brunch party comes around. They’re the perfect single-serving size and you don’t even need a fork or knife to eat them. I served the maple syrup on the side to be drizzled over the skewers right before eating, which can’t be missed!
I’m going to share the recipe I used for these, but again you can use any pancake recipe you’d like. I made mine egg-free so my friend with an egg allergy could still enjoy them, and it was my first time using a “flax egg”. Basically it’s just flax powder and water mixed together to make a congealed liquid that helps replace the binding powder of an egg. Not sure if the substitution would work in every baking recipe, but I can attest that for pancakes it definitely works. The recipe is quite healthy compared to most recipes on my blog (especially last week’s recipe!) with things like whole wheat flour, flax powder, mashed banana, almond milk, and Greek yogurt. But of course if you’re not in the mood to make banana pancakes from scratch, Bisquick will definitely do the trick! Maybe even frozen mini pancakes if you’re really in a rush?! But seriously, these pancakes were really easy to make and very impressive party fare. Now, who’s up for another brunch party??
Mini Banana Pancake Skewers
Recipe adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction
Yield: 48 mini pancakes
Ingredients:
2-2/3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp ground flaxseed/flaxseed meal + 5 tbsp water
2 cup milk (or almond milk)
1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 1 large banana)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon. Set aside. In a medium bowl, stir together the ground flaxseed and water and let it sit on the counter for 5 minutes.
Once the flaxseed has somewhat congealed, add the milk and banana and whisk together until as smooth as possible. Add the brown sugar and yogurt and keep whisking until no clumps are left. Add the vanilla and stir again until smooth.
Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet. Use a rubber spatula to gently incorporate the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. It's very important not to overmix the batter - if there are still a few stray specks of flour, that's ok!
Heat a griddle or skillet over medium heat and coat with cooking spray or butter. Once hot, drop a small dollop (I did about half of a small cookie scoop) of batter and cook until the edges look dry and bubbles begin to form on the center and sides (about 1 minute). Flip each pancake and cook another minute or two. Re-coat the skillet and continue cooking your pancakes until they're all done.
If you're serving them immediately, stack 2-3 mini pancakes together, top with a banana slice and a blueberry, and stick in a skewer to stabilize. You can also freeze the pancakes for further use instead. If you want to make these ahead, just re-warm the pancakes in a 200 degree oven until they're warm again and then skewer them right before serving. Serve with warm maple syrup for drizzling!
This is such an adorable idea for a brunch party, I love it! Bananas and blueberries also happen to be my favourite pancake toppings :)
Very cool. The kids would love this. Thanks for sharing!