Banana Pudding Ice Cream

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My muse has been after me for at least four years to turn banana pudding, a classic North Carolina dessert, into an ice cream. Imagine the creamy, comforting texture of pudding, wrapped around bits of fresh banana and complemented with delicate, vanilla-scented cookies. But frozen! And just in time for the ridiculous heat wave that has gripped our state. This turned out to be a very good thing.

Even a non-pudding fan would like this ice cream.

So what took me so long? My husband, Les, doesn’t care for banana pudding, and I didn’t want to make a big dessert that I’d have to eat by myself. I will admit that I’ve also considered banana pudding to be generally overrated since I moved to the American South some 38 years ago. The pudding part isn’t even banana flavored, but vanilla (did you know this?), and everyone knows how visually unappealing bananas get when they’ve been exposed to air. Don’t even get me started on vanilla wafers because they are just so boring. 🥱

But if I elevated the ingredients, and if it was frozen— well, let’s just say that I haven’t met many ice creams that I didn’t love. Fortunately, we had company for dinner on a recent weekend, giving me the perfect excuse to finally put this one in the “done” column of my culinary bucket list. And guess what? Even Les liked it!

Delicious from the first scoop to the last!

Ingredients for banana pudding ice cream

All of our guests enjoyed this creamy treat, and one asked, “what makes this banana pudding ice cream rather than just banana ice cream?” The answer is exactly what you might expect—there is actual pudding mix in the ice cream, and I’m shocked by how good it is.

Condensed milk lends additional sweetness, so I only used half the can.

Perhaps one day, I will have all the time in the world to make my own pudding from scratch, but I’ve been giving myself permission lately to take shortcuts, and here I used a boxed instant pudding mix. French vanilla has a richer color than regular vanilla, so that’s what I chose. A fresh, perfectly ripe banana was chilled, cubed and folded into the mix, and I passed over bland vanilla wafers in favor of buttery Chessman cookies.

Stop the mixer to scrape down the sides a couple of times.

First into the mixer was the sweetened condensed milk and the regular whole milk. These two ingredients are very different in consistency, so getting them blended first felt important. Next came the pudding mix, which I whisked and whipped until it was a soft, airy consistency. I stirred in the heavy cream, and I was trying to act quickly before the pudding thickeners took over, and then this base mixture went into the fridge for a few hours to chill through before churning in my electric ice cream maker. 

A good whisking brought this “pudding” mixture back to a pourable consistency.

You can see how thick and rich the mixture is after that chill-down time, but a good whisking made it pourable, and then it just needed time to freeze into soft-serve texture. This usually takes about 25 minutes In my Cuisinart, long enough to cut up my banana and break a few of the Chessman cookies to be mixed in with the finished ice cream. Assembling the final product was so easy because the bananas were already mixed in. It was just a matter of layering and swirling in the cookie bits, and then it was off to the freezer for the “ripening” stage.

This ice cream is delicious in soft-serve texture, too!

National Ice Cream month is winding down, but there’s still plenty of hot summer weather, especially in North Carolina, which has experienced some brutal upper 90s temperatures this past week. Don’t be surprised if I toss one more ice cream your way before we get to Labor Day!

Banana Pudding Ice Cream

  • Servings: About 8
  • Difficulty: Average
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What if we took all the ingredients for banana pudding and turned them into an ice cream? This is a really fun surprise for National Ice Cream Month!


Ingredients

  • 1/2 can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 1/2 cups cold whole milk
  • 1 package French vanilla instant pudding mix
  • 1 cup cold heavy cream
  • 1 Tbsp. vodka (optional, added in final minute of freezing for improved texture)
  • 1 large ripe banana, chilled and cut up into cubes (this measured approximately one cup)
  • 6 Pepperidge Farm Chessman butter cookies, broken into bits (this measured approximately 2/3 cup)

Note: Classic Southern banana pudding is made with vanilla wafers rather than Chessman cookies. Feel free to substitute as you wish.

Directions

  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk, blend condensed milk and whole milk until evenly combined. Add instant pudding mix and blend with the whisk on medium speed, stopping twice to scrape down the sides.
  2. Using low speed, gently blend in the heavy cream. Cover and refrigerate the ice cream base for several hours until fully chilled.
  3. Whisk chilled ice cream base vigorously until it’s smooth again, and then pour it into the ice cream machine. Churn until mixture is nearly finished, and then add the cut-up banana bits, churning again for a few minutes to incorporate. During the final minute of freezing, pour in vodka (if using) and allow it to disperse throughout the ice cream.
  4. Transfer finished ice cream to an insulated freezer container, a third at a time, layering and mixing in Chessman cookie bits as you go. Sprinkle fine cookie crumbs over the top of the ice cream and freeze overnight for best results.

Peanut Butter Banana Bread with Chocolate Chunks

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Any child of the 70’s will likely remember the TV ad for Reese’s peanut butter cups, in which characters crashed into each other to accidentally merge their respective favorite treats. 

I could always relate to that kid eating his peanut butter straight from the jar, and I still do that today, though my preference for peanut butter has shifted toward the natural variety that contains only peanuts and salt. It’s true that chocolate and peanut butter are a natural pairing, but so are and peanut butter and banana— the King of Rock and Roll certainly knew this; word has it his favorite sandwich combined the two (and it is unexpectedly delicious).

So when I had to come up with a plan to use up the brown-speckled bananas that were taunting me from the counter, I figured there’d be no harm in putting all three flavors together, and wouldn’t you know, I came up with a winner!

This flavor combo was appreciated by my husband more than the last banana bread I made, with dark chocolate and ginger (Les is not a fan of the ginger), and we both found this one delicious for breakfast, dessert and afternoon snack. Les said it was especially tasty straight from the fridge, with a light smear of butter.

The only consideration I needed to make when adapting my usual banana bread recipe was how to adjust for the peanut butter. The sticky, dense texture of my natural-style peanut butter might make the batter heavy, I thought, so I inched forward just a bit on the Greek yogurt to compensate and add some moisture to the mix. A Jif or Skippy style would probably be easier, and would also make the bread sweeter. To ensure that my peanut butter blended evenly, I creamed it together with the sugar at the start of the recipe, then proceeded with beating in the eggs, mashed banana and yogurt. Finally, I blended in melted butter and then gently folded in the dry ingredients and the dark chocolate chunks.

I always hold back about a tablespoon of the sugar from the recipe to sprinkle over the top just before baking. I love the delicate, sparkly crunch it gives the finished loaf.

It’s two great tastes that taste great together— wait, it’s three! Every bite flaunts the peanut butter and banana flavors, and those pockets of chocolatey goodness make my taste buds very happy. Thank you, thank you very much.

Peanut Butter Banana Bread with Chocolate Chunks

  • Servings: About 10
  • Difficulty: Average
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If peanut butter and banana are good together, and peanut butter and chocolate, then why not combine all three? This banana bread is a winner!


Ingredients

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or white whole wheat)
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 2/3 cup organic cane sugar, plus 1 Tablespoon for sprinkling before baking
  • 1/3 cup natural peanut butter (see ingredient notes)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups mashed very ripe banana
  • 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks (or large chips)

My natural peanut has only two ingredients, organic peanuts and salt. This type of peanut butter is stored in the fridge, very firm and not easily mixed with other ingredients. If your peanut butter contains palm oil and sugar, you may want to consider dialing back the amounts of butter and sugar ingredients to keep those flavors in check.

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F, with oven rack in center position. Prepare a loaf pan by buttering or oil-spraying the bottom and sides.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
  3. Add sugar and peanut butter to a mixing bowl. Beat until evenly combined with no visible clumps of peanut butter. Beat in eggs.
  4. Smash the banana and blend it into the sugar-egg mixture. Take care not to obliterate the bananas; it’s nice to have a few visible chunks of it in the finished bread. Gently fold the melted butter into this mixture.
  5. Add the flour mixture, half at a time, and fold gently to incorporate the flour. Fold in the chocolate chunks, taking care not to overwork the batter.
  6. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Jiggle the pan slightly to even out the batter. Sprinkle the extra tablespoon of sugar all over the top.
  7. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (you may have to poke in a few spots, because there’s so much chocolate in the recipe).
  8. Cool banana bread in the pan for about 15 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and let it cool completely before enjoying.

Bananas Foster Ice Cream

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Every year, I say that I want to make something elaborate for Mardi Gras—a king cake or jambalaya or étouffée (which my computer just tried to auto-correct as “toupee”)—but I usually miss my chance because I’m tied up making things for Super Bowl or Valentine’s Day. As much as I try, I simply can’t do everything at once.

But because Easter has a floating date (blame it on the moon), so does Ash Wednesday and so does Mardi Gras—and as luck would have it, I have had a little free time after Super Bowl to get my act together in time for this year’s Mardi Gras, which will be March 1. Frankly, I wonder whether I am qualified to make something as traditional as a king cake, given that I have never actually been to New Orleans. I do make a good gumbo, and there was that jambalaya deep-dish pizza last year that was pretty awesome, but I am not prone to do too many repeats, and my craving for a dessert was getting the better of me.

And that’s how this Bananas Foster ice cream came to be.

The Bananas Foster swirl is very prominent and so flavorful.

Bananas Foster is a decadently sweet dessert, native to New Orleans. The traditional recipe involves flaming rum-soaked syrup including brown sugar, cinnamon and butter—all spooned over caramelized bananas and served with a scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream. In a previous season of my life, I experienced the pure joy of having Bananas Foster prepared tableside, and those flavors never quite cleared my imagination. It was all at once tropical, sweet, warm, cold, sensual, creamy, boozy and flat-out amazing. What could possibly go wrong, I thought, in skipping the flambé and just adapting that whole mix into an ice cream?

For the richness factor, I started with my go-to custard base for the ice cream, but I used brown sugar rather than white to lay a foundation of warm, molasses-y flavor. I caramelized a couple of ripe, mashed bananas into a mixture of brown sugar, butter, cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg, then I poured in a shot of aged dark rum from Jamaica (the same rum I used recently in those “air fryer” jerk wings). Both components got an overnight chill, and then I froze the ice cream and layered in the bananas foster filling the next day.

One of these days, I’ll get to New Orleans to celebrate Mardi Gras properly. Until then, I’ll just put on some beads and some zydeco music and enjoy another scoop of this frozen delight.

Don’t mind me, I’m just having my own private Mardi Gras over here.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups whole milk

2/3 cup light brown sugar (packed)

3 egg yolks (room temperature is best)

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Pinch of kosher salt

1 tsp. real vanilla extract

1 Tbsp. vodka or dark rum, optional (added at the end of freezing)

Bananas Foster Swirl

3 Tbsp. salted butter

1/3 cup light or dark brown sugar

3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

A few shavings whole nutmeg

2 very ripe bananas

1.5 oz. dark rum or spiced rum

Instructions for Custard

Full disclosure: I have made my custard-based ice cream many times, and never had this much trouble with foam. Most of the time, the custard cooks up silky and rich. But I got carried away and whipped my egg yolks too much! The ice cream turned out great, but don’t try to replicate this mistake. 🙂

  • For a caramel-like flavor, I sweetened the milk with brown sugar rather than white.
  • My free range egg yolks are going to tint my ice cream a lovely golden color.
  • Temper the beaten egg yolks with about half of the hot milk.
  • Add the cream to the pot while you temper the egg yolks, and bring the pot back up to a low simmer.
  • I must have been whipping it good, because my tempered egg mixture was very foamy.
  • Return the tempered mixture to the pot to cook a few more minutes. This foam was a bit of a problem!
  • I had no way to tell (through all that foam) when the custard was properly cooked, so I probably cut it short.
  • You’ll have to imagine the straining, because I ran out of hands to hold the camera! 🙂
  • Blend in the vanilla after straining.
  • Oh, that foam! Lay plastic film directly onto the surface of the custard and refrigerate it overnight.

Place a medium, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Combine milk and brown sugar and cook, stirring frequently, until sugar is fully dissolved and milk is steaming.

Using an electric mixer, lightly whip the egg yolks until they are lighter and somewhat airy. This usually works best with a bit of fine sugar in the bowl, but I skipped that step this time because I was using grainy brown sugar in the recipe.

When the milk mixture begins to barely bubble around the edges, transfer about half of it into a measuring cup. Add the heavy cream to the pot and bring it back up to the steaming temperature.

While that’s going, slowly and gradually add the measured hot milk mixture to the egg yolks (with the mixer running constantly). This step is called “tempering,” and it raises the temperature of the eggs slowly to cook them without scrambling them.

Pour the tempered egg mixture back into the saucepot and cook the whole mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it is steaming again and the custard has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and strain the custard mixture through a mesh sieve to a clean bowl. Stir in the vanilla and let it cool for a few minutes. Taste it, because oh my goodness. I must make more brown sugar ice cream!

Carefully lay a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the custard. This serves two purposes—it prevents a skin from forming on the surface, and it prevents condensation from building and dripping into the mixture. Moisture droplets have a way of making unwanted crystals in the finished ice cream. Seal up the bowl, or cover it with an additional layer of plastic. Refrigerate overnight.

Bananas Foster Swirl

  • Melt butter and stir in the brown sugar to begin the Bananas Foster swirl.
  • Smash the bananas into the syrup, keeping a few chunks here and there.
  • Add cinnamon to the banana syrup.
  • A pinch of kosher salt will help to highlight the amazing flavors.
  • A few scrapes of nutmeg add another layer of spice. Use whole nutmeg if possible.
  • Real Bananas Foster would use spiced rum and banana liqueur, but a simple shot of my dark Jamaican rum was just right in this ice cream.
  • Add the rum when the syrup mixture appears bubbly, and bring it back to a low boil.
  • When the mixture is syrupy and thickened, remove from heat and cool completely. Refrigerate overnight.

Melt the butter in a medium skillet. Stir in the brown sugar until it seems dissolved and a bit syrupy. Stir in the cinnamon and nutmeg.

Add the bananas to the skillet, one at a time, and mash them into the syrup with a fork. It’s OK to keep a few visible chunks of banana—in fact, I recommend it. When the mixture is bubbling all over, stir in the dark rum until evenly blended. Cook a few minutes longer, until it begins to bubble again, and then remove from heat and let it cool.

Transfer the mixture to a bowl and refrigerate it overnight.

Finishing the Ice Cream

  • The overnight chill finally calmed down that foam! Stir to reincorporate any settled ingredients.
  • The spiced banana mixture was thick, so I placed it in a zip-top bag for easy layering when the ice cream was churned.
  • Freeze the custard, following the instructions for your ice cream machine.
  • When the ice cream is soft-serve consistency, blend in the optional vodka, which improves the texture for easy scooping.
  • Layer about 1/3 of the ice cream into an insulated container. I left it in dollops and piped the spiced banana mixture over and around the dollops. Repeat these layers.
  • Finish with the remaining ice cream. Cover and send it to the freezer overnight for ripening.

Stir the custard to reincorporate any ingredients that may have settled to the bottom of the bowl. Freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions. When the ice cream has reached the consistency of soft-serve, add the vodka or rum (if using) and churn another minute until it’s fully blended.

Layer 1/3 of the ice cream in an insulated container, then spoon or pipe about 1/3 of the banana swirl mixture over it. Continue with another 1/3 of the ice cream, then another 1/3 of the remaining swirl mixture*. Finish with the remaining ice cream. Freeze several hours to overnight.

*Note

When this recipe was finished, I had about 1/4 cup extra Bananas Foster Swirl mixture left over. You can discard this, or mix it into some muffin or pancake batter, or stir it into Sunday morning oatmeal!

Bananas Foster Ice Cream Print it!

Banana Bread with Dark Chocolate and Ginger

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When Meghan Markle sits down with Oprah this weekend for a “tell-all” interview about what it was like joining—and then separating from—the royal life, I doubt she will be spilling the tea in a way that the British tabloids (and several American news outlets) would have us believe. Frankly, I doubt the interview will be scandalous at all, given that she and Prince Harry (whom I’ve adored since the day he was born) have plenty of reasons to remain close with the rest of the royal family, not the least of which are their adorable son and the new baby that’s on the way. Honestly, can a girl please just have her fairy tale for a minute?

Mark my word, when this interview with Oprah is over, the only things Meghan and Harry will have disclosed is that they love and respect the Queen, and that they have no hard feelings for anyone in the family, and that they have aspirations in life that cannot be fulfilled while living in a royal fishbowl. Oh, and that the British tabloid media is awful—but we already knew that because we all remember the gut-wrenching evening that Princess Diana died while being chased through Paris by the paparazzi. God bless Harry for wanting to protect his wife and family from all that crap.

Here’s another thing Meghan probably won’t spill the tea about: her recipe for banana bread. I clicked on a headline in my news feed recently, intrigued about the idea that Meghan had a “secret surprise” in a banana bread she had shared while on Royal Tour in Australia a couple of years ago. In addition to her previous career as an actress, Meghan had a lifestyle blog before she became engaged to Harry (just one of many things she had to give up), so I knew that she was a maven in the kitchen, and who doesn’t love a fun twist on banana bread? My hopes were dashed, however, when I read that the two “secret” ingredients she uses are chocolate chips and crystallized ginger. Well, I thought, what’s so secret about that?

Look at these two lovebirds! Dark chocolate is packed with antioxidants and ginger is good for digestion. Good for me AND tastes delicious…yes, please!

First of all, this is not Meghan’s recipe—it’s been around a long time, and I’ve actually been making it this way myself since around 2010, when I had picked up a copy of Molly Wizenberg’s bestseller, A Homemade Life. Molly is also a former blogger and past contributor to Bon Appetit magazine (among other things), and she described this recipe in her book as one that she had adapted from the recipe of a friend of a friend. And that’s how recipes go—we hear about or taste something we like, we ask for the recipe, perhaps we tweak it and send it forward to someone else, and then they share it however they choose. Not much is original in the world of food anymore, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t delicious. And this bread is definitely delicious.

My recipe is a take on Molly’s, which is a take on somebody else’s. 🙂

I’ve been craving the combination of dark chocolate and ginger ever since my new foodie friend Dorothy posted a dark chocolate and ginger tart on her own blog at Valentine’s Day. I haven’t made the tart yet, but I cannot find enough words to describe how much I love these two flavors together. The rich but slightly bitter flavor of dark chocolate holds its own against the spicy bite of crystallized ginger, and the two swirl around each other in an exquisite tango across the taste buds. The friendly and familiar background of an otherwise classic banana bread is a great venue for these two flavors to strut their stuff.

My recipe, of course, is slightly altered from Molly’s, which is slightly altered from somebody else’s, and I have no idea how it may be different from Meghan Markle’s because—as with every other single thing in her life since she met Harry—she has not personally shared her recipe. Somebody else spilled her tea. We only know that Meghan’s banana bread includes some form of chocolate and ginger, and that is enough to convince me that she has excellent taste. But we already knew as much, didn’t we?

You can see the generous bits of ginger peeking out of the banana bread. And all that dark chocolate! Mmm.

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour* (see notes for measuring tips)

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour*

2/3 cup organic cane sugar (reserve 1 Tbsp. to sprinkle on top)

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled (plus extra butter for greasing pan)

2 large eggs (room temperature)

1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana* (about 3 large bananas)

1/3 cup Greek yogurt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks

1/3 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger

*Notes

For proper measuring, follow the “fluff, sprinkle, level” method. Scooping directly into the flour bag or container can result in a dense batter.

Whole wheat pastry flour is softer than regular whole wheat or even white whole wheat. It’s perfect for pie crust, cookies and quick breads, such as this one. If you don’t have it, or if you prefer all white flour, combine for a total of 2 cups all-purpose flour.

When I say “ripe” bananas, I don’t mean a few spots on a golden banana. They get sweeter as they age, and if you prefer, you can peel and mash them in a bowl and leave them to brown and sweeten a couple weeks in the fridge. But please, use ripe bananas.

The older the bananas, the sweeter the flavor. This is how my grandmother taught me (as long as there’s no mold)!

Instructions

  • I always sneak some whole wheat pastry flour into this kind of recipe. Its light, soft texture is perfect for quick breads. All the dry ingredients are mixed together.
  • Some banana bread recipes call for oil, but melted butter adds incomparable richness! Here, it is mixed with the mashed bananas, eggs and yogurt.
  • Easy does it when folding the wet and dry ingredients together. Only mix long enough for the flour to be fully incorporated.
  • Gently fold again to distribute the chocolate chunks and chopped crystallized ginger. Six folds should do it.
  • Transfer batter to a bread pan that has been buttered on the sides and bottom, for easy turnout to a cooling rack.
  • I used a “tea loaf” pan this time. The overall volume is the same, but when you swap pans (or make muffins), you may also need to adjust the baking time.
  • My banana bread passed the “toothpick” test at the one-hour mark.
  • After a five-minute cool in the pan, transfer the loaf to a cooling rack.
  1. Preheat oven to 350° F, and position rack in center of oven. Grease a 9 x 5” (or equivalent volume) loaf pan generously with butter.
  2. Combine dry ingredients and whisk together in a large bowl.
  3. In a second bowl, lightly beat the eggs with a fork. Add mashed bananas, yogurt, melted butter and vanilla; stir with fork or whisk to fully combine.
  4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and gently fold with a rubber spatula to combine. Easy does it here, just be sure that all flour is incorporated.
  5. Fold in chocolate chunks and ginger bits, being careful not to overmix.
  6. Transfer the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle the top with reserved sugar.
  7. Bake about 55 minutes (give or take a few) until the loaf is nicely browned and a toothpick comes out clean. The toothpick test may be tricky because of all the chocolate, so you may need to poke in more than one spot.
  8. Cool the loaf in the pan about 5 minutes, then turn out onto cooling rack and cool completely.
The sugar I sprinkled on top of the batter created a delicate, crispy crust on the banana bread.

Want to make this yummy bread?

Banana Bread with Dark Chocolate and GingerDownload it!

Whole Grain Banana Pancakes

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Your weekend deserves these soft, sweet pancakes. They are packed with whole grain goodness, a serving of fresh fruit and real cultured buttermilk for richness without extra fat. We are making breakfast better this month, and these sweet stacks are bringing all the comfort without so much guilt.

My pancake recipe is inspired by King Arthur Baking Company’s buttermilk pancakes, and they are terrific as written, but I’ve dressed them up with fresh banana, and made a few ingredient swaps to pull it further into the “healthy” column—whole wheat pastry flour delivers fiber and complex carbs, coconut sugar lends rich flavor and easier impact on blood sugar, and an addition of unsweetened coconut and toasted pecans for texture and crunch that makes these so satisfying.

Small bits of banana and pecan in every delicious, mouthwatering bite!

Last weekend, my husband, Les, and I enjoyed these whole grain banana pancakes with crisp butcher shop bacon and real maple syrup from Western New York, where the autumn colors are more beautiful than any other place I’ve been. Sure, I can go anyplace (even Walmart) to purchase maple syrup, but I grew up beneath the brilliance of the maple trees of Upstate New York, and I am especially comforted to dress my pancakes in syrup made near my childhood home. As we head into fall, I expect maple will pop up many times in the recipes I will share with you.

Some of the ingredients listed may be new or intimidating to you, but not to worry—the original King Arthur recipe is excellent, or use any pancake mix you like and add the banana and other flavors to customize them. All the same, I’ll share some background notes about the special ingredients in case you want to try these items.

What is pastry flour and how is it different from regular flour?

Flour that is labeled as “pastry flour” is lower in protein content than all-purpose flour. In simple terms, it means that the flour is not as strong as you would want for making yeast-risen bread. Pastry flour is softer, which makes it ideal for making cookies, quick breads, pancakes and muffins. For this pancake recipe, I’ve recommended whole wheat pastry flour, available in larger supermarkets or online from Bob’s Red Mill. The softness makes it a good bet for pancakes and the whole grain gives a big nutrition boost.

What is coconut sugar?

Coconut sugar is produced when the moisture is evaporated off the sap of a coconut palm tree. You can substitute it 1:1 for regular sugar in nearly any recipe. It looks similar to brown sugar, but it has a drier, less sticky texture. Coconut sugar still has a fair amount of calories, but it also has iron, zinc and potassium—though for the small amount of sugar used in a baking recipe, the health benefits are negligible. There is some evidence that coconut sugar doesn’t spike your blood sugar as intensely as refined cane sugar. Beyond the potential “good for you” notes, I like it for the richness of flavor, especially in baked goods, and I’ve chosen it for these pancakes because it tastes great with banana.

What is dessicated coconut?

I wish they had a better word because “dessicated” sounds so harsh, doesn’t it? The main difference with this kind of coconut is that it is a drier and finer shred than typical “baker’s” coconut, and the brand I buy (Bob’s Red Mill) is also unsweetened. If you dislike the texture or cloying sweetness of typical coconut, but enjoy the flavor, this would be a good option. In these banana pancakes, I love the delicately flaky texture it adds to the tender pancakes, as well as the pairing of tropical flavor to the bananas.

Can I swap another milk for buttermilk?

In some recipes, regular or dairy-free milk may be substituted 1:1 for buttermilk. But in this instance, the acidity of the buttermilk is meant to balance the alkaline nature of the baking soda, to create a lighter, fluffier pancake. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, or if you have issues with dairy in general, substitute another type of milk (2%, almond, etc.) and add a tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar. Allow the mixture to rest 15 minutes before using, and you will get similar results.

What can I use in place of bananas in these pancakes?

If you are not bananas for bananas, you can still enjoy the benefit of whole fruit by substituting berries or another fruit with similar moisture makeup. I would not recommend very wet fruit such as melon, citrus or kiwi in pancakes, but any kind of fresh berry can be added to pancake batter. I have also had great success making apple cinnamon pancakes, using small cut up bits of fresh firm apples. If you try this, I’d recommend increasing the cinnamon in the dry ingredient mix, and sprinkle the apple bits atop the pancake before turning it, rather than adding the apple to the batter.

Ready to make them?

This recipe made six 4 1/2″ pancakes, plus two miniature pancakes for my taste tester. Feel free to put on Jack Johnson as you make them. 🙂

This song is perfect for a laid-back, “hanging out with your baby and making banana pancakes” weekend.

Ingredients

3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour* (see notes above)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 Tbsp. coconut sugar*

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 cup low-fat cultured buttermilk*

1 Tbsp. canola oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 medium firm, ripe banana, cut into bite-sized pieces

1/4 cup chopped toasted pecans, optional

2 Tbsp. unsweetened dessicated coconut, optional*

Butter and maple syrup for serving

Instructions

First, the visual, and written instructions listed after, along with a downloadable PDF copy for your recipe book!

  • After a 15 minute rest, I folded all the mix-ins into the batter.
  • The batter is thick and chunky. Make each pancake with about 1/4 cup batter.
  • It takes only about two minutes for each side of the pancakes. Turn them when the edges seem set and the underside is golden brown.
  • They are perfectly browned, and I love watching them rise slightly after turning.
  • This is a fluffy stack! The pancakes are nice and soft, and so delicious with the bananas, pecans and coconut.
  1. Whisk together dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and set aside.
  2. Combine egg, buttermilk, oil and vanilla, and whisk until evenly blended.
  3. Pour wet mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients and stir only until flour is completely mixed in. It’s OK to see a few small lumps. Set this aside to rest for 15 minutes while you preheat the griddle or pan to 350° F (medium setting on stovetop).
  4. After rest time, fold pecans, banana bits and coconut (if using) into the batter mixture. Be as gentle as you can, to keep an “airy” texture to the batter.
  5. When skillet is pre-heated (water beads will “dance” on it), spoon or ladle out the batter in 1/4 cup amounts. Cook until large bubbles appear on top and edges of pancake appear set. Turn gently to cook the other side.
  6. Keep pancakes warm on a platter until all are cooked. Serve with butter and maple syrup.
  7. Spoil the dog. ❤

  • Nilla coached me all the way through these pancakes, so I promised I’d make one for her.
  • Our good girl loves her whole grains and bananas! 🙂

Want to print this better breakfast recipe?

Whole Grain Banana PancakesEnjoy your breakfast!