My jaw dropped when I saw the video my sister sent. It was incredible – a delicious looking fluffy pancake stacked with ham, cheese, egg and drizzled with maple syrup. And it was GLUTEN FREE, DAIRY FREE ! I couldn’t believe she made it.
Believe or not, I loved McDonalds as a kid, it felt like such a treat whenever we could go. My dad would take us from our little apartment to get $2 vanilla ice cream cones at our closest store just two streets down. When I got a little older, I fell in love with their breakfast hotcakes, served with a sausage patty, drizzle with pancake syrup after long hikes or before long trips with friends. During my high school years, I then moved onto their shake shake fries and chocolate sundaes after post school gym class. At least in Asia, McDonalds is definitely more expensive than the US, smaller in portions and quite popular.
While my tastebuds have refined significantly over the years, I do feel extremely nostalgic whenever I see any of their menu items. Although Mcgriddles was not one I ordered when I was younger, just seeing it brought back so many memories.
I absolutely LOVE this particular version of McGriddle for two reasons: first, the fluffiness of these pancakes and second, the versatility of this recipe. As simple as this recipe may seem, it took a while for us to be able to imitate the infamous fluffy texture of McDonald pancakes and to attain that perfect amount of sweetness and saltiness. This recipe is also really flexible. You can use ham/turkey/ sausage patty of choice, along with your favorite cheese. Put simply, this is an extraordinarily fluffy, sweet pancake stuffed with your favorite sandwich ingredients together.
Whilst these homemade version may not be lower in calories but they are much higher in fibre and protein.
You can also make these pancakes in advance to save a little time when you want to serve them in larger batches. It is such a fun way way to have pancakes!
ENJOY!!
- Pancake:
- ¾ cup (90g) oat flour - highly recommend weighing the oat flour!
- 1 (HEAPING) tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1½ tbsp maple syrup (we used sugar-free)
- ½ tsp vanilla essence/extract
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup non-dairy milk
- Filling
- 2 slices vegan American cheese (I used daiya)
- 2 slices thick smoked ham
- 3 eggs
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Pancake Batter: In a bowl, mix the oat flour, salt and baking powder.
- In a separate bowl, beat the egg, applesauce. maple syrup, vanilla and milk together.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Mix until ONLY JUST COMBINED. The less you mix the batter, the thicker and fluffier it will be.
- Set aside for 10 mins to allow batter to thicken.
- Filling: Beat the eggs and season with salt and pepper.
- Heat a small pan (6" inch) over low heat. Spray with a little oil. Once hot, pour half the eggs imix and cook on low heat. Cover for a minute WITHOUT flipping.
- When eggs are no longer runny and cooked through, fold two sides of egg towards the center. Then fold the top bottom to form a rectangular shape. Set aside. Repeat the process for the rest of the batter.
- Clean the pan, and sear the ham in both sides until golden. Set aside.
- Cooking the pancake: Check the pancake batter, the consistency should be thin enough to spread but not runny. If it is too thick you can add 1-2 tbsp of milk.
- Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat. Once warm, spray a little oil in your pan.
- Turn down the heat to med-low, and ladle ¼ cup of batter into the pan. Cook for about 3 mins or until you see the edges setting and bubbles forming in the center.
- Flip to the other side cook for 2-3 minutes. Repeat until you finish the batter - it should make 4 pieces.
- Assemble: Make a sandwich - Pancake, then Cheese, Egg, Ham and lastly aPancake. If you like your cheese slightly melted you can heat one pancake on the pan, and place your cheese on top to let it melt before assembling with the remaining toppings.
- Drizzle more maple syrup if desired when serving.
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