Like many things, an invention of necessity. When I lived in
Dublin, I sadly discovered that the ridiculous piles of beautiful beautiful
carbs available at every Denny’s, Ihop and cheesy diner 24/7 in America were
simply absent in Ireland. It turns out, when hungover, that is what my body
craves. In self defence, armed with creativity and my trusty copy of The Joy of
Cooking (likely to be the subject of a subsequent Ode) – the chocolate banana
pancake was born.
If you have had chocolate chip pancakes in restaurants, do
not be fooled into thinking you have had had what it is that I make. The
proportions are all wrong. In certain moods these become more like chocolate
banana fritters – with just enough batter to hold together the fruit and
chocolate long enough to melt chocolate on a hot pan.
I start with a basic buttermilk pancake recipe. I like the
extra fluffiness and tenderness from the buttermilk recipe. Mine is from the Joy of Cooking, as reference above. It has seen better days...
Then, I use a lot of chopped bananas – nicely ripe. And more bittersweet chocolate chips than you think you need.
I use an 1/8th of a cup scoop to measure out the batter. Cook on a preheated medium/hot griddle until they start to bubble through, and turn them.
Toasty brown on both sides, dress with butter and sprinkles of powdered sugar and plenty of COFFEE.
