These delicious delights are named after Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau.

Bundoran chef and food author Finn Ní Fhaolain has the perfect solution for those on a gluten-free diet this Pancake Tuesday. And there’s no need to compromise.

Pancake Tuesday, for many, is a last chance to indulge in some sweet and savoury delights before Lent starts. For those suffering from coeliac disease it can pose many challenges as well.

Gluten-free Chef Finn has teamed up with the Coeliac Society of Ireland to share a tasty tribute to Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, which she describes as “hot and sweet”.

Chef Finn Ni Fhaolain

She said: “This is my absolute favourite pancake recipe, it’s easily adapted and goes really well on its own with a little sugar and lemon or with lots of maple syrup as part of a more extravagant brunch.”

Recipe – The Trudeau

Justin Trudeau

“Sweet and hot, like Canada’s prime minister. The first time I had banana pancakes with bacon and maple syrup, I was eight years old, having breakfast with my mom in downtown Toronto. They were so amazing and created such a strong memory that I still know what my mom had – eggs Benedict – and what the mural on the wall was – a big tree and flowering garden.” – Finn Ní Fhaolain

SERVES 2 LAZY SUNDAY HUMANS

Dry Mix
2 cups (240g) GF self-raising flour
1½ tsp GF baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of salt – one twist of a salt grinder

Wet Mix
1 cup (240ml) milk
1 cup (240ml) water
2 eggs
2 ripe bananas i.e . brown-looking skin
coconut oil or butter for frying

The Trudeau Pancakes by Chef Finn

Preparation

  • Pop all the dry ingredients in a big bowl and mix. If you’re feeling fancy you can sift them first.
  • In a big jug, lash in the milk and water, crack in the eggs and chuck in the bananas. Blend with a hand blender.
  • Make a well in the dry mix, pour in the wet mix in and blend. You should have a runny batter. I don’t add anything sweet, as there are natural sugars in the banana and I’ll probably drown the pancakes in maple syrup later. Pour the batter into a jug.
  • Heat up a good non-stick pan to a medium-high heat. Pancakes can stick to an old crappy pan; this can make you frustrated and lead to your throwing the pan out the window into the back garden – not that I’m admitting I did that, just saying it can happen…
  • To coat the pan, I melt about a tablespoon of oil or butter in it and swirl it around. Then I gently rub the pan down with a piece of kitchen paper, which I’m sure would draw a gasp of horror from most chefs. This blots the excess butter, so your pancakes don’t feel like they were cooked in grease.
  • I do a tester pancake to make sure the pan is hot enough. It should take 30–50 seconds for bubbles to form on the top of the pancake. Now flip it over and cook for another 30–50 seconds.
  • These pancakes will expand so make them small, i.e. about 2 tablespoons of batter each. If you were around in the nineties, these pancakes should look like the ones Sabrina the Teenage Witch kept dreaming about when she had a pancake addiction. You should be able to get about three at a time in a decent-sized pan.

Like these – from Sabrina the Teenage Witch

To Serve: I usually serve these pancakes as a stack with a little knob of butter on top, a pile of crispy bacon on the side and drowned in maple syrup.

For more recipes, visit  https://www.coeliac.ie/recipes/pancakes/

Gluten can be an issue preventing many people celebrating pancake Tuesday. Gluten occurs naturally in that flour that is one of the main ingredients of regular pancake mix. Consuming even a small amount can have a big impact on the health of someone suffering from this coeliac disease.

An estimated 47,000 people in Ireland have coeliac disease, that’s one in every 100 people.

For more recipes from Finn, including her Buttermilk Pancake recipe, visit the Coeliac Society website on https://www.coeliac.ie/recipes/pancakes/