Recipe: Coconut & Cinnamon Pancakes with Caramelized Banana

I am seriously the worst pancake cook of all time.  I mean it!!!  Squashed, under cooked, over cooked, blobs of tasteless flour is all I could produce for years.  It has been my secret mission to try and perfect this simple mastery for some time.  I have asked heaps of people for their tips for the perfect breakfast pancake and have been practicing.  As you might have guessed by now, I don't believe in those shake & go pancakes and a Sunday off training was a perfect day to give it another go.  Come on, everyone has flour, milk and an egg so why add all the extra preservatives and sugar.  Anyway-this recipe is one that finally works for me so I thought I would share it with you all. 

Of course, a perfect fluffy golden pancake can be married with so many delicious flavours and the combination of cinnamon, banana, coconut and caramel is a match made in heaven - or in my kitchen on a Sunday morning.  It isn't hard to take the humble pancake to the next level and the caramelized banana's only take an extra five minutes to whip up and although it is a sweet addition it also is nice to include a fruit like the banana to keep you going for the rest of your day.  This flavour combination is emazing and worth a try the next time you are looking for a breakfast treat.

Ingredients:
1 Cup of sifted Self Raising Flour
1 Cup of skim milk
1 egg
1/3 cup of caster sugar
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1/3 cup of shredded coconut
1 teaspoon of butter
1 banana
2/3 cup of brown sugar
3 tablespoons of butter

Method:
Pancakes:

1. Place sifted flour, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl;
2. Whisk egg and milk mixture together in a seperate small bowl;
3. Make a well with the dry and ingredients and add the combined milk and egg mixture.  Whisk or use electric beaters to combine the mixture until a smooth consistency;
4. Stir through coconut and allow to sit for ten minutes;
5. Heat butter in fry pan in a non-stick fry pan on medium heat and add tablespoons of the pancake batter.  Allow to cook on one side until they are bubbling.  Flip them over and cook for a further two minutes. 

Caramelized Banana's:

1. Place butter in a small fry pan and melt on low to medium heat;
2. Add in your brown sugar and mix with a wooden spoon until the sugar begins to dissolve;
3. Cut the banana into edible chunks and add to the fry pan;
4. Cook these until the sugar dissolves and starts to bubble (two to three minutes);
5. Take the banana's off the heat however allow them to remain in the caramel mixture for an extra two minutes.  This will ensure that the banana will still cook slowly however will not turn into mush.

Serve the pancakes with your caramalized banana.

Tips:

• The caramelized banana mixture makes enough for about eight pancakes. 
• Make sure that the fry pan is hot before cooking the pancake batter;
• Make sure you don't take the caramel mixture too far.  To do this ensure you take the mixture off the heat after it has been bubbling for about two to three minutes and is still a light golden colour.