Gluten Free Pancakes

Can a pancake really taste just like an apple turnover pastry? In my world of experimenting with Gluten Free baking, I've found a wonderful combination which does it's best to try. It was a serendipitous accident frankly, as I was looking for a gluten free donut recipe.

The one I found, worked brilliantly, but it was rather too fiddly for the few donuts baked. I thought eighteen would be plenty, but I underestimated how far they'd go for four people! It's a brilliant tasting donut recipe though, I just wanted a simpler way to use it. I also didn't want to use some of the ingredients. I'll put the pancake recipe down below, but first, the apple turnover bit!

Cook your pancakes as you would normally on a hot skillet. We like to use them when they're freshly cooked and slightly warm, but there are plenty left over to stick in the fridge and reheat in the microwave or oven, the next day.

Next, put some cooked and chilled diced apple down. Spread it around. I haven't used too much because of how I'm going to roll the pancake at the end. You can make your own apple filling or buy it in a can, but be sure to add a little sugar and cinnamon for sweetening and flavour. Don't go overboard with the cinnamon though.

Whip some cream and add a dollop to the pancake. Again, don't use too much or it will come out the pancake when rolled. When whipping the cream I add a little icing sugar, which I make from processing white sugar. Most store bought icing "mixtures" contain gluten fillers, so steer clear of them.

Spread the cream around the pancake, then you want to sprinkle it with some cinnamon sugar. This is what gives the texture of the pancake, that subtle pastry crunch of an apple turnover. You just need a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar from a dispenser.

I make my own cinnamon sugar from quality ground cinnamon. Most supermarket cinnamon doesn't even come from the cinnamon plant, but a cheaper substitute plant. I sourced my cinnamon from a bulk supplier of natural ground cinnamon and I can't go back to the supermarket stuff. It's lasted me years and still smells like real cinnamon.

I reuse an old spice jar with a dispenser lid, by combining white sugar and ground cinnamon, then shaking together.

The last step to complete, is simply rolling the pancake up. When eaten, it will taste ever so much like an apple turnover. If you want more filling, don't roll the pancake and just layer the apple, cream and cinnamon sugar on top of the flat pancake. Eat it with a knife and fork. I ate it both ways, and they both tasted incredible. I liked the flat way best, but by rolling the pancakes it made the fillings go further and is probably better for the waistline!

This is a once in a while treat, when we've been working hard in the yard.

Time for the pancake recipe. Bear in mind to use your own judgement with quantities. I've used a rough approximate for the list of ingredients, but you'll need to add what liquid to flour ratio, gives the correct consistency for pancake batter. I like my consistency easy to pour, but not water thin. I like to be able to pour it on the skillet, but use the back of a spoon to push the circle out a little further.


2 eggs
1-2 cups apple juice
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup to 1 cup gluten free flour
pinch of xantham gum if not already in the flour
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 teaspoon bicarbonate soda
pinch ground cinnamon
splash of vanilla essence


Mix all together in a one litre pouring jug. I use a stick blender with blending attachment, because its better at mixing in a jug without spilling over the sides. Cook on the skillet until golden brown on both sides. Stack on a plate with a cover, until all the pancake batter is cooked.

If you don't want to use the xantham gum, I recommend adding extra eggs...1 or 2 depending what size the eggs are.

The bicarbonate soda and apple cider vinegar, make the pancake batter lighter and aerated as they react to one another. Try your own experimentation with fillings, with whatever you have around.