Fed up of seeing dessert recipes aimed at couples this Valentine’s Day? Here’s a quick one for all singles out there!
“Happy Valentine’s Day!” “Here’s a recipe for a dessert for two!”
Are you tired of seeing these pop up on your social media feed when all you want to do is enjoy being single? Did you see any of these and think, “Why can’t I have a dessert for one instead?” Well, I did. And that’s what made me come up with this recipe.
I mean, here we are, in the second year of a global lockdown and most of us who are single — or maybe it’s just me — are spending Valentine’s Day weekend sitting in our pajamas in front of our screens, bingeing on Netflix, and enjoying not having to work since it is the weekend. Right?
While it is great to have a day dedicated to love, it can also be a pain to have to make something elaborate when the only person who is going to eat it is you. Personally, I would love to have something sweet to enjoy Galentine’s Day as I video call my other single female friends. But do I want to spend hours baking and frosting a yummy chocolate cake just for me? No!
That’s why I figured I’ll take the opportunity to create something new and share it with all of you, my lovely readers. I was focused on it being a quick recipe with ingredients most of us who follow a gluten-free lifestyle have at home. I also wanted it to be vegan. As most of you know, the main ingredient that offers structure to GF foods is eggs – which is a strict no-no for vegans. I was aiming at something that checks all the boxes – gluten-free, quick, vegan, chocolaty and delicious. I think I succeeded, but I’d definitely like to know if it worked for you. Let me know in the comments!
Vegan and gluten-free chocolate pancakes
Makes 2 sandwiches
Ingredients:
1/2 cup sorghum (jowar) flour + 2-3 tbsp for dusting (Don’t have it in stock? Check out the pro tip below!)
1/4 cup cocoa powder +2-3 tbsp for dusting
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp guar gum (Don’t have it in stock? Check out the pro tip below!)
1 tsp oil + 3-4 tsp for frying
1/4 cup water
Filling:
1/4 cup cocoa powder OR melted dairy-free chocolate
2-3 tbsp sugar
2-3 tbsps water
1 banana (ripe, but not overripe; needs to be firm enough to slice)
A handful of almonds, chopped
Method:
In a bowl, mix the sorghum flour, cocoa powder, sugar and guar gum. Add the oil. Then add the water, a few drops at a time, to make a dough. Be careful as sorghum is extremely absorbent and even a few extra drops can make the dough really sticky. The dough should neither be too firm nor should it be too soft. But don’t stress about it. If it is too soft, you can always dust it in flour and cocoa powder. If it is too firm, you can rub in a few drops of water.
Divide the dough into four equal parts. Line a plate with baking paper and gently roll out one part of the dough into a circle. You can dust your dough and your rolling pin with cocoa for easier handling. Remember, since the dough doesn’t have gluten, it will not stretch the way a chapati or puri dough does. You’ll need to stop rolling when it is still thick. If you haven’t managed to make it into a round, then use a mould to cut it. Do this for the remaining three pieces of dough as well.
In a tawa, on medium heat, pour a few drops of oil and then place one round piece of dough. Brush one side with oil, then flip the pancake. After 2-3 minutes, once the pancake is done, transfer it to a plate. Repeat the same process with the remaining three round-shaped dough pieces.
While the four pancakes cool, take a small bowl and mix the cocoa powder, sugar and water to make a smooth paste. If you have melted chocolate, you can skip the water and only mix it with sugar. You can even try a combination of chocolate, cocoa powder and sugar. Really, the end result needs to be a sweet smooth paste; you can use your imagination to get there! If you are not vegan, you can add a bit of milk instead of the water. Vegans could try plant-based mylks instead. There are several options and you can choose based on your taste buds’ preference.
Slice one banana thinly into circles.
Take one of the pancakes and brush one side of it with the cocoa/chocolate paste. Then layer it with a few slices of the banana. Then sprinkle some of the chopped almonds on top of the banana slices.
Take another pancake and slather one side with the same cocoa/chocolate paste. Place that on the almonds, the paste side down.
And you have a pancake sandwich ready to serve! You can either do the same with the remaining two pancakes or you can change it up with a different set of filling. You can also try an open sandwich-style pancake and top it off with some vanilla ice-cream. It’s up to you!
Pro tip:
If you are out of guar gum or sorghum flour, don’t worry. You can use the same proportions (with a bit more water, and without the oil) to create a batter with ragi flour instead. You can then ladle it on the tawa like you would a dosa. You can use the fillings as toppings instead and serve it open-sandwich style.
“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.”
– Charles M. Schulz
The Vegetarians' Kitchen 