Inspired by the Tanzanian dish, vitumbua, these pancake doughnuts are crisp on the outside, and soft and fluffy on the inside. Topped with caramelised salted pecans and a drizzle of coconut milk, this dish makes the ULTIMATE breakfast.
If you're like me and love your pancakes and doughnuts, I urge you to try these! It's like biting into a chocolatey, vanilla, cardamom cloud - every bite will melt in your mouth! Paired with the sweet and salty combination of the caramelised pecans and balanced out by the coconut milk drizzled on top, these pancake doughnuts are next level delicious.
Naturally gluten-free and vegan
The best thing about these pancake doughnuts is that they're naturally gluten-free and vegan. Just like vitumbua, they're made primarily using rice flour and full-fat coconut milk, which gives them their light and fluffy texture.
If you don't have any rice flour at hand, you can make it easily by soaking raw rice for 2-3 hours, draining it and then blending it until it forms into flour.
Serving the chocolate and vanilla pancake doughnuts
These pancake doughnuts are subtly sweetened using coconut sugar. When eaten with the caramelised pecans, you'll get the perfect amount of sweetness in every bite. If this isn't sweet enough for you, you can coat them in a little coconut sugar, or even cinnamon sugar for a little extra flavour.
You can also choose what nuts to use, they don't have to be pecans - walnuts and/or almonds would also taste really good.
I did top these with coconut milk, which balances out all the flavours really nicely, but this is optional.
What pan do you need?
To make these, you'll need a vitumbua or paniyaram pan, which you can purchase online. If you don't have one of these, you can either cook the batter like you would a regular pancake, or you can use a greased cupcake tin. For the latter, simply add a couple of spoonfuls to the tin and bake in the oven at 180 degrees C for 10 minutes, flipping them over halfway through cooking. Of course they won't have the same shape but they'll still taste great.
Chocolate and Vanilla Pancake Doughnuts with Caramelised Salted Pecans (Gluten-Free, Vegan)
Makes: 36 (serves around 5)
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS
For the caramelised salted pecans:
70g pecans, chopped
2 tbsp water
1 tbsp coconut sugar
Pinch of salt
For the chocolate and vanilla pancake doughnuts:
120g rice flour
55g coconut sugar
1 tbsp cacao powder
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
2 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
220ml full-fat coconut milk (plus extra for topping)
1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
2 tsp vanilla extract
METHOD
For the caramelised pecans
1. Lightly roast the pecans in a cast-iron or non-stick pan over a medium heat for about 30 seconds.
2. Reduce the heat slightly. Stir in the sugar, followed by the water, adding in a little at a time. Continue stirring until the pecans begin to caramelise. Remove from the heat and transfer to parchment paper. Leave to cool.
For the chocolate and vanilla pancake doughnuts
1. Add the rice flour, coconut sugar, cacao powder, cardamom, baking powder and salt to a large bowl and whisk together.
2. Add in the coconut milk, coconut oil and vanilla extract, and whisk until a smooth batter forms.
3. Grease your vitumbua or paniyaram pan with a small amount of coconut oil and allow it to heat up slightly. Using a small ladle, fill each hole with the batter until 3/4 full. Cook over a low heat until bubbles start to appear and the sides become dry to touch (around 2-3 minutes, or until golden), then flip using a cocktail stick and cook for a further 2 minutes. Repeat the process until you have used up all the batter.
4. Top with caramelised salted pecans and a drizzle of coconut milk.
I hope you love this recipe!
Love,
Sasha
NOTES
These pancakes will be made in batches, as per the pan you use. If you'd like to eat them with your family/friends in one sitting, once cooked, place each batch into the oven pre-heated at 90 degrees C until ready to serve.
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