Shrove Tuesday is coming up and Jumpy is allergic to, well… everything on my list of ingredients for making French pancakes. I thought I would have to do a bit of research to find a “free from” recipe I could use for her. There was absolutely nothing on Pinterest, which I was really disappointed about, but after all, what did I expect? Crêpes without eggs, milk or flour… Could that even be done?
I gave up and stopped looking but the lovely Mummy Tries, whom I read regularly, posted a pancake recipe to cater for her daughter’s food intolerances a few weeks ago.
It was almost what I was looking for. I loved the fact the eggs and the cow’s milk did not appear in the recipe. I just had to make it free from wheat and turn it into thin French crêpes, rather than the thicker American pancakes.
Today, I was not feeling well at all. I have had a cold for a couple of weeks and I struggled to be upbeat this morning. The children did not take too much notice of my lack of enthusiasm and amused themselves, mainly with their train tracks, for most of the day. Then Hubby took them to the park so I could have a bath, but I thought I would rather plan a little surprise for the children. I made some crêpes and set up a little French pancake bar with our favourite fillings on the dining room table.
Then came the realisation that Jumpy would have to eat something else, but I remembered I had pinned Mummy Tries’ recipe. I was lucky to have similar ingredients at hand and I have to say I was really pleased with the results of my tweaked version. I did not even care that all she would have for dinner would be sweet!
When Hubby and the children came home, I was still making the free from crêpes. Crevette and Jumpy were so desperate to try them that I made them a free from chocolate and banana one as their starter, swiftly followed by their ham, cheese and cream ones before moving on to dessert (do not judge me!)…
After the first mouthful, Crevette (5 years 6 months) declared, “These are actually gorgeous! Mum, you are the best cooker in the world, you should be on TV!” He is biased, bless him, but that was such a great, heart-felt compliment, if you forget the fact he mistakenly compared me to a kitchen appliance! To be fair, I could hardly believe how nice they tasted. Jumpy had her crêpes with free from chocolate and bananas, raspberry jam, vanilla sugar and freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Free From Crêpes
Ingredients
- 1 packed cup plain white gluten-free flour blend 150g
- 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar
- 1 heaped teaspoon honey
- 1 1/3 cups soya milk 300ml
- sunflower oil for cooking
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together.
- Add in the honey and enough soya milk to form a paste.
- Incorporate the soya milk little by little, whisking constantly, to avoid lumps forming. It will be rather liquid and it is meant to be.
- Warm your pan over a medium heat and grease slightly with a drop of sunflower oil spread evenly with kitchen towel.
- Using a ladle, pour enough of the mixture to thinly coat the pan and cook for a minute or two, until it is easy to turn by flipping it or using a wooden spatula.
- Voilà! Enjoy your free from crêpes!
Recipe Notes
You can cook the batch all at once and reheat them (no oil needed in the pan) when you are ready to eat.
Once cooked and cooled, they will keep well in your fridge wrapped in cling film for a couple of days.
I have also frozen a few individually to liven up boring lunchboxes in the next couple of weeks.
Hiya Mel. It’s great you made something for everyone to enjoy. Hope you are feeling better now. Julie x
Great, healthy little French pancakes… she had two for dessert tonight! I am still feeling pretty awful, but I am sure I will be fine for work on Monday… isn’t it always like that when you have a few days off? Mel
You always come up with such brilliant ideas! x
Thanks Alexandra. Just trying to make sure Jumpy does not feel different from her siblings… and it works as they keep stealing her food! x Mel
I can’t believe they are not “normal” crêpes! And well done you for finding a suitable alternative.
I know, I could hardly believe it myself. I am really pleased. Bring on shrove Tuesday! Mel
Thank you so much for these. You have rescued shrove Tuesday for us. Milin is allergic to eggs, I’m dairy free and my mum, who will be with us, has coeliacs and is gluten free. Finally a recipe we can all enjoy! I didn’t think it existed. Also – what a gorgeous comment from Crevette. Complements from the little ones are the best x
I am so glad you find the recipe useful. That is the whole idea behind my blog (the root veg soup should be good for you all as well as your baby girl when you are weaning her)! Thanks for your comment. True, when a child pays you a compliment, you know it is heartfelt as they always say it like it is (even when you do not want to hear it!). x Mel
These look amazing Mel! So pleased you managed to find something for all your family to enjoy xx
Thanks! It is really nice to have the older two beg for Jumpy’s free from food.
aww Mel thats super you found something that you could adapt to fit, i must say they look delicious!
I know, I am really excited about shrove Tuesday now! Mel
These look really nice. Can Jumpy have buckwheat flour? I’ve seen a few recipes for buckwheat pancakes with the batter just made from water – could be worth a try?
I have just looked into buckwheat flour after reading your comment and I am not sure she can have it. There is so much she is allergic to it is quite scary to try something that might trigger an allergic reaction. Her paediatrician really insisted on the importance of risk management and being really careful when we saw him last week so I will stick to this little recipe I put together for her as it works brilliantly and is so tasty her siblings were fighting over the pancakes. Mel
It must be so stressful. Yes, buckwheat flour is a bit confusing so best to stick with what you know.
It was incredibly scary to start with, but it is getting better and better as I take baby steps towards cooking lovely things we can all enjoy as a family. x Mel
Great idea, I would never have guessed they were egg free (had been pondering the viability of using coconut milk, but got stumped by the propspect of no eggs). Glad Jumpy had her pancakes and sorry you have not been feeling well. Always tough when struggling to include family members with different diet needs in shared meal times (that don’t get too repetitive and which can reflect the seasons).
Thanks for your comment Sarah. It is not always feasible but I want to make our meals more and more inclusive for the sake of our little girl. Working with seasonal ingredients is definitely something to keep in mind as well. Mel
Your pancakes look really good, love that they are so crispy and that you managed to omit the eggs and the milk. Coming over from #TastyTuesdays.
I did not think she could ever have pancakes but that was a real success! Proof that when you decide to cook or bake something, you do not necessarily need all the ingredients on the recipe. A bit of improvisation and creativity can go a long way! Mel
I love that these are a healthy option, but they still look so decadent and delicious. Yum!
Thanks Sarah, they really are delicious! Mel
Hi there! Found you from recipe of the week and I am glad I did! Seems we are on the same wavelength…especially as I see you have just blogged about some gluten free play dough (snap!!!). I love pancakes…I have lots of different recipes and the kids have them for breakfast every day. I therefore make them super healthy by adding flax seeds, reducing the flour and adding ground almonds. These, however, look like the sort you have for pudding. I may just have to treat the kids this pancake day 😉
I am delighted you found me! You will love these pancakes. They are perfect for dessert or even for breakfast. Let me know if you try them. I am looking forward to checking your recipes on your blog, too. Jumpy could not have your healthy ones (almonds, seeds) but they sound yummy. Mel
So stunning, love this post. Thanks for linking up to #tastytuesdays
Thanks Vicki
They look really, really good. Especially with banana and chocolate *drool* Thanks for linking up with #recipeoftheweek 🙂 I’ve pinned and tweeted this post and there’s a fresh linky live now. Hope you join in x
Thanks Emily, they were delicious, and will get made again on Tuesday for my allergy baby! x Mel
You are blogging!!!! I am following :-). It looks great
I am! I started slowly, but for the past 7 or 8 weeks, I have tried to really get blogging. I still feel like a toddler lost in the Sixth form, but I am sure I will be getting there… Thanks for following Abby. x Mel
Hi Mel, we just made the egg free dairy free version with rice milk and they were delicious! X
Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know, Kiran. I am really pleased you enjoyed them! x Mel
Mel, Looks delicious. Will try sometime. Thanks for your kind visit to my blog.
Thanks
yes I have also become a dab hand at egg/dairy/gluten/soya free pancakes. It is surprising what you can make when you need to master something different. Well done on even attempting them. Thank you for linking up
I will definitely be trying yours when making American pancakes for the family! Mel
Yummy love pancakes and chocolate, these look amazing. Recipe of the Week
My children love them! It is a great feeling when you manage to make ‘free from’ food that does not taste ‘free from’.
These look delicious! I can’t wait to try them, I’ve really missed crepes and it sounds like the whole family will enjoy them too, Thank you!
Do you have allergies or intolerances? My friend Vicki over at The Free From Fairy has a daughter with coeliac disease, and she has loads of fab recipes. Have a look at her website if you get the chance. Mel
Just been through your free from recipes, definitely bookmarking some of them!!
I make vegan friendly pancakes quite often, but they usually turn out thicker than I’d like, so I’ll definitely give your method a try. Hopefully golden syrup will work in the place of honey.
Great! Let me know what you think after you have tried them. I have been working on a vegan pancake recipe for the past four weeks. I think I am getting there!
Brilliant recipe! Have been struggling to find dairy free, egg free, gluten free recipes that the rest of the family will eat, but this has been a big hit, thanks!
Thank you so much for your feedback! Sometimes when you post recipes, you are not actually use anyone other than yourself ever makes them. You just made my day! I have just posted another pancake recipe (that one is vegan). Give them a go if you like your pancakes slightly thicker. This morning, my mum said they tasted like ‘normal’ pancakes and she could not tell there were no eggs in them!
you will be surprised what you can make when the needs must, we make a good egg/wheat/gluten/dairy free pancake as well. The other none allergy people are also happy to eat them.