Given all of his December birthday buddies and the proximity of the holidays, we didn’t throw a party for Niko until the end of December (thankfully, we were still able to celebrate him in 2012!). First birthdays, as it turns out, are more for the grown ups than the little kids. In fact, it becomes an excuse to have an extended brunch cocktail party in the middle of the day with crawlers and toddlers underfoot–chewing up Nibbly Fingers, mouthing any toy that happens to be at hand, and tugging on any pant leg for a lift up for a better perspective on things.
Inspired by Niko’s friend Shiohn’s birthday cake (whose parents are also restricting sugary baked goods), and to accommodate some of his pals’ food allergies, Niko’s birthday cake was composed of five vegan, gluten and sugar-free, lemon, raspberry, cornmeal pancakes stacked with round banana slices between each layer. I’d set one pancake aside for Jonah, who has a dairy allergy, before icing the “cake” with vanilla Greek yogurt.
Lemon Raspberry Cornmeal Pancakes
(adapted from The Pioneer Woman)
1-1/2 cup (scant) Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour
1-1/2 cup heaping yellow cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons baking powder
2-1/4 cups oat milk
3 teaspoons vanilla
3 teaspoons egg replacer + 4 tablespoons warm water (mixed until thick)
2 tablespoons organic, unrefined coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup raspberries
2 medium bananas peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
lemon and juice from one lemon
vanilla Greek yogurt for icing
Preparation Instructions
Mix together flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder, and lemon zest in a bowl. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, mix oat milk, egg replacer, lemon juice, and vanilla. Pour into the dry ingredients. Gently stir in raspberries.
Stir in melted coconut oil. Set batter aside. If batter is overly thick, splash in a small amount of oat milk.
Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. When heated, drop 1/4 cup batter per pancake and cook until golden brown on both sides. Remove from skillet and set aside.
Stack four pancakes, layering sliced bananas rounds between each pancake. Using an offset spatula, coat the pancake cake with vanilla Greek yogurt. Decorate cake and plate with any extra banana rounds and raspberries. Dig in!
