Banana Sour Cream Pancakes with Spiced Walnut Butter

Is it better to be late than never?

For a few months now I have been a member of food blogging group known as the Barefoot Bloggers. The Barefoot Bloggers prepare two of Ina Garten’s (a.k.a. The Barefoot Contessa)recipes each month. And, well, I’m late. I am a week late to be exact. I suppose I could have just skipped this recipe, but quite honestly I was particularly drawn to the idea of banana pancakes and I was very curious to see how Ina’s addition of sour cream would affect the texture. So I didn’t just skip, I just came late to the party.

First a thank you to Karen of Something Sweet by Karen for selecting this recipe it was a really nice choice. It came as no surprise to me that Ina could improve upon something as tasty and simple as pancakes-her version did not disappoint

In this supermarket world of ready-to-eat pancakes and boxed complete mixes that you only need to add water to, it is so easy to get lazy and choose to not make homemade pancakes. But let’s get real- what could be easier than making pancakes? By adding a few extra steps to the simple “just add water” you can achieve “International House of Pancakes” breakfast greatness (or for the more refined among you “Elegant Bed and Breakfast” breakfast greatness). There honestly are no boxed mixes or microwavable pancakes that come out as tasty, light and fluffy as homemade pancakes and we’re only talking an extra maybe five minutes worth of effort.

I used low fat sour cream and skim milk and I still felt the texture was superb (I can only imagine how delicious full fat would be…but alas the resolution). The bananas almost melted right into the batter while cooking. For the butter, I decided to make a quick spiced walnut butter which gave a little bit of a crunch to contrast the velvety texture of these positively divine pancakes. Try, try, try if you can to use pure maple syrup, it truly makes a big difference.

Banana Sour Cream Pancakes by Ina Garten

1 1/2 cups flour
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk
2 extra-large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Unsalted butter
2 ripe bananas, diced plus extra for serving
Pure maple syrup

Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, milk eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones mixing only until combined.

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat until it bubbles. Ladle the pancake batter into the pan to make 3 or 4 pancakes. Distribute a rounded tablespoon of bananas on each pancake. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until bubbles appear on top and the underside is nicely browned. Flip the pancakes and then cook for another minute until browned. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel, add more butter to the pan, and continue cooking pancakes until all the batter is used. Serve with sliced bananas, butter and maple syrup.

Spiced Walnut Butter (my recipe)

2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon finely chopped toasted walnuts
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

In a small bowl combine all the ingredients and stir until well combined.