Try these pancakes for a cheaper, easier and healthier way to celebrate Pancake Day this year!

I'm sure you've all heard that you can make two-ingredient pancakes with mashed banana and egg. I personally don't like the taste of bananas very much and find their strong flavour a little overpowering, but I’ve discovered that the similarly starchy texture and high sugar content of sweet potatoes mean they’re a perfect replacement. They also have a less distinctive taste so can easily be used as a basis for other flavours. Not to mention - they're also incredibly healthy.

Because these pancakes are made with just sweet potatoes, eggs and Nutella (you can get dairy-free chocolate and hazelnut spread), they're gluten and dairy-free, so cater for more dietary requirements than your usual wheat, milk and butter-filled crepe.  

This recipe is pretty versatile as you can swap the Nutella for any other chocolate spread that suits your dietary requirements, or you can use whatever other spread you fancy - Biscoff spread or peanut butter also work really well!

The first time I made these, I was a little dubious about how they would turn out but they were surprisingly delicious: perfectly fluffy, with a hint of Nutella that's enough to completely mask the taste of the sweet potatoes but not too overwhelmingly or sickly sweet. Plus the Nutella in these is a great way to fondly part ways with chocolate if you're giving it up for Lent (good luck to you).

3-Ingredient Nutella Pancakes

Ingredients (makes 6-7 small pancakes):

Few tablespoons vegetable oil

1 medium-sized sweet potato

1 egg

1 heaped tablespoon Nutella (sub whatever other spread you want) 

Optional but highly recommended: 1/2 teaspoon baking powder (ensure gluten-free if necessary)

Method:

1. Pierce the sweet potato skin all over with a fork, place on a plate and pop in the microwave for about 8 minutes, or until the flesh is soft enough to easily pierce with a fork
2. Using a spoon, scoop out the flesh into a bowl and mash with a fork until it turns into a smooth paste
3. Add the egg and Nutella (and baking powder if using) and mix well 
4. Heat some oil in a frying pan and once (and only once) the pan is really hot, carefully add about 3 tablespoonfuls of the batter (don't make the pancakes too big otherwise they will be impossible to flip over!)
5. Turn the heat down and cook for about 5-7 minutes before turning over (they are quite tricky to turn over, but I discovered through trial and lots of error that the longer you cook the first side for, the easier they are to turn over) 
6. Cook the other side for a few minutes and ensure that both sides are golden brown and slightly crispy

They taste great eaten by themselves or you can also add fruit (berries work particularly well), whipped cream, yogurt, chocolate chips or nuts!