Whether you’re looking for a healthier chocolate treat or just want to indulge in chocolate pancake bliss with less of the bad things and more of the good things, this is the banana pancake recipe for you.

Yes, this recipe is wonderfully over the top, and it does include gin so it is a little naughty too, but we have a few tricks up our sleeves to help you balance the naughty with the nice!

Firstly, we have filled these coco-flavoured pancakes to the brim with bananas so you can get lots of good fibre, antioxidants, potassium, vitamin C and folate with every bite.

Secondly, the sugar content of these pancakes is surprisingly low for something that contains “salted caramel sauce” in the title. That’s because the “salted caramel sauce” is actually made with the delicious FULFUL Chocolate Salted Caramel bars that we sent to Craft Gin Clubbers in the April 2023 Gin of the Month box.

These delicious vitamin bars are high in protein, low in sugar and contain nine vitamins which make up 30% of your recommended daily allowance. But their best attribute is that they are quite simply divine!

What’s more, they are coated in crunchy crisps which add new dimensions of mouthwatering texture to the sauce. YUM!

Ok, so those are the good bits. Now for the naughty bits: the sloe gin-soaked berries.

Here, you can choose any of your favourite berries. From blueberries to strawberries, lingonberries to cherries and everything in between, there are no wrong answers.

Just make sure you give them long enough to marinade in the gin before using and they will add a pop of boozy berry delight that contrasts the rich sauce and fluffy pancakes wonderfully.

Chocolate Banana Pancakes
with salted caramel sauce and boozy berries

Serves 4 - 6 people

For the pancakes:
4 large egg yolks
4 large egg whites
400g ripe banana, roughly mashed with the back of a folk
170g milk (oat milk will work too)
40g high-quality cocoa powder (100% cocoa solids if possible)
120g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla paste (or the seeds of one pod)

For the sauce:
4 FULFIL Chocolate Salted Caramel bars, chopped into even, small pieces
70ml milk or oat milk

For the berries:
60ml sloe gin
200g berries
1/2 tsp vanilla paste (or the seeds from one vanilla pod)
1 tsp sugar

Start by marinating the berries. Place the berries in a bowl with the sloe gin, sugar and vanilla. Stir often until the berries become glossy.

For the pancakes, mix the milk, egg yolks and vanilla in a bowl. Sift in the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder and mix to form a smooth batter. Fold in the banana. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Carefully fold the egg whites into the batter in three parts.

Cook in a medium hot pan in a very small amount of butter or oil - around two tablespoons of batter per pancake. When air holes form on top of the pancake and it easily slides in the pan, carefully turn it over and cook until it is able to slide around in the pan. Repeat until the pancake batter is used up.

For the sauce, make a bain-marie by adding water to a saucepan and bringing it to a simmer. Turn the heat down so no bubbles form in the water. Place a heat-proof bowl over the water (but not touching the water!). Add the milk and FULFIL bar pieces and stir until fully melted into a sauce.

To serve, stack the pancakes and pour over the sauce. Place individual marinated berries on top of the stack or spoon over the berries and sloe gin-infused juice for a bigger hit of booze.

Enjoy!