These savoury vegan buckwheat pancakes with vegan cream cheese are something to look forward to in the mornings. The earthy buckwheat and zesty yuzu cream cheese not only lend some delicious flavours but also provide a healthy breakfast that will keep you full for a long time.
Buckwheat has nothing to do with wheat and is gluten-free despite its name. Many people these days are either gluten intolerant or prefer not to eat gluten. Using buckwheat for your pancakes as opposed to refined flour is a healthy alternative. For instance, Buckwheat flour is high in fibre, protein and nutrients, making it a solid choice for breakfast. Buckwheat flour has a unique earthy flavour.
The yuzu cream cheese and avocado filling for these vegan buckwheat pancakes are a match made in heaven. Yuzu is an Asian fruit, similar to a lime. It gives a zesty kick to the cream cheese.
Brown butter is butter that has been heated gently to the point where the butterfat and milk solids separate, and the milk solids gently cook and turn a brown colour. With dairy butter, the process produces a nutty flavour.
I experimented with vegan butter, and I could also produce brown butter. I use vegan brown butter for its colour, texture, and softness to these vegan buckwheat pancakes.
If you like savoury breakfasts, then I invite you to try my bread pakora recipe or my dalia upma recipe.
Right then, let's cook!
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Ingredients
- Buckwheat flour
- Soya milk
- Vegan butter block
- Kala namak
- Vegan cream cheese
- Avocado
- Yuzu zest
- Olive oil
- Baking powder
See the recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
There are three parts to this vegan buckwheat pancake recipe: Making the pancakes, preparing the vegan cream cheese filling, and assembling the pancakes and filling.
Pancake Instructions
Gather together your pancake ingredients: Buckwheat flour, soya milk, vegan butter, baking powder and kala namak.
First, make the vegan brown butter. Over medium heat, melt the vegan block butter until you see it start to foam.
Simmer for a minute or two until the foam starts to go brown, and you see brown granules drop to the bottom of the pan. At this point, immediately take off the heat and set the pan aside for the contents to cool.
Now to make the pancake batter. In a bowl, add the buckwheat flour and a pinch of kala namak. Slowly add the soya milk and whisk together. Keep whisking until you have a smooth batter, and then add the baking powder and the vegan brown butter and again whisk to smooth batter.
Heat a small pan over medium heat and brush on some oil. Using a spoon, place about two tablespoons worth of batter into the centre of the pan and cook for a minute or two until you see bubbles start to form and burst. Then gently flip the pancake and cook the other side. Cook until the pancakes are golden brown. Repeat with the remainder of the batter.
Keep the finished pancakes covered with a kitchen towel.
Cream Cheese Filling Instructions
You can find frozen yuzu zest in Japanese supermarkets. Otherwise, use lemon zest.
Finely chop the yuzu zest.
In a bowl, add the vegan cream cheese, the finely chopped yuzu zest and kala namak. Mix these until smooth.
Assembly Instructions
Peel the avocado, cut it in half and remove the stone. Then cut the avocado lengthwise into thin slices.
Take a spoonful of the vegan cream cheese and spoon it into the middle of a pancake. To one side of the vegan cream cheese, add two slices of avocado.
Bring the two sides of the pancake together and hold it with bamboo or wooden skewers.
For a nice finishing touch, garnish with chopped chives if you wish.
There you have it, a fresh, zesty vegan buckwheat pancake breakfast!
How To Video
Here is a video guide to making your vegan buckwheat pancakes.
Substitutions
If you don't have Yuzu zest, you can use lemon zest instead.
I have used soya milk to keep the pancake gluten-free; you can use oat milk or even dairy milk if you are not intolerant.
The cream cheese in this recipe is Oatly brand. However, Violife or even dairy cream cheese works just as well.
If using vegan butter, make sure to use block butter instead of spreadable butter. Spreadable butter has stabilisers that make it easy to spread. They may also have high water content, and it will be challenging to achieve the brown butter desired for this recipe.
If using dairy butter, make sure to start the butter on medium-high heat to allow it to melt, then turn the heat down to medium and swirl the pan so that the butter doesn't burn. Then turn down the heat and simmer to allow the butter to foam and brown. The moment the foam subsides, the milk solids darken and fall to the bottom of the pan, which indicates that it is done. Immediately take it off the heat, transfer it to another heatproof bowl to stop cooking any further and allow it to cool.
If you don't have Kala namak you can use ordinary sea salt to season the pancake mix and the cream cheese.
Variations
This vegan buckwheat pancake is like a blank canvas.
I have used yuzu cream cheese and avocado; however, you can turn this pancake into a sweet or savoury one with fillings of your choice: caramelised bananas, berries and maple syrup or a different flavour of cream cheese.
Equipment
Digital scales are essential to ensure your recipe is hundred per cent accurate.
A good non-stick frying pan will ensure your pancakes come out clean and do not get stuck at the bottom.
Storage
You can store these vegan buckwheat pancakes in an airtight container for up to three days in the fridge.
You can freeze these pancakes individually wrapped in an airtight box in the freezer for up to three months. Make sure to defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat thoroughly. Reheating works best in a microwave or a steamer.
Top tip
When making the pancake batter, add the milk gradually, whisking constantly; this will prevent lumps and give you a smooth batter.
📖 Recipe
Vegan Brown Butter Buckwheat Pancakes With Cream Cheese
Equipment
- Digital scales
Ingredients
Pancake mix
- 125 gms Buckwheat flour
- 230 ml Soya milk
- 50 gms Vegan butter
- ½ teaspoon Baking powder
Cream cheese filling
- 150 gms Vegan cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon Chopped Yuzu zest
- ¼ teaspoon Kala Namak
- 1 Avocado
- 1 teaspoon Olive oil
- Chives (optional) Chopped
Instructions
Pancake Mix
- In a pan over medium heat, melt the vegan butter until it foams. Allow it to simmer for a minute or two. You will see that the butter foam is turning brown and there are little brown granules on the bottom of the pan. Immediately take the pan off the heat and allow it to cool.
- In a bowl, add the buckwheat flour with a pinch of kala namak and slowly add the soya milk, whisking to incorporate.
- Once you have a smooth batter, add the baking powder and the cooled brown butter and whisk it into a smooth batter.
- Heat up a frying pan over medium heat and brush with oil.
- Spoon about 25 grams (two tablespoons) of the pancake mix per pancake into the pan. Keep cooking until you see bubbles form and burst. (usually a minute or two)
- Once the bubbles start to pop, flip the pancake gently. Fry until both sides are nicely golden brown.
- Repeat with the rest of the mix. Keep the pancakes covered with a kitchen towel while you cook the others, so that they remain soft.
Cream Cheese Filling
- Finely chop the yuzo zest.
- In a bowl, transfer the cream cheese and add the kala namak and the finely chopped yuzu zest. Mix thoroughly until smooth.
Assembly
- Cut the avocado in half and remove the seed. Slice the avocado lengthwise into thin slices.
- Spoon a teaspoon of the yuzo cream cheese into the centre of the pancake and add two slices of avocado on one side.
- Bring the two sides together and use a bamboo skewer to hold it together.
- Garnish with chopped chives (optional and serve.
Food Safety
In a professional kitchen, food hygiene and safety is a top priority, and from the very beginning of training, I practised good habits and routines. Of course, it is also very, very important to practice good food hygiene and safety at home. Here are some fundamental practices to adopt in the kitchen.
- Wash your hands regularly while preparing, handling and cooking food
- Wipe down counter tops and high contact points regularly
- If you cook meat and fish, do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat. Use separate chopping boards for meat and fish. Wash your chopping boards immediately after use.
- Thoroughly cook food to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods (more than 2 hours)
- Store food correctly
For more details of food hygiene and safety in the home, visit the UK Government's Food Standards Agency webpage.
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