Spiced Coconut Pancakes with Tropical Fruit

I made these pancakes from Bon Appétit the weekend before last. The preparation wasn’t as tedious as it looks, but the first batch came out way too thick. I ended up adding water to the batter, and in the end I suggest using a total of 14 ounces instead of 10, and adjusting from there. I’m using 14 ounces as a reference because it’s easy to just fill the empty can of coconut milk with water. I wonder if my batter reacted that way because I used finely shredded coconut, which perhaps had more of the properties of coconut flour than regular shredded coconut (i.e., absorbing a lot of moisture). I still couldn’t get my pancakes to look as nice as those in the magazine, so that was disappointing, but I really liked the tropical fruit salad. I used a fresh, peeled and cored pineapple to save time, and the salad kept well in the fridge for a day, even though there are bananas in it. I didn’t use the pistachios, becaue I felit like they didn’t’ have their place here, but next time, I would add lime zest and/or chopped mint, because I feel like it was missing something. These coconut pancakes are delicious with maple syrup or ginger syrup.

For the tropical fruit
1 cup diced peeled pitted mango
1 cup diced peeled cored pineapple
1 cup diced peeled banana
2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
lime zest and chopped fresh mint, to garnish

Mix all ingredients in medium bowl. (Can be made up to 2 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

For the spiced coconut pancakes
2 ½ cups whole wheat flour
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
2 tsp baking powder
¾ tsp ground nutmeg
¾ tsp ground allspice
¾ tsp salt
¼ tsp baking soda
1 14-oz can light unsweetened coconut milk (about 1 2/3 cups)
2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
vegetable oil
additional pure maple syrup or ginger syrup
chopped natural unsalted pistachios (optional; for garnish)

Preheat oven to 250 °F. Whisk first 7 ingredients in large bowl.

Whisk coconut milk, maple syrup, and vanilla in medium bowl. Fill the empty coconut milk can with warm water, add it to the bowl and whisk again. Whisk coconut milk mixture into dry ingredients until batter is pourable.

Heat griddle or skillet over medium-high heat; brush with vegetable oil. Working in batches, add batter by ¼-cupfuls. Working quickly and using back of spoon, spread each pancake to about 4-inch round. Cook until small bubbles appear on surface and bottoms of pancakes are golden, reducing heat if browning too quickly, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn over; cook until golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to baking sheet and keep warm in oven.

Place 2 to 3 pancakes on each plate. Top with tropical fruit salad, maple or ginger syrup, and chopped pistachios, if using.