On Sundays in my small household, we have pancakes. Usually eaten in bed, en famille, with a large ginger cat poking his nose in, and every Sunday they are different to the last. These came about from pondering whether pear sauce would work in the same way as applesauce as an egg replacement, and setting about making some from a tin of pears. Behold, it worked, and these beautiful, and very simple, pancakes were born. For the milk in this recipe, I used cashew, as it’s what I had at the time, but any plant milk will suffice. A handful of mixed peel, if you have it, makes these extra special.

Makes 12

Ingredients

1 x 400g tin of pears, approx
225g self-raising flour
1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp cooking oil, plus extra for frying
120ml your favourite vegan ‘milk’

To serve (optional)

Lemon juice
Sugar
Maple syrup

Method

First, blend your tinned pears to make a smooth sauce. Empty the entire tin, including the juice, into a small bullet blender and pulse until smooth. Pour this into a small saucepan and simmer for around 15 minutes, until the contents have reduced by a third and are thick and smell delicious. Stir it every now and then to stop it catching at the bottom of the pan and burning.
Turn your oven on to 120°C (fan 100°C/250°F/gas 1/2) and pop a baking tray on the centre shelf. Measure the flour, bicarb, sugar, ginger and cinnamon into a mixing bowl and stir well to combine. Make a well – a small hole – in the centre of the dry ingredients. Pour in the pear sauce, oil and ‘milk’ and beat thoroughly to form a smooth batter.
Heat a little oil in a large non-stick frying pan. When the oil is sizzling, dollop a dessertspoon of the mixture into it, and another one, and another one, leaving space for them to expand. Cook for three minutes on one side and then carefully, but quickly, turn over with a spatula. Don’t worry if they scrumple up a little, mine frequently do; they taste all the same to me! Cook for two minutes on that side and then transfer carefully to the oven to keep warm and continue to gently cook.
Repeat until all the pancake batter is used up. Serve with lemon and sugar – immediately!

Approximate cost* per portion: 9p

Vegan (ish) by Jack Monroe is available to buy now (Bluebird, £16.99)

*Approximate cost calculated using average prices from three main supermarket retailers in the UK. Price data accurate as of April 2020.