Fresh Vegan Magazine & Day Radley’s Banana Notella Pancakes (Vegan and Gluten-Free!)

Fresh Vegan is a digital food magazine for the UK and Europe. Launched in Winter 2013, the magazine will appeal to anyone interested in plant-based eating, whether they be omnivores, vegetarians, vegans or the health conscious.

Fresh Vegan Spring 2014 Magazine Cover 300

The magazine’s 100+ pages are jam-packed with features, interviews and recipes from chefs, restaurant owners, street food vendors, food writers, authors, bloggers and food producers from all over the UK and Europe.

Oz from Sultan's Delight at Street Diner
Here’s the lovely Oz from Sultan’s Delight in Brighton (one of the contributors in the Spring issue)

The magazine also has great features on where to eat, sleep and shop for vegan goodies in locations around Europe and the UK. In the Spring issue, the spotlight was on beautiful Cornwall, Prague and Germany.

Prague
LoVeg vegan restaurant in the stunning old city of Prague

Alongside the features, the contributors share one or more of their favourite recipes. One recipe in the Spring issue that caught my eye was Day Radley’s Banana Notella Pancakes, which happen to be both vegan and gluten-free! I’ve had success with gluten-free American-style pancakes before (my favourite is this Blackstrap Ginger Cookie Pancake), but I’ve never tried a crêpe-style (ie. folding) gluten-free pancake before. Since Lil’ L is such a ‘pancake monster’, I knew this would be a great recipe to share with the family.

The pancake was filled with home-made vegan nutella. While I’ve made lots of versions of dairy-free nutella in the past (using both raw and roasted nuts), I’d never made one the same way at Day. I was intrigued to give it a try!

Healthy Vegan Nutella

And the verdict? Both the pancakes and the ‘notella’ were a big hit with the family! The banana pancake had a nice texture and flavour, and while much thicker than a classic crêpe, I was still able to fold it. I trialled the pancakes using Doves gluten-free plain white and brown bread flours, and both worked.

Vegan & Gluten Free Banana Nutella Pancake

The ‘notella’ was really yummy! Day recommends using a blender but I knew my blender wouldn’t be up to the job, so I used the food processor instead. I did need to add more water to achieve a smooth, spreadable consistency and I also added some vanilla extract, but that was just down to personal taste.

The ‘notella’ is also scrumptious served on warm toast

Here’s Day’s lovely recipes (with my notes and ‘tweaks’ in brackets)

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Day Radley’s ‘Notella’ (Vegan / Dairy-Free / Cane Sugar-Free / Gluten-Free)

Ingredients (for 8 pancakes) (makes about 1 cup)
150g / 1 cup hazelnuts
4 tablespoons agave syrup
4 tablespoons coconut oil (I liquefied mine before adding it)
2 tablespoons water (I needed 2-3 TBSP extra to achieve a smooth, spreadable consistency)
2 tablespoons cocoa or raw cacao (powder)
(I also added ½ tsp vanilla extract)

Method
Preheat the oven to 200c. Put the nuts on a pan and toast in the oven until the skins come off easily. Take out and leave to cool until you can handle them. Rub them between your hands roughly, this will remove the skin. (I roasted my nuts at 180C in my fan oven for 12 minutes until golden brown, then transferred them onto a plate and left them to cool down).

Put the nuts in a blender with the syrup, oil and water (I used my food processor). Blend until this is a smooth paste. (This will take a few minutes. Stop now and then to scrape down the bowl). Add the cocoa and blend again. (I then added extra water, one tablespoon at a time until I reached the desired consistency. After taste testing, I also added ½ tsp vanilla extract and blended it in).

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Day Radley’s Banana Pancakes (Vegan / Gluten-Free)

Ingredients (for one large pancake)
1 large banana (I recommend using a very ripe banana)
1/4 cup (45g) gluten free white bread flour (both Doves gluten-free plain white and brown bread flours worked for me)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons almond milk (I had to add another tablespoon to achieve a pourable batter).

Method
Cut 4 slices off the banana, these will be put inside the pancake. Put the rest of the banana into a jug with the flour, baking powder and milk. Blend with an immersion/hand blender until smooth.

Warm up a non-stick pan on the hob. Once hot, pour the pancake batter into the centre of the pan (and swirl to thin out). Flip once it is cooked on the bottom. To assemble, put the pancake on a plate, spread Notella in the centre, add the banana slices and fold up the pancake. Dust with cocoa if you want to be fancy. (I used cinnamon!)

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Healthy Vegan Nutella

SPECIAL OFFER: Fresh Vegan is offering Bit of the Good Stuff readers the chance to download the Spring 2014 issue in PDF format for just £1.95 (usual price £3.95). Click here to purchase. Offers end Sunday 25th May 2014.

And keep a look out for the Summer issue of Fresh Vegan. You must just spot a familiar face in there 😉

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! xx

10 thoughts on “Fresh Vegan Magazine & Day Radley’s Banana Notella Pancakes (Vegan and Gluten-Free!)

  1. I’m LOVING all this fabulous comfort food! After a long day at work and fighting off a cold, I came home tonight to Amy’s Kitchen’s deliciously re-assuring Gluten-free Rice Mac & Cheese (featured last week). Now I’m considering these ‘Notella’ pancakes to finish off ….mmmm. Thanks Sharon for the tips and info!

    1. I hope the cold’s gone now & that you’re feeling 100% again ♥ I’m so happy to hear that you’re enjoying all this yummy veggie food 😀
      Have a wonderful bank holiday weekend! (fingers crossed the sun comes back!)

  2. Mmmm these look soo delicious! I love the idea of the notella paired up with these pancakes.
    I’ve been really into online magazines lately…there are some super awesome ones out there and they are way less expensive than the ones on store shelves…not to mention packed with info and easy, clickable links! Fresh Vegan sounds amazing, thanks for letting us know about it!

    1. Hi Maria! This ‘notella’ is really simple to make and so tasty! I much prefer it to the shop-bought version. It’s super healthy too, so I don’t feel guilty at all for indulging in it 😉 It’s wonderful spread on toast, as a pancake filling, or for using as a dip with breadsticks ♥

  3. This recipe sounds fantastic! When I had a look at the site and looked at the payment method, it’s all done in US dollars, it sort of put me off buying it! Though if you’re featured in it next month I’d love to get hold of a copy. I’m also a great fan of a hard copy, not into e-books and e-mags really.

    1. Well my GF baking is pretty dire, but I can make a half decent GF pancake 😉 These banana ones are really simple to make and Lil’ L gave them a big thumbs up (the ginger cookie ones are still my personal fave though!)
      I know what you mean about the payment in US dollars. It is a bit off putting, especially as it says that it may incur extra charges. I’m not sure why we pay in dollars when it’s a European magazine. I’ll have to ask the editors.

  4. I recently received an inquiry from Fresh Vegan, and I will be contributing an Asian recipe for their magazine! I wish I am sitting there in Prague, that dish looks savory and lush…and a homemade vegan & gf nutella?! Amazing…did you know nutella was invented in northern Italy? I can’t wait to discover more vegan nutella products in northern Italy this summer. Thanks for the helpful cooking notes, that looks absolutely mouthwatering to try now!

    1. Great to hear that you’ll be contributing to Fresh Vegan! I adore Asian food so I’ll be very excited to read your feature ♥
      No, I didn’t know that Nutella came from Northern Italy!! Lucky you getting to go to there this summer! I look forward to reading about your vegan discoveries. I’ve never found Italy to be very vegan friendly, but I’m sure you’ll find some gems for us 😉 xx

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