Apple-Bacon Pancake with Buckwheat Flour

A skillet baked apple pancake, made with nutty buckwheat flour, golden apples, crispy bacon, warm cinnamon and raisins. It is beautifully baked in the oven until golden brown, sweetened with only healthy ingredients so you can have your favorite brunch without a side of guilt.

It's the ultimate weekend breakfast to share with family, friends—but don't let that stop you from just making it for yourself.

This "Apple Pancake" takes me back to my childhood years. And no, this time, it isn't about warm kitchen smells or memories of my mom baking behind her stove.

Instead, I remember those rare occasions on special Sunday mornings. We would have breakfast at Chateau De Litzberg in Belgium—a beautiful country house turned restaurant in the middle of an English garden and surrounded by a defining green forest.

We often ordered the giant Buckwheat pancake on the menu (reminiscent of a German pancake) filled with warm sweet flavors and crispy bacon.

It was also the place where I often worked and filled in as a waitress during my college years as a young law student. And I have fond memories of that incredible learning experience, as well as the delicious dishes I was privileged to taste and the people I got to meet.

I am not sure if the same chef still works there, probably not. But this apple pancake recipe with buckwheat flour is concocted based on the sheer memories of my time in that kitchen.

That I made (tested, retested) this pancake numerous times to get similar flavors is an understatement. But the result is the same pleasure conjured when eating "Boekweit Koek"—as we would call it—during those lovely Sunday mornings in the fall at De Litzberg.

This dish looks beautifully rustic on any table. The warm smell of caramelized apples will fill up your breakfast room, instantly making your morning cozy.

You can enjoy this as-is since raisins, dates and the apples already make this dish slightly sweet. In contrast, the bacon adds a lovely savory flavor, and the buckwheat a unique texture.

But feel free to add a drizzle of maple syrup or maybe some homemade jam to your piece of pancake pie.

A few notes on the ingredients

Apple: choose a sweet apple, like Golden Delicious, Jonagold, or Honeycrisp. You will have plenty of choices with fall around the corner. I love Golden Delicious because they have almost a buttery honey taste that works well in this recipe.

Molasses: I use organic Unsulfured Blackstrap Molasses as a sweetener. It is one of those ingredients that I always have around the house. Not that I use it often, but it has a long shelf life and comes in handy when I want to add a touch of nutritional sweetness to my recipes.

Don't have molasses? Use some maple syrup instead.

Note: molasses is a syrupy byproduct that stems from the refining process and the extraction of sugars from sugarcane and sugar beets. Sugar cane or sugar beet juices usually go through three cycles of boiling and crystallization to extract as much sugar as possible. The syrup left over after each boiling process is called molasses. Blackstrap molasses is a dark earthy-looking syrup that is left after the third boiling process. It is less sweet than light or dark molasses but contains more nutrients. It also has a touch of bitterness or smokiness to it, which I love and adds a beautiful dark color to the apples in this recipe.

Plant milk: Choose plant milk if you want to keep it dairy-free. I often make this pancake with either cashew milk or Pea milk, which is creamy and a good source of protein. But you can use any milk of your choice. Whether you use a plant or regular milk, avoid flavored ones or anything with added sugars.

Flour: gluten-free buckwheat flour makes this oven-baked apple pancake so beautifully rustic looking. Cinnamon and dates balance the more bitter flavors of buckwheat and allow for the more nutty undertones to come through.

Another great option is to replace one-fourth with sweet Teff flour, which is also gluten-free. If gluten is not a concern, and you don't like buckwheat, then I suggest Spelt flour—a non-wheat, whole grain flour with a higher amount of proteins.

Olive oil or butter: you can use either one, and I am sure the chef in Belgium used real butter. But there is something about apples and extra virgin olive oil that I find irresistible, plus it keeps this pancake recipe dairy-free.

Raisins: It's optional, but I highly recommend it. It compliments the apples and adds a natural sweetness to the buckwheat flour.

Bacon is optional: if you have guests over that happen to be vegan and vegetarian, then leave out the bacon, and it still will taste incredibly delicious.

For this recipe, you'll need a non-stick oven-proof pan or well-seasoned cast-iron skillet.

The Apple Bacon Baked Pancake is filling, healthy, delicious on its own, and perfect for sharing! Enjoy!

HERE ARE SOME OTHER HEALTHY BREAKFAST RECIPES YOU MIGHT LIKE

If you love baking with buckwheat flour and impress your guests, then try my Sweet Buckwheat Waffles. They are also gluten and dairy-free.

Keeping it with pancakes, the Apricots and Oat Flour Pancakes (GF, Vegan), and the grain-free and protein-rich plantain pancakes have never failed me.

Or try this Light Sweet Orange-Cloves Butter Bread, this is always a special treat for any get-together!

Sharing is caring, so don't forget to PIN IT to your brunch or breakfast board! Always love to hear if you tried out this recipe and if it worked for you. Don't forget to subscribe to my Monthly Newsletter!