Gluten-free Applesauce/Apple Pancake

http://instagram.com/p/byTxCsy2IM/#

I love everything organic especially for my little man, so I bought an organic whole wheat pancake mix last month in which I also used for baking cupcakes/muffins for him. I'm so happy about it seeing my boy happy eating I prepared out of the mix. However, one mid afternoon, as I went along with my studies in baking I focused on studying about the flour; All kinds of flour and what they're made of and everything I need to know about it. I've learned that most of the flour we know are made out of wheat. Flours that made out of wheat, barley and rye are flours that are rich in gluten or has gluten in it. Gluten is essential in baking as it is the protein of the flour that would keep the dough or the cake to rise. Gluten though isn't good for babies and children below 2 yrs of age and this worries me knowing the pancake mix (even all the breads) I bought for the little man is not as good as i thought it is for him.

 
Gluten can cause some behavioral or physical problems to children below 2 years of age. It could be a Leaky Gut Syndrome that is linked to inflammation, allergies and autism, or Celiac Disease the scarring of small intestines, or ADHD (attention deficit hyperactive disorder). As a mother I would want to avoid these problems since I'm not sure if my child has sensitivity to gluten.

So I came up with a Gluten-Free Pancake, a safe to eat pancake for my little man. It tastes good it can also be eaten by adults. My sweetened mascarpone cheese is a substitute for my whipped cream topping because I didn't have any whipping cream available at this time on my pantry. It is also a sugar-free recipe which is good for those who has diabetes; Instead of sugar I used xylitol as a substitute. I don't want to add sugar on my son's diet because I don't want his body to get used to sugar, as well as I don't want to add more reasons for his hyperactivity in his toddler stage.

Enjoy being a mother (if you are one) and enjoy cooking!

Gluten-Free Applesauce Pancake

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Pancake Mix
• 3/4 cup Soy Milk (or any milk you like)
• 1/2 cup Applesauce
• 1 egg (can be omitted if you're a vegan, the applesauce can do its purpose)
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 Apple, sliced or chunked (for filling and/or garnish; optional)

Directions:

1. Lightly beat the egg (if using) and stir in the oil and milk until combined..
2. Sift pancake mix in a medium bowl and make a hole in the center and pour in the egg mixture (or just the milk). Mix the ingredients but be careful not to over-mix it.
3. Fold in the applesauce.
4. Preheat any size of non-stick griddle on medium heat.
5. Using oil or butter, lightly coat the griddle before pouring the batter on it. Once the griddle is hot, pour a little bit of the batter onto the griddle. (You can always pour more depending on how large you like your pancakes; I used 1/8 cup or 2 tablespoons of batter to uniform the size of my pancakes.)  
6. Press in a little of sliced or chunked apples lightly in each pancake and cook until you see bubbles at the top. Flip and cook until the pancake turns golden brown. 

Sweetened Mascarpone Cheese or Whipped Cream

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Mascarpone Cheese or Whipped/WhippingCream
• 1/8 Xylitol (for toddlers and diabetics) or Powdered/Confectioners Sugar

Direction:

1. Whisk the ingredients together until combined. It's ok if you see grains of xylitol just make sure they are distributed well. We don't want to over mix them together because it would turn to liquid.
2. If using whipping cream, it's ok to whip the cream with xylitol until stiff peaks form but if with powdered sugar whipping cream must be whipped first then you can add in the powdered sugar.