Banana Cointreau Pancake

I was on the Ruby Princess last year.  At dinner one night, there was this delicious dessert.  Simple, yet wonderful.  Don't ask me the name though.  Seriously, I don't remember.  What I remembered, was it was made with just a few simple things really.  Vanilla ice cream, banana, lemon, sugar, and Grand Marnier.  How delightfully simple and delicious.  

When I first came home, I realized that I didn't have vanilla ice cream, and substituted it with chocolate ice cream scoops.   Nope, that did not work!  The chocolate flavor in the ice cream totally overwhelmed the delicate and subtler flavors of citrus and banana.  Nope!  After that however, I didn't remember trying to do this when I had a full tub of ice cream in my fridge.  What a silly silly person!  Yup, that's me alright!

One weekend morning, I decided that I wanted to make pancakes, crepe-like pancakes.  Ya know, like the one over here, for Strawberry Crepe Rolls.  I love just munching on the slightly sweet pancake just as is, and I love it with a crispy edge.  While she's making them, I'm always hanging around, pulling the crispy edges off from the pancakes, and leaving the softer center parts on the plate.  She would scold me, but I think deep down, she probably found that amusing.  Or at least I hope she did! hahaha

I went off on a tangent didn't I?  Ok ok, I'm back I'm back.  So, I had banana in my pantry, and I was just thinking what I should do with my Cointreau again...  Need I say more?  Let's jump in! 

Tips: 
1- Instead of Grand Marnier, I used Cointreau.  You can substitute with any orange liqueur you have or prefer.
2- The alcohol in the liqueur should have mostly been evaporated by the time it's done.  However, if you don't wanna take any chances, do try and substitute with juice from a full orange with 2 tablespoons of orange zest.
3- Pair it with lemonade would bring out the citrusy flavor even more.
4- Avoid anything too strong, like strong coffee, for it will overwhelm the softer flavors of the pancake.  I like it paired with latte however.

Banana Cointreau Pancake 

Pancake

1 cup all purpose flour

2 tbsp sugar

1 egg

pinch of salt

water (about 1-1/2 cup)

butter for pan frying (about 3 tbsp)

 

Banana Topping

2 bananas, sliced

3 tbsp sugar

1 lemon

3 tbsp Cointreau

 

Combine flour, sugar, salt, and egg in a 2-cup measuring cup.

Then fill the measuring cup with water to the 2-cup line.

Whisk and combine well.

Heat up a frying pan over medium heat with a little butter.

When the butter has melted and started bubbling a little, pour some crepe batter into the pan (about 1/4 cup).

Tilt the pan around so that the batter forms a rough circle.

Fry until the edge both sides are lightly browned.

Repeat the frying until all batter has been used up.

Combine sugar, juice from a lemon, and Cointreau in a pan, when sugar has melted and starting to bubble, add in sliced bananas.

Cook until banana slightly soften around the edge.

Plate banana and sauce over crepe and serve.

Enjoy and have a good week to come!  If you try this, let me know what you paired it with and how you like it.