Gingerbread Pancakes with Sticky Bananas

First make the syrup for the sticky bananas. Place the Siúcra rich dark sugar in a pan with the vanilla and three tablespoons of water and bring to a simmer, stirring. Reduce the heat and simmer for a few minutes until a syrup has formed. Set aside.

To make the pancakes, sieve the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and salt into a bowl. Stir in the Siúcra light golden brown sugar and lemon rind. Put the milk, egg and vanilla into a jug and whisk to combine. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and whisk in the liquid ingredients to give a smooth batter.*

Heat a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add a little sunflower oil and smear all over the base with kitchen paper. Spoon in heaped tablespoons of the batter; you should fit in four at a time. Once bubbles begin to appear on the pancakes, then turn them over and cook for another minute or so until golden. Repeat. You should end up with 12 pancakes in total. Keep them warm in a low oven while you cook the remainder.

To make the sticky bananas, heat a large frying pan. Peel the bananas and cut into slices. Add the butter to the heated frying pan and sauté the bananas for a minute or two on each side until golden brown. Pour in the syrup and continue to cook until the bananas have become caramelised and sticky.

Layer up the gingerbread pancakes on plates with the sticky bananas and syrup. Add cinnamon sticks to decorate before serving if liked.