Gluten-Free Banana Fritters

This is another one that I am proud to present to you. It took a while but I wanted to make sure it was perfectly done with the exact measurements to save you buying more than what you need.

I never liked eating bananas as is, but put a plate of banana fritters in front of me and good luck getting your hand in there for a piece. These beauties are a pancake-like concoction very heavy on the banana. One might ask, what’s the difference between these and pancakes? Well, there’s no milk and since bananas are already a binding agent, only one egg is needed.

This recipe is a wonderful introduction to baking and cooking with gluten-free flours and agents. While of course I miss baking with wheat flour, I have to say I will always look forward to the adventure and science of figuring out exactly which flours and how much of each makes the perfect mixture.

You can be a bit liberal with these portions. In otherwords, you can avoid skimming the tops of the tablespoons with the back of a knife for an even measure. Also, the ripeness of the banana you use determines the weight and chunkiness of the fritters you make.

Gluten-Free Banana Fritters

Ingredients

  • 5 ripe large bananas
  • 1 large egg
  • 3 tbsp tapioca starch
  • 4 1/4 tbsp white rice flour
  • 3 1/2 brown rice flour
  • 2 1/4 tbsp potato starch
  • 1 tsp xanthan gum or guar gum
  • Pinch of salt
  • 3 tbsp white sugar
  • 1/8 - 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 - 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/8 - 1/4 tsp ground allspice
  • 3 tbsp canola oil

Instructions

  1. MASH bananas with potato masher in large glass bowl. Whisk in egg until well blended. Set aside.

  2. ADD all dry ingredients, including sugar in separate glass bowl. Using clean whisk, mix until well blended.

  3. POUR dry ingredients into banana mixture. Mix with whisk until well blended. batter will get thicker.

  4. PREHEAT canola oil (or a frying oil of your choice) in small frying pan over medium-low heat (between numbers 3-4).

  5. DROP batter into hot frying pan by 1/4 cup servings. Fry and flip until golden brown on both sides.

  6. COOL on plate covered with paper towel to soak up excess oil.

  7. You can add a dusting of confectioner's sugar over the fritters and serve accordingly. These are meant to be eaten with the hands.

Notes

After-the-fact Wisdoms:

Potato starch and potato flour are NOT the same thing. Please make sure you get exactly what a recipe calls for, for this agent

Tapioca starch and tapioca flour ARE the same thing. Usually a package will label it as either, or as tapioca starch/flour

White rice flour and glutinous sweet rice flour(still gluten-free) are completely different elements. Also be specific when using recipes calling for either ingredient.

Guar Gum and Xanthan Gum can be used 1:1 in recipes

You can use as ripe a banana as you want. However I would advise to wait until some spotting has started on the skin. Unripe bananas are more starchy and do not have the same sweetness when eaten or cooked.

As the oil gets used up add more to the pan, allow to heat and start frying again. The skin of these pancakes will be different if fried in less oil.

Bon Apetit and happy eating!