Lemon-Ricotta Pancakes

I’m still trying to take advantage of citrus season, so I’m using citrus in anything I can. Including pancakes.  These pancakes are super lemon-y and ricotta-y.  I mean, there are actual chunks of ricotta in the pancakes. If you’re going to go through the trouble of putting in ricotta in pancakes, you should at least notice the ricotta, right?

I first had lemon-ricotta pancakes during one of my first weekends in New York City.  I had brunch at Sarabeth’s–an NYC brunch icon–and I ordered the lemon-ricotta pancakes.  Although they were good, I wanted more. More lemon flavor, more ricotta, and certainly more berries!

This recipe is kind of tricky in that there are way more steps than usual pancakes. But I didn’t mind the challenge–especially for a long holiday weekend. Plus, I used homemade ricotta, and you should too! Ricotta is super simple to make, and is so much better fresh! You can find the recipe here, or just look at the previous post! I served them with maple syrup and fresh raspberries. Whipped cream and fresh berries would work well, too!

Lemon-Ricotta Pancakes

Author:

Vallery

Prep time:

30 mins

Cook time:

30 mins

Total time:

1 hour

Serves:

10-12 pancakes

Ingredients

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter + more for coating the skillet
• 1 cup milk
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs, yolks and whites separated
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon packed lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup whole-milk fresh ricotta

Instructions

1. Place butter and milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring until butter melts completely. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour and baking powder. Set aside.
3. Place egg yolks, 1 tablespoon of the sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla in a large bowl and whisk to combine. While whisking, slowly pour in 1/4 of the milk butter mixture, whisking continuously to temper the eggs and prevent the eggs from cooking due to the hot mixture. Then whisk in the remaining milk-butter mixture until smooth.
4. Add the flour mixture and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined (do not overmix).
5. In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites for one minute. Add remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and salt. Continue whisking until soft peaks form.
6. Using the rubber spatula, fold the egg whites into the reserved batter until just combined.
7. Gently fold the ricotta into the batter, being careful not to break down the texture of the cheese (the batter will be lumpy and streaked with ricotta); set aside.
8. Heat a large skillet over medium heat until hot.
9. Lightly coat the skillet with butter. Use a 1/4-cup measure to scoop the batter into the pan. Cook until bubbles form on top of the pancakes. Flip and cook the other side until the bottoms are golden brown. Repeat with the remaining batter.
10. Serve immediately with maple syrup or whipped cream and fresh berries.

3.5.3208

Recipe adapted from Chowhound.