Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Continuing my breakfast foods theme from last week, today I decided to make lemon ricotta pancakes for lunch (because like I said, I never actually eat breakfast during breakfast hours). I had some reservations about these particular pancakes because I thought the ricotta cheese might make them dense, but I was happily mistaken.  These were some of the best, fluffiest, pancakes I've had in a long time.

The ingredients for these pancakes are as follows: eggs, ricotta cheese, lemon zest, flour, and a little sugar. That's it. No milk, no leavening ingredients, not even butter! How does something without leavening agents become light and fluffy? Well, it's all in the technique. To make these pancakes, the eggs are separated. The yolks are combined with the rest of the ingredients, and set aside. The whites are beaten until they can hold stiff peaks, meaning that when the beaters are lifted out of them, the peaks don't fold over.

Egg yolk mixture

Egg whites holding stiff peaks

Once both are whisked and beaten, they need to be combined. This is where patience really becomes a virtue, and a gentle hand really is the best. Can't rush this part at all. The trick is to blend the whites into the yolk mixture without deflating the egg whites. If they become deflated, the pancakes will come out flat and dense, which isn't a good look. The way I've always been taught was to take 1/4 of the whites and whisk it into the yolks to lighten it a tad. Then fold the rest of the whites into the yolk mixture with a rubber spatula. This is where the process slows to a crawl. This takes time, patience, and a very gentle touch. The extra time is worth it in the end though.

Whites folded into the yolk mixture

Once your mixture looks combined, it's time to cook! I don't have a griddle, so I used a nonstick pan instead. I poured about a half cup worth of batter into the pan, which led to a mini-disaster. This particular batter spreads, so it became a lot larger than I anticipated. In addition, I am terrible at flipping pancakes. They tend to come out a little screwy looking, and this time is no exception. My first two tries were too large, my spatula too small, and they ripped in half. However, third time is the charm and it came out perfectly round and golden brown.

Don't attempt to flip until little bubbles appear on the surface of the pancake!

Now, for the blueberry syrup. It was pretty simple to make. Combine the berries, maple syrup, honey, and lemon juice in a pot, and simmer until the fruit starts to break down a little and the honey melts. Here's the fun part... I had the choice of either digging out the traditional blender from the pantry to finish the syrup, or take the lazy way and use a stick blender. No big surprise, I chose the stick blender. Now, a word of caution. Stick blenders cause a lot of splatter. Having hot syrup splatter on me was not my definition of fun. Perhaps next time I won't be lazy and use a traditional blender and save myself some pain.

Blueberries, syrup, honey, and lemon juice simmering

All that's left is putting the pancakes on a plate and smother with the syrup, and it is divine. The lemon zest gives the pancakes a nice citrus flavor, while the ricotta cheese adds a nice, smooth texture. The blueberry syrup is sweet, but not overly so, which is what I prefer. The only thing that I would change next time is to let the syrup reduce. It was a little too thin for my preference, but other than that, these pancakes are a winner.

The finished product!