Ricotta hotcakes

I can't remember when or how the hype for ricotta hotcakes started.  It was as if one moment the perfect pancake had only flour, butter, milk (or buttermilk) and eggs, and the next, to be perfect, it had to have ricotta and egg whites beaten to stiff peaks.  And quite rightly so, because ricotta hotcakes are just so damn delicious!   If I didn't find the process a bit too much for when I'm still blurry eyed and I had the foresight to have a tub of ricotta on hand, I would make ricotta hotcakes everytime I went to make pancakes.  Though, making them only once in a while has its appeal too.  I've only tried Bill Granger's recipe for it seeing as his hotcakes are just as famous as his scrambled eggs, and also because I love the guy's cooking.

The batter can be kept for 24 hours in the fridge (covered with plastic wrap).   Bill serves them with a honeycomb butter, though of course, it'll go well with maple syrup or lemon and sugar, a dollop of strawberry conserve... This time when I made them, I really did plan in advance as I had made some lemon curd the day before, and the pairing was absolutely sublime. 

Ricotta hotcakes

From one of Bill Granger's cookbooks (I forget which one, sorry!)
Serves 4-6





Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cups ricotta
• 3/4 cup milk
• 4 eggs, separated
• 1 cup plain (all-purpose) flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 50g butter

Method

1. Place ricotta, milk and egg yolks in a mixing bowl and mix to combine
2. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl.  Add to the ricotta mixture and mix until just combined.
3. Place egg whites in a clean dry bowl and beat until stiff peaks form.  Fold egg whites through batter in 2 batches with a metal spoon
4. Lightly grease a large non-stick frying pan with a small portion of the butter and drop 2 tablespoons of batter per hotcake into the pan (avoid overcrowding!)
5. Cook over low-med heat for 2 minutes or until hotcakes are golden.
6. Turn onto other side and cook until golden and cooked through.