Ricotta Pancakes

Today seemed the perfect day to make pancakes from scratch. I had been wanting to make another recipe we had enjoyed in Australia, so it was two birds with one stone! One of the cafes Travis and I visited for breakfast in Sydney was No. 9 Cafe, an adorably cute little place around the corner from our hotel. Our goal while we were on vacation in Australia at the beginning of August was to eat at a different dish each time we ordered something, and to not eat at the same place twice or order the same things twice.

By the way, it seemed that a lot of breakfast places in Sydney served organic and free range eggs... I love that! I wish diners in America did that.

Anyway, once I saw the ricotta pancakes on their menu, I knew that's what I had to have. While it doesn't seem like ricotta pancakes in themselves were uniquely Australian, it seemed like I saw them on most breakfast menus, so they have imprinted themselves in my brain in association with Australia. Here's the picture of the original pancakes for reference:

Y'all, these were so tasty. Airy and slightly sweet but not so fluffy that it tasted like a cupcake in pancake form. The poached rhubarb puree was delicious as well- tart and smooth and cold. Unfortunately, rhubarb can usually only be found at the commissary in Okinawa once or twice during the winter, so I'll have to keep an eye out for it once it gets cooler.

Today I just went ahead with some homemade whipped vanilla cream, which was the perfect condiment to these pancakes. I may or may not have pretended that it was ice cream and that I was eating dessert for breakfast.... Maple syrup was also a nice drizzler on top, but with the whipped cream the pancakes didn't need as much syrup as the drier, cake like ones do. It was a nice change from the norm, and I will definitely be making these again soon, hopefully with a poached rhubarb or strawberry puree.

The recipe I used today was not quite as stopchewingmidbitetosayohmygoodgrief delicious as the ones we had in Sydney, but they were still really good. These were a little more thin and flat than I prefer pancakes to be, but the taste more than makes up for that. Again, they're perfect with the whipped cream, so be sure to make your own, as it only takes 5 minutes!

I must insist that you completely forget about any calories that are in this recipe. Enjoy the indulgence and tell yourself that calories in this dish do. not. exist! Just dance a little while you're cleaning your house to burn them off. That way, your taste buds AND your hips will thank you.

Ricotta Pancakes

Slighty adapted from Taste
makes 10-12 pancakes, 4 inches in diameter

1 cup AP flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons powdered sugar (or caster sugar if you have it)
1 pinch cinnamon
125 grams ricotta (about 1/2 cup)
1 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon lemon juice

In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, thoroughly mix together the ricotta, milk, egg, butter and lemon juice. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, taking care to not overmix. Some lumps in the batter are ok.

Heat a skillet over medium heat to the point where you can hold your hand 6 inches off the skillet for 6 seconds without being uncomfortable. Grease the skillet with cooking spray or butter. Scoop about 1/3 of a cup of batter onto the skillet and cook about 2 minutes each side, until lightly golden brown. You'll know when to flip the first time once you see a few bubbles forming in the center of each pancake.

Store in a warm oven on a cookie sheet while you cook the rest of the pancakes. Serve warm with whipped cream, butter, and maple syrup.