Love Lemon? Leftover ricotta from last night’s dinner? Start the day with a twist to the traditional pancake. Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Lemon Whipped Cream and Blueberries are simply lovely. The pancakes are light and tender; and crisp around the edges. The added lemon zest and juice in both the pancake and whipped cream create a bit of a tart and natural flavor. Topped with fresh blueberries, this will be an instant hit at weekend brunch. Give your arm a break and get your electric hand mixer out to prepare the egg whites and wonderful whipped cream.
Lemon Zest and Fresh Blueberries
Egg Yolks [left] and Ricotta Mixture [right]
Egg Whites, whipped into stiff peaks [left] and Pancake Batter [right]
Pancakes, cooking the first side, in large pan
Lemon Whipped Cream Ingredients in a Bowl [left] and Whipped Cream [right]
| Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Lemon Whipped Cream and Blueberries |
Author: Serves: Yields twelve 3-4″ pancakes
- 4 large eggs, separated
- 1 1/3 cups ricotta
- 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar, plus 1 tbsp for whipped cream
- 1 1/2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest, plus 1 1/2 tsp for whipped cream
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice, plus 1 tsp for whipped cream
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- Pinch of salt
- Butter for the griddle
- 1/2 cup chilled heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup fresh blueberries
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees and set aside a baking sheet.
- In a bowl whisk together the egg yolks ricotta, sugar and lemon zest to create a pale mixture. Stir in flour until just combined. If you do not have a whisk (or don’t want to clean one), use a fork.
- In a separate bowl with an electric hand mixer beat the egg whites with a pinch a salt until they hold stiff peaks. To lift and lighten the ricotta mixture, fold in 1/4 of the egg whites into the mixture until combined. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites into the mixture to make the pancake batter.
- Heat a griddle or large pan over high heat until it is hot enough to make drops of water scatter over its surface. Reduce the heat to moderate and add a 1-2 tsp of butter to the pan. If you do not have a brush, swirl the pan so that the butter covers it. Working in batches, pour the batter onto the pan by 1/4 cup measures. Depending on how big your pan is, you can cook up to 4 pancakes at a time. Cook the pancakes for 1-2 minutes on each side, or until golden. When cooking the first side of each pancake, you will see the batter begins to bubble and the bottom set. If the pan gets too dry making the pancakes difficult to handle, add additional butter to the pan as necessary. Place the pancakes on to the sheet and transfer to the oven to keep them warm.
- To make whip lemon whipped cream, add heavy cream, 1 1/2 tsp zest, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp lemon juice to a bowl. Using the electric hand mixer, beat the ingredients until it lifts and thickens into soft peaks.
- Remove the pancakes from the oven. To serve, stack a few pancakes on top of one another, add a dollop of whipped cream to the top of the pancakes, and blueberries over and around the pancakes.
