Ricotta Pancakes with Creamy Lemon Sauce

These Ricotta Pancakes with Creamy Lemon Sauce – are creamy, pillowy and delicious. Something  a little bit different for your weekend brunch.

Pancake experimentation.  The possibilities are limitless!

90% of the time I stick to my classic pancake recipe (the one I use in my blueberry lemon cheesecake pancakes), but every so often I like to experiment and try something different.

These ricotta pancakes came around after  Chris and I took a trip to London. We had breakfast in Kings Cross at a restaurant called Granger and Co. I had Ricotta hotcakes with banana and honeycomb butter, and wow! They were so good! I considered recreating that whole recipe at home (and maybe I still will), but first I wanted to do some ricotta pancake experimentation.

I’ve made ricotta pancakes before, but found them to be:

1. A little too heavy, or
2. Too eggy

The creaminess of the ricotta, combined with too much flour can be the thing that makes pancakes too heavy. There’s a temptation add more flour to make the batter quite thick – in order to get extra tall pancakes. I find a slightly thinner batter works better to ensure a light pancake.

Don’t worry though – you won’t end up with flat pancakes. We’re going to add whisked egg white into the mixture to ensure nice tall, fluffy-but-still-creamy pancakes. I’m also only using 2 eggs (many ricotta pancake recipes call for 3 or even 4 eggs), as I’m not a fan of overly eggy pancakes.

Two eggs were just enough to get the rise in the pancakes without that eggy taste.

Before we get on with the recipe, let’s quickly talk about the lemon sauce.

It’s like a lighter, creamier version of lemon curd crossed with a light custard, and it’s sooo good. It’s very simple to make – everything goes into one pan – eggs, butter, lemon zest and juice, honey and double/heavy cream. It’s then stirred and heated until thick, then strained. That’s it, done in about 5 or 6 minutes.

For the pancakes, we mix the ricotta, milk, egg yolks and vanilla extract together. It will look a little ‘bitty’, but that’s fine – it won’t effect the outcome of the pancakes. Mix in flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt. Then whisk 2 egg whites in a separate bowl. Stir 2 tbsp of the whisked egg whites into the batter. Once combined, carefully fold in the remaining egg white.
Grease your pan or griddle with a little butter and spoon out big dollops of the batter. Cook turning once until lovely and golden.

Pile up those pancakes and drizzle on the lemon sauce. Finish with a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds. The pomegranate adds a gorgeous juicy crunch.  They’re a must, so don’t leave them out.

Then take the obligatory photo of a slice of 5 pancakes on a fork that you can not fit in your mouth, despite nearly dislocating your jaw to do so.

Like these pancakes? Here are some other ideas (hover over to see titles – click to see the recipe):

The Ricotta Pancakes with Creamy Lemon Sauce Recipe:

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5 from 2 votes

Ricotta Pancakes with Creamy Lemon Sauce

By Nicky Corbishley

These Ricotta Pancakes with Creamy Lemon Sauce – are creamy, pillowy and delicious. Something a little bit different for your weekend brunch.

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 15 minutes mins

Total Time: 25 minutes mins

Servings: 3 servings (3 pancakes each)

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Ingredients

• ▢ 240 g (1 cup + 1 tbsp) ricotta it should be firm – make sure any liquid is poured off
• ▢ 180 ml (3/4 cup) milk
• ▢ 2 eggs separated into yolks and whites
• ▢ 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ▢ 120 g (1 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
• ▢ 1 tsp baking powder
• ▢ pinch salt
• ▢ 1 tbsp unsalted butter

Lemon Cream Sauce:

• ▢ 3 eggs
• ▢ 50 g (1/4 cup minus 1 tsp) unsalted butter cut into small cubes
• ▢ zest and juice of 1 lemon
• ▢ 3 tbsp honey
• ▢ 3 tbsp double/heavy cream

To Serve:

• ▢ 1 pomegranate - fleshy seeds only (see tip below)

Instructions 

• Start with the lemon sauce. In a medium-sized saucepan, mix together the eggs, butter, lemon juice, lemon zest, honey, and cream. 
  3 eggs, 50 g (1/4 cup minus 1 tsp) unsalted butter, zest and juice of 1 lemon, 3 tbsp honey, 3 tbsp double/heavy cream
• Heat slowly whilst stirring slowly with a whisk all the time. After about 4-5 minutes of stirring, the sauce will start to thicken. Keep stirring, until the sauce is the thickness of a light custard, then turn off the heat. 
• Strain through a sieve to remove any lumps of egg white and lemon zest. Put one side.
• Now make the pancakes. Place the ricotta, milk, egg yolks, and vanilla into a mixing bowl and stir to combine (it will look a little lumpy, don't worry, that's just the ricotta texture - you won't notice lumps in your pancakes).
  240 g (1 cup + 1 tbsp) ricotta, 180 ml (3/4 cup) milk, 2 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Add the flour, baking powder and salt, and stir until just combined.
  120 g (1 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour, 1 tsp baking powder, pinch salt
• Place the egg whites in a separate bowl, and whisk until stiff.
• Add 2 tbsp of the egg whites to the pancake batter and stir in to loosen the mixture, then carefully fold in the remaining egg whites until just combined.
• Place a large frying pan (skillet) or hot plate over a medium high heat. Grease the pan with the butter – wiping off any excess, so it’s just lightly greased.
  1 tbsp unsalted butter
• Use approx. 1/3 cup (about 90ml) of batter per pancake. Place on the hot griddle (you may need to make this in 2 or 3 batches). Turn down the heat to medium-low and cook for 2-3 minutes until it starts to bubble at the edges. Then turn the pancakes over and cook for a further minute or two until golden. Repeat with the remaining pancakes, greasing the pan lightly each time.
• Divide the pancakes between three plates. Pour over the sauce (you can reheat for a few seconds, but it should still be warm). Sprinkle on the pomegranate seeds then serve.
  1 pomegranate

Notes

How to remove seeds from a pomegranate:

Cut the pomegranate in half.  Then hold half of the pomegranate cut side down, lightly in the palm of your hand.  Hold your hand over a medium-sized bowl and whack the back of the pomegranate with the back of a wooden spoon.  The pips will fall into the palm of your hand and then into the bowl.  Keep going until you get all the pips out.

.

Can I make this ahead?

The pancakes are best eaten freshly cooked. However, you can quickly cool leftover pancakes, then cover and refrigerate for up to a day. Place in the toaster to heat up until warmed all the way through.

The lemon sauce can be made ahead. Cool it quickly, cover and refrigerate, then reheat in a pan over a low heat until warmed through before serving.

 

Nutritional Information is per serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 799kcal | Carbohydrates: 77g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 44g | Saturated Fat: 24g | Cholesterol: 387mg | Sodium: 260mg | Potassium: 752mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 34g | Vitamin A: 1615IU | Vitamin C: 28.7mg | Calcium: 391mg | Iron: 4.2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Like this recipe? Leave a comment below!

This post was first published in November 2014. Updated in March 2019 with new and improved recipe, new copy and photos.

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