Our lemon ricotta pancakes with homemade lemon curd are a crowd-pleaser at the Wolf Cove Inn. Lite and with the tang of lemon zest, lemon curd, berries and basil, your taste buds will be singing, swinging and down right getting it on.
Lemon Ricotta Pancakes Recipe
Before I get to the recipe, there’s a little story about these pancakes. One of our neighbors on Tripp Lake asked if we would open the inn during our off-season just prior to Christmas. Of course we would. During the wedding weekend, they had their rehearsal dinner at the Wolf Cove Inn on Friday. They also asked about holding a post-wedding day break up brunch for 50 on Sunday. (As a side note, I’m thinking to myself – “holy bleep! I have to feed 50 people, twice the number of guests we serve on a busy weekend!”) Of course we said “yes.”
So AJ (my assistant chef) and I go with our favorite dishes that morning – our Quiche (which I’ve blogged about before) and lemon ricotta pancakes. Normally the orders split anywhere from 50/50 savory/sweet to 75/25 savory sweet. That morning it was running 80/20 sweet/savory. AJ and I are looking at each other and saying “what’s going on – we are going to run out!” As it turns out, the matriarch of the family was one of the first to arrive and she ordered the lemon ricotta pancakes. She loved them and became a living advertisement for the entreé. New guests would arrive, she’d tell them “you have to try these lemon ricotta pancakes.”
Let’s just say we had lots of leftover quiche – but everyone who wanted the lemon ricotta pancakes got them.
Now For The Recipe
Makes 4 to 6 servings (about 12 pancakes)
Start to finish: 30 minutes
Note 1: If you wish to make this ahead, keep the wet and dry mix separate until ready to prepare. When the two are combined, the enzymes start to party-hearty and the batter gets nice and airy. The party settles down after a few hours and while still totally yummy, the pancakes cook up a bit flatter. Use any leftover batter for waffles.
Note 2: The photos that follow show 3x on all ingredients – we serve breakfast for lots of folks!
Ingredients (Lemon Ricotta Pancakes)
- Dry mix
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- Wet mix
- 1 cup ricotta (or reduced fat ricotta)
- 2 eggs
- 2/3 cup buttermilk
- Juice and zest of 1 lemon (3 tablespoons lemon juice, ~2 teaspoons zest)
- Accompaniments
- Lemon curd (recipe follows)
- Fresh berries (blueberries, raspberries)
- Thinly sliced basil leaves
- Confectioners sugar
Time To Start Making Yumminess
In a bowl, mix flour with sugar and baking soda. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk ricotta with eggs, buttermilk, lemon zest and lemon juice until just combined. Whisk in flour mixture until just combined.
Place griddle or nonstick skillet over medium heat and coat with nonstick cooking spray, or use electric griddle preheated to 350 degrees.
Working in batches, pour 1/4 cup portions onto griddle and cook until pancakes are golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side.
To serve, place 2 or 3 lemon ricotta pancakes on a plate and garnish with lemon curd (hint – we fill a small piping bag and use it to apply curd to pancakes), berries, basil and confectioners sugar. If you decide against the lemon curd, 100% Maine Maple Syrup will do the trick too.
And you can have some fun with presentation!
Lemon Curd (yields 3 cups)
(Courtesy of Food Network)
Ingredients
- 3 lemons
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 lb butter, room temp
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup lemon juice (3-4 lemons)
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
Preparation (Lemon Curd)
- Peel zest from lemons and process in food processor with sugar until zest is finely minced.
- Cream butter and “lemon sugar”.
- Beat in eggs one at a time.
- Add lemon juice and salt.
- Pour into 2 quart saucepan.
- Cook on low heat until thickened stirring constantly, about 10 minutes. The lemon curd will thicken at about 170 degrees, just below a simmer.
- Remove from heat and cool in refrigerator until somewhat thickened.
Unused lemon curd may be frozen for later use.
Want to see more of what you might enjoy for breakfast? The check out the Wolf Cove Inn Recipe Collection.
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