Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

This quick batter cooks into the most tender pancakes for the most comforting breakfast. Milky ricotta and butter, along with tangy buttermilk, lend a soft, sweet creaminess, and well-beaten eggs keep them fluffy and light. Lemon- and vanilla-scented sugar makes the pancakes sweet enough to eat on their own, but they’re fun to serve with blueberry syrup or your favorite toppings. If you prefer soufflé-like pancakes, separate the whites from the yolks and beat them to stiff peaks. Mix the yolks in with the wet ingredients, fold the whipped whites in after the dry ingredients are incorporated and cook as directed below.

Yield: 8 to 10 small pancakes

¾ cup/102 grams all-purpose flour

1½ teaspoons baking powder

¾ teaspoon fine salt

¼ cup/50 grams granulated sugar

1 lemon

1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

3 large eggs

¾ cup/170 grams whole-milk ricotta

¼ cup/61 grams buttermilk, preferably whole milk

2 tablespoons/28 grams unsalted butter, melted, plus room-temperature butter for cooking and serving

Blueberry Syrup or other toppings, for serving (optional)

Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Heat a griddle or large nonstick pan or well-seasoned cast-iron skillet over medium-low.

Add the sugar to a large bowl, then finely grate the zest of the lemon directly over the sugar.

Using your fingers, gently rub the zest into the sugar.

Add the vanilla and whisk to evenly moisten. Add the eggs and whisk until foamy on top.

Next, add the ricotta, buttermilk and butter, and whisk until well blended.

Add the flour mixture and gently stir until no traces of flour remain.

Generously butter the griddle, then drop a scant ¼ cup batter onto it. Repeat, spacing the rounds at least an inch apart. Cook until the bottoms are golden brown and the tops are bubbling, 2 to 3 minutes.

Flip and cook until the other sides are golden brown, about 2 minutes more. Repeat with more butter and the remaining batter. Serve warm, slathered with butter and blueberry syrup or other toppings if you’d like.

TIP: If you don’t have ricotta on hand, a large spoonful of sour cream gives a similar effect. This recipe is unnecessarily complicated. I always add lemon zest, vanilla (and cinnamon, not sugar) but I don’t bother to separately mix them. I just put all ingredients in a bowl and briefly whisk together. We also like to drop in blueberries as each pancake cooks (to avoid turning the whole batter blue).

These were easy and delicious. I used plain milk with lemon juice instead of buttermilk and the pancakes still turned out perfectly fluffy.

Bobby Flay's lemon-ricotta pancakes have been my go-to for a while. Similar to this recipe, but a bit simpler: no buttermilk, no vanilla, simply dry ingredients in one bowl, wet in another. The clincher: warmed lemon curd for the topping.

I use whole fat Greek yogurt for many things, as sour cream on baked potato or a cucumber salad. I’d also use it in pancake batter instead of ricotta here. It gives the tang of buttermilk and fluffy texture. I’ve used it for years in cornbread batter as well.

These are wonderful! Lightly lemony, super tender, easy to assemble.

One tip, though: I was intrigued to see that it's easy to make just a third of the recipe, because it calls for 3 eggs; I was making them for my wife and me - and we don't need 12-14 pancakes! I measured carefully throughout, including adding exactly 1/4c batter per pancake to the griddle . . . and wound up with just 3 pancakes, not the expected 4. So, if making for 2 people, you might want to make 2/3rds of the recipe.