Ricotta hotcakes

A week or so ago I was in Anglesea, in Victoria, on the Great Ocean Road. Hanging out with two of my oldest, dearest friends. Walking on the beach. Watching Pride and Prejudice on the couch in front of the heater. Drinking on the terrace of a pub overlooking the sea. And eating ricotta hotcakes. It was a pretty great weekend. Especially because the sun was out when rain was predicted. And because my friends had all this amazing stuff going on in their lives that merited celebration. It called for a memorable breakfast.

A lot of recipes out there for ricotta hotcakes use a hefty amount of cheese. I prefer this version, which is less dense, lightly sweet, and brilliant for when you have a little ricotta to use up. It's basically a pancake mixture - egg, flour, sugar, milk - but with a small amount of ricotta crumbled in so that each hotcake is studded with airy little clumps of white. Perfect for celebrations, feeding friends, or just because it's the weekend.

Ricotta hotcakes
Recipe adapted from an old Vogue Entertaining (at least I think that's where it's from - I didn't note the source when I scribbled it down many years ago)

I like these best with a dollop of Greek yoghurt and some berries, with maple syrup liberally poured over the top. If you don't have any ricotta in the fridge - don't forget you can easily make your own with milk and a small amount of vinegar or lemon juice. Click here to learn how.



50g sugar
2 eggs
200g self-raising flour 
milk
50g ricotta
butter for greasing the pan

Beat together sugar, eggs, flour and enough milk to make a smooth mixture. Add ricotta and stir with a fork to break it up, but leave chunky pieces through batter. 

Heat a teaspoon of butter in a frypan and when hot, spoon batter into pan to desired size (I like my hotcakes about the size of my palm). Cook til golden brown on each side, adding more butter to pan if needed.

Serve warm with maple syrup.