{Weekend Brunch} Ricotta Pancakes

We had a perfect Saturday morning that consisted of sleeping in, waking up to sunshine and Curtis whipping up mimosas while I made fluffy ricotta pancakes for brunch. And the cherry on top was that it was warm enough to eat breakfast outside on our deck! 

I took the below recipe from theKitchn and gave it a Hawaiian twist (obviously inspired by Amber’s Maui recap!) by adding macadamia nuts to the pancake batter and topping the hot cakes with Greek yogurt, sliced mangos, bananas and maple syrup. After round one, Curtis suggested chopping the mac nuts before adding them to the pancakes and that was the way to go! 

Fluffy Ricotta Pancakes

1 cup ricotta cheese
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
pinch salt (they turned out kind of sweet, so next time I’d add at least ½ tsp. salt or more)
3/4 cup milk
3 eggs, divided
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Set ricotta in a fine mesh strainer about 30 minutes before you start cooking, to drain off excess liquid. (I didn’t bother!)

Whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Combine ricotta, milk, egg yolks, and vanilla in a separate bowl. (Again didn't bother, after I whipped the egg whites, I just dumped everything in the bowl of my Kitchen Aid and mixed it up.) 

Beat the egg whites in an electric mixer until stiff (this is the important part, beating egg whites = fluffy pancakes!). Add the dry ingredients to the ricotta and milk mixture, stirring gently until just combined. Whisk in a small amount of the egg whites to lighten the batter, then fold in the remaining whites.

Heat a griddle over medium-high heat, and brush the surface with butter. Use a ladle or measuring scoop (we used a 1/3 cup measure) to pour batter onto the griddle. Cook pancakes for about 3 or 4 minutes, then flip, cooking until both sides are golden brown. 

If you’re making the Hawaiian version, add chopped up macadamia nuts to the batter and top with fresh fruit and syrup.