Blueberry Ricotta Hotcakes

Blueberry Ricotta Hotcakes

 

I have always wanted to try ricotta. Ricotta is a soft Italian curd cheese made from whey, which is drained and then lightly 'cooked'. It's light and creamy with a slightly grainy texture and delicate flavor. It's quite low in fat. [Source] 

I'm so happy with IHCC's theme for this week, Curds & Whey! whereby we can make Diana Henry's dishes that contain any of these ingredients: yogurt, labneh, cottage cheese, feta, ricotta, and other cheeses.

Without a doubt, I choose her Blackberry Ricotta Pancakes but I substitute blackberries with fresh blueberries (which are easier to find in Malaysia). :)

Recipe adapted from here and here.


Ingredients: 
(Makes 28 if you scoop the batter with the measuring spoon set's tablespoon)

1 cup ricotta cheese (I used 1/2 cup ricotta + 1/2 cup softened cream cheese + 1/4 cup grated Cheddar cheese)
3 eggs, yolks and whites separated
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons molasses sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup fresh blueberries, with extra for garnishing


How to:

1. Mash ricotta, cream cheese, and grated Cheddar cheese in a bowl with egg yolks, one egg white, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Fold in flour and whisk until smooth.

2. Beat the remaining two egg whites until stiff, then carefully fold into the ricotta mixture followed by the blueberries. Mix well and stand for 10 minutes.

3. Heat up a frying pan and lightly grease with vegetable oil.

4. Cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip with a spatula, and cook until browned on the other side. Repeat with remaining batter.

5. Serve warm, garnished with more blueberries.

Ricotta, cream cheese, grated Cheddar cheese.

Mash and mix the wet ingredients.

The pancake batter.

Note: I'm actually quite surprised with the effect of incorporating meringue into the pancake batter. If you look at the list of ingredients again, there's no milk or water or juice. So, the initial batter is quite sticky, resembling cookie batter. But after incorporated the meringue into it, the batter becomes perfectly runny!

Pan-frying the little blobs.

Stack and garnish with blueberries and serve!

Perfect for breakfast. :)

I'm linking this post with I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC) for this week's theme, Curds & Whey!