Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Special Pancakes

I mentioned in a previous post that my little Jack's 3rd birthday was last Sunday. In honor of him and his precious memory, we invited my in-laws over for brunch. I wanted something special so I made wild blueberry and ricotta pancakes, along with scrambled eggs, bacon, fresh fruit salad sprinkled with sugar in the raw, coffee and orange juice. We had a leisurely brunch-- just the 4 of us and Autumn under the table chewing up used napkins :-)

I thought these pancakes were really good and fluffy. The first couple batches were really good then the egg whites separated a bit and the batter got a little watery. Also as the frozen berries thawed it made the batter a grayish tone. Next time I'd try these with fresh berries rather than frozen. A little orange or lemon zest might be nice too.

This recipe also makes quite a bit of pancakes. I got about 25 4-inch pancakes. My FIL loved them and had about 6 pancakes plus all the fixin's. They were a great texture and flavor and sweet enough that they didn't really need syrup, but we added it anyway. A little sweetened berries made them even better. Make these pancakes for your someone special, I'm sure they'll love them.

Wild Blueberry & Ricotta Pancakes from Fine Cooking

  • 3 large eggs, separated
  • 3/4 cup part-skim ricotta, drained of excess liquid before measuring
  • 2 1/4 cups buttermilk
  • 5 Tbs. granulated sugar
  • 1 Tbs. pure vanilla extract
  • 3/4 tsp. table salt
  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen wild blueberries (don’t thaw)
  • Vegetable oil for the griddle

In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and ricotta. Whisk in the buttermilk, sugar, vanilla, and salt.

In a small bowl, stir the flour, baking powder, and baking soda with a spatula. Fold into the egg yolk mixture until just combined.

Beat the egg whites in a clean, dry bowl until they hold firm peaks. Fold gently into the batter until just combined. Fold in the blueberries.

Lightly oil a griddle and set it over medium heat. The griddle is ready when water droplets dance briefly on the surface before disappearing. Ladle a scant 1/4 cup batter per pancake onto the griddle. Cook until the undersides are nicely browned, the edges look set, and small bubbles appear on the surface, about 3 minutes (see note). Flip and cook until the second sides are golden brown, about 3 minutes more. Repeat, re-oiling the griddle between batches, until all the batter is cooked.

NOTE: On medium high heat, these pancakes were browning up quickly but the middle was still uncooked. So I turned the heat down and they cooked slower and more uniform.

The egg whites in the last bit of the batter separated a bit causing it to be a little watery so I added a couple more tablespoons of extra flour to thicken it up.

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30 comments:

  1. These pancakes look great! I also love the bowls of fruit.

    I'm glad you were able to have such a peaceful, nice birthday celebration. That is so sweet. :)
    *HUGS*

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  2. Oh these pancakes look beautiful. Definitely special. Hugs and kisses, from Sook

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  3. What a great way to celebrate Jack's memory. Hugs!

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  4. YUMMY...I love a good pancake recipe! Thanks :D

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  5. Lovely fluffy looking pancakes. I love it when the blueberries pop in the pan and ooze into the batter.

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  6. Truly exceptionally special pancakes indeed.....

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  7. What a nice way to honor your Jack. I love family breakfasts.

    We generally sprinkle our frozen blueberries onto the pancake batter on the griddle so the color doesn't run through. (I said "we" but you know I really meant Jim! haha)

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  8. I've made sour cream pancakes (pioneer womans recipe) but never one with ricotta cheese. Sounds really yummy with the berries :)

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  9. They look perfect!! That many pancakes would be perfect for my family!!

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  10. Now you've done it, you've made me so hungry for blueberry pancakes I'm going to have to make them this morning...for just me! Should I tell Hubby I ate pancakes after he left for work???

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  11. what a sweet way to honor Jack! these pancakes look delicious! love the berries inside,

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  12. I love ricotta pancakes. Yours look so delicious with the fruit Monica!

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  13. There have been a lot of pancake posts floating around recently, but this one looks especially delicious! The ricotta sounds marvelous and I'd love to give them a try.

    To avoid that grayish-melty-blueberry aftermath, I normally pour the batter onto the griddle and then sprinkle in the frozen blueberries.

    There are never words good enough to express sympathy, empathy and hope when you're talking about a child's death. All I can say is that even though we've never met, I'm sending you warm wishes and thoughts as you think about your son.

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  14. i know this will sound odd, but i've never used ricotta in pancakes! have i been missing out or what?

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  15. These look amazing! Now, is the used napkin portion of the recipe just an appetizer for the dogs or should I suggest my guests try some? ;)

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  16. They look delcious. I'm sorry for the loss of your child. I thought that is what you meant before, but didn't want to ask. I think remembering his birthday with a small celebration (is that the wrong word?) is really both sweet and special.

    Sue

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  17. These look delicious! I love the berries on the side. And your photos are terrific. Very inspiring.

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  18. Easily one of my favorite breakfast treats :).

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  19. Sounds like a beautiful way to spend a special day with your family.
    Thought I was the only one with a crazy dog who chewed up napkins.

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  20. The pancakes look delicious. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

    Best,
    Bonnie

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  21. P.S. Checked out your photoblog. I can't believe you got those amazing shots with a point and shoot! Amazing

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  22. yum! adding this to my file to be made in the near future...
    sweet birthday wishes to you :o)

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  23. What a sweet way to honor your son's memory.

    The pancakes look delish! Love the idea of adding ricotta cheese. I have to give it a try!
    Love your blog!!!!!

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  24. I've been craving ricotta pancakes (one of my first blog posts was for lemon ricotta pancakes). Love them. The fruit it gorgeous, especially with the raw sugar-- so simple, but very mouth watering to feast my own eyes on. You definitely channel your love in what you make in the kitchen-- and how well you photograph it.
    xoxo

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  25. Yum!!!! Look at all the new yummies on here!!!! I have to go check out some of these new delicious looking pictures on your side bar :)

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  26. Monica have I ever told you I have issues with homemade pancakes? They never turn up nice and fluffy. Mine are always thin sad looking things. They taste okay but not as good as they should. Is there some sort of trick that I'm missing?

    I love ricotta so I bet these are especially good.
    ~ingrid

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  27. Love, Love, Love berry pancakes! These look so delish:) What a wonderful way to honor your son:)
    This is my 1st time by your blog very nice love the pics! I would like to invite you to come by and check out our new food blog:) http://thepepperedpantry.blogspot.com/

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  28. I love berries and they make even plain pancakes great, but your pancake recipe seems delish even without.

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  29. Oh, goodness, just stumbled onto your blog, I never thought that cheese could go into pancakes before, this is something that I need to try. For sure ;p Looks so decadent!

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  30. Mmm, they sound like perfect berry pancakes! I could eat more than 6 :)

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Thank you for your supportive comments. I appreciate each and every one of them!