Raisin pancakes with ricotta & orange

I absolutely love the purity and taste of fresh ricotta. It’s a perfect ingredient to add to recipes where you don’t want the integrity changed, but you want the texture and protein. It takes on any flavour it sits next to and makes pancakes more robust and delicious. I added raisins to one of my favourite easy pancake recipes and doused them in maple syrup and Greek yoghurt to make a delicious breakfast treat. You could use honey if you prefer and add fresh whatever fruit takes your fancy. These double up as crumpets, so make them smaller and serve them with butter and jam for tea.

How to make raisin pancakes with ricotta & orange

I rehydrated the raisins in boiling water to plump them up and then drained them while I made the batter. I was tempted to add a splash of Grand Marnier to the mix since I was adding orange zest.

I firmly believe a boozy hit of liqueur is always a good idea. This is an easy recipe made easier if you have an electric mixer. You first whip the egg whites to stiff peaks and then set them aside.

Using the same bowl, blend all the other ingredients together in minutes. You don’t want to overwork the batter, here. In the end, I gently folded in the egg whites to retain as much of the air as possible before frying them to a golden brown in a pan with butter.

I added the zest of an orange but lemon would work too or leave it out completely. The pancakes aren’t sweet because I like to add syrup at the end, but if you prefer a sweet pancake, add an additional 2 – 3 tablespoons of caster sugar.

A few of my other favourite pancake recipes:

Blueberry pancakes with ricotta and orange

Fluffy blueberry & banana pancakes with a dash of oats

Crepe pancakes filled with banana and caramel

Brown butter dutch baby pancake with blueberry & lemon

Dutch baby pancake with caramelised pink lady apples and cinnamon

 Recipe – makes about 16 medium/large pancakes

Raisin pancakes with ricotta & orange

A delicious raisin pancake recipe with ricotta and orange

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup raisins
• 3 large free-range eggs separated
• 1½ cups flour
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• 1 cup buttermilk
• ½ cup milk
• Finely grated zest of an orange
• 150 g ricotta
• butter from frying
• Sugar water / beaten egg / or butter to brush the bread

Instructions

• Put the raisins in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Allow to soak for about 10 minutes then drain and set aside to cool.
• Whisk the egg whites with an electric mixer until they form stiff peaks and set aside in another bowl.
• Place all the remaining ingredients, except the ricotta, raisins and butter, into the same bowl you whisked the whites and mix briefly to form a batter. Very quickly beat in the ricotta until just combined. Add the beaten egg whites and fold this through the batter. Add the rehydrated raisins and fold these in.
• Heat a large non-stick frying pan and melt a knob of butter. Drop generous dollops of batter into the pan (depending on the size you want to make). I find ¼ cup makes a medium size pancake. Once bubbles appear on the surface flip them over to cook until golden on the other side.
• Serve immediately with a drizzle of syrup or honey and a dollop of Greek-style full-fat yoghurt and extra fruit as desired.

Author: Sam Linsell

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