Ricotta Pancakes with Fresh Strawberry Syrup

There is something sexy about these pancakes, right?

I have to tell you, the first time I heard of the concept of Ricotta Pancakes I was a bit….curious. I watching one of my favorite cook shows, Bobby Flay’s Brunch, and he made Ricotta Pancakes with some weird and awesome concoction of a syrup that I can’t remember. This was about a year ago. Ever since, I have seen Ricotta Pancakes all over the place. So, I gave into my curiosity.

Now some of you are probably frowning your nose up at the thought of adding ricotta to your pancakes. “What’s wrong with regular old pancakes?” If these hadn’t turned out so well, I would agree with you. I have to tell you something that you might think is a lie,these are absolutely positively the best pancakes I have ever made.

Ricotta cheese is very light with mild flavor.If your worried, you can’t taste the ricotta at all. What it does is make the pancakes incredibly moist and fluffy.When I tried them, they tasted like little pillows of heaven. Adding strawberry syrup to the top of the pancakes just made the entire dish delectable and grandeur. I mean…LOOK AT THEM!

Don’t you just want to eat the screen? Like I am seriously typing fast so I can stop looking at this darn picture. I promise you, these pancakes are just as good as they look. I think these pancakes are perfect if you want to make that special person breakfast in bed. Hmmmmm? Am I triggering some ideas? Good. Now get in the kitchen and make things happen.

Ricotta Pancakes with Fresh Strawberry Syrup

Ingredients

1½ c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1½ tsp. salt
3 eggs, separated
1¾ c. + 2 tbsp. milk
½ c. + 2 tbsp. ricotta cheese
¼ c. sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
butter for the griddle
SYRUP
1 lb. fresh strawberries, diced
1 c. sugar
3 tbsp. freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tbsp. orange zest

Instructions

To make syrup: In a medium sauce pan, add the strawberries, sugar, orange juice, and orange zest. Turn on medium heat and stir until sugar is dissolved. Allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes and turn the heat to low and simmer for another 10 minutes. Remove from heat and the syrup will thicken even more.
To make pancakes: In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Separate the eggs. In a separate bowl, whisk together the 3 egg yolks, milk, ricotta cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract. Whisk until all ingredients are well mix and blended. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture use a rubber spatula to mix well. In another separate bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer on medium speed until frothy and then turn on high until soft peaks begin to form.
Use a rubber spatula to fold in the egg whites until all the streaks are well blended. Turn on the griddle to 250-300 Degrees. Lightly butter the griddle and pour half cup of pancake batter onto the griddle and cook on each side for 1-2 minutes until golden. Repeat process until all batter is used. Serve with strawberry syrup as desired.