Light, Fluffy and Rich Pancakes
Updated June 14, 2016
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
- Total Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
1 cup ricotta or cottage cheese
1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
3 eggs, separated
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup all-purpose flour
Dash salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
Butter or grapeseed or other neutral oil as needed
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
32 grams carbs; 169 milligrams cholesterol; 362 calories; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 19 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 438 milligrams sodium; 15 grams protein; 7 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Beat together the ricotta or cottage cheese, sour cream or yogurt and egg yolks. Combine baking soda, flour, salt and sugar. Beat egg whites until fairly stiff but not dry.
- Step 2
Heat a griddle or large skillet over medium-low heat while you finish batter. Stir flour mixture into cheese mixture, blending well but not beating. Stir in lemon juice and zest, then gently fold in beaten egg whites; they should remain somewhat distinct in batter.
- Step 3
Add about 1 tablespoon butter or oil to griddle or skillet and coat surface. When it is hot, add batter by the heaping tablespoon, making sure to include some egg white in each spoonful. Cook until lightly browned on bottom, 3 to 5 minutes, then turn and cook second side. Serve immediately.
Private Notes
Comments
What I'm wondering is ... I've made other versions of this before, but they never worked. But with this technique they did, and we are loving it. What does the ricotta do, how does it work?
I messed up and didn't separate the yolk and white; used the eggs whole. In an attempt to compensate I whipped some air into the cheese/egg mixture and the pancakes were fluffy and delicious. It's a great recipe that can withstand being messed up like that!
You can skip the beating of egg whites and get a similar lightness and airiness by using only half a cup of ricotta and adding half a cup of cold club soda or seltzer.
Mine came out more wet than fluffy on the inside despite cooking them on low for quite a while. They were cooked through but still creamy so I think something was off. I followed the directions closely, so perhaps it was either the Greek yogurt (maybe I was supposed to use regular yogurt, there was no indication in the recipe) or the type of flour. I’m in France and used type 55, but I’m curious to try 45 and 65 to see if that makes a difference. If anyone has ideas I’m all ears!
How you rate these depends on your expectations: If you're looking for pancakes that rise like a just-unpacked mattress topper, keep looking. The 1/3 cheese/sour cream/flour ratio makes these much flatter and creamier, more like a crepe-cake. Or is that a pan-crepe? I made them to spec, using cottage cheese and sour cream, and they were silky and delicious. And blackberry jam on top! Can't go better.
Not light, not fluffy and too tangy. I liked the simplicity of ingredients of this recipe and disappointed with the outcome. I prefer the cottage cheese pancakes by NY Times.