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 monosaturated 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.
My kids love this recipe. I’ve made it with various combinations of the ricotta/cottage cheese and sour cream/yogurt, sometimes just yogurt bc that’s what we had. They all work fine for the discerning palates of the 4-7 year old crowd.
It is a good pancake recipe but for me leans more into savory than sweet, so I would potentially serve with some nice jam, even guava jam (or “goiabada”) to make it sweeter. I havent tried to freeze it but will check if it would still be good.
I don’t care for the flavor of these cakes. I personally prefer more butter, more salt, more vanilla in my cakes. I’ve made them in the past with ricotta and they were fluffy but this time I made with cottage cheese and the texture was not pleasant. Not rubbery, not fluffy, but heavily wet while still risen. I appreciated the higher protein content than most pancakes and for my kids it’s just a vehicle for maple syrup so not all is lost.