These aren’t regular pancakes. They’re each a little piece of heaven. I’ve actually never eaten a pancake that was close to this. So light and fluffy. You really need to give this one a try.
The Recipe
A few days ago, I asked myself, “What would Laura enjoy trying for breakfast?” I thought it would be nice to make her something because she’s been working so hard with her photography. I knew her favorite was waffles, but we don’t have a legitimate waffle maker at the moment. Then I though that the next best thing would be pancakes. Not plain ol’ pancakes – awesome ones.
I have this cookbook called The New Cast Iron Skillet Cookbook that was written by Ellen Brown. I’ve only pulled one recipe from it since I began contributing to this blog. If memory serves, the previous recipe was for German apple pancakes that were stupid good. I mean, really good. I hoped for the same luck with the second recipe.
I’m not sure anything is ever going to come close to those apple pancakes. I’ll be honest with you. I truly loved them. These pancakes, however, come in second as a breakfast. They have so many interesting features that they’re not difficult to find satisfying. Ricotta cheese, orange zest, marmalade, whipped egg whites. So many things that differ from traditional pancakes.
Ingredients
Serves: 4
For the Pancakes
Four Large Eggs, Separated
1 1/3 Cups Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese
3 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar
Zest From One Orange (Keep the Orange)
1/2 Cup All-Purpose Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Cream of Tartar
3 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
For the Topping
3 Tablespoons Orange Marmalade
Juice From 1/2 Orange
Step-by-Step Instructions
The topping I’m using for this recipe was Ellen Brown’s idea. I highly suggest you try it. If, however, you prefer regular maple syrup to orange marmalade, by all means, go with that.
Combine Ingredients
Separate the 4 eggs by placing the yolks in a medium sized bowl and the whites in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the ricotta cheese, sugar and orange zest to the medium sized bowl with the yolks in it.
With a fork, mix these ingredients together well.
Next, add the flour to the same bowl and mix until all the ingredients have been combined. Don’t over mix here. Just enough so there’s no more dry flour.
Make the Topping
In a small bowl, add the orange marmalade. Then, add the juice from half of the orange you took the zest from. Mix well.
Whip the Egg Whites
Place the bowl into the stand mixer and begin to mix the egg whites on medium speed just until they begin to foam coarsely. At that point, add in the salt and cream of tartar and switch the speed to high. Continue to mix until the foam stiffens up and it keeps its shape. This should take just a few minutes.
Combine Ingredients From Both Bowls
Take 1/4 of the whipped egg white mixture and add it to the bowl with the batter in it. Use a fork to combine these ingredients together completely. Then, add the remaining egg white mixture to the batter and gently fold it in using a rubber spatula. You don’t want to over mix here either or you’ll remove too much of the fluff. The batter should stay light and airy.
Cook the Pancakes
Warm a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. When it’s to temperature, add some (1 tablespoon) of the butter and wait for it to melt and cover the bottom of the pan. Then, using a measuring device, add 1/4 cup amounts to the skillet. You may need to use a fork to tamp down the batter since it’s so fluffy.
You only need to cook each side of the pancakes for a minute or so. Keep an eye on them and make sure they don’t burn. When the first side turns golden brown, flip and do the same for the other side. When they’re totally finished, remove them from the pan and add them to a plate. Follow these instructions until the batter is gone.
The Final Pancakes
When all the pancakes have been plated, cut up the other half of the orange into slices and add them to the plates. Then, spoon some marmalade topping on top of the pancakes and serve.
Boy, this was a good one.
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