Lemon Ricotta Pancakes - Life at Bella Terra

I first tasted these delicious lemon ricotta pancakes at Shutters on the Beach in Santa Monica, California many years ago. These pancakes are so light and lemony that I can literally still taste them in my memory.

My desire to make them at home is impetus for purchasing the restaurant’s cookbook, The Summertime Anytime Cookbook by Dana Slatkin.

I am not a big breakfast eater. Since I tend to like either no breakfast or lighter meals, this recipe fits the bill. Not sure how healthy these are but they do pass the light and tasty test.

Perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner, the batter can be made the day before and refrigerated~~allowing for preparation flexibility. Ingredients are pretty straight forward~cake or all purpose flour, butter, eggs, ricotta cheese, lemons and lemon extract or oil. Of course, I love using this microplane as a zester, which makes quick and easy fresh lemon zest.

One key to making these light and fluffy is beating the egg whites and then carefully folding them into the batter. Pour 1/2 cup of batter onto a griddle or pan.

Cook until bubbles begin to form on the tops of the pancakes and the bottoms are golden. Be careful flipping them, as they are delicate.

Continue cooking until the pancakes are golden on the other side and dry in the middle.

The recipe says to sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar~~oops, I forgot to do that. However, they were still amazing when served with warm maple syrup and fresh berries.

The only problem I see with this recipe is that since they are so light and flavorful, the tendency is to just eat more of them!

As soon as I finish the blog post, I am going to make a batch!

The recipe states it makes 6 large pancakes, but we made 10 smaller ones with the batter.

I really hope you try this recipe~~it’s one of my favorites!

If you enjoy this post, please share on Pinterest.

Lemon-Ricotta Pancakes

This is the most requested recipe from Shutters on the Beach restaurant.

4 large eggs
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp lemon extract or lemon oil
1/4 cup cake or all-purpose flour
pinch kosher salt
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 Tbs unsalted butter (melted and cooled slightly)
4 large egg whites
Canola oil or nonstick spray, for cooking
Confections' sugar, for serving
Maple syrup, for serving
Mixed berries, optional

In a medium bowl, combine the egg yolks, sugar, lemon zest, and lemon extract; whisk until light in color and aerated, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the flour and salt, then whisk in the ricotta cheese and melted butter until just incorporated.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks. Fold them into the batter, being careful not to overmix. The batter can be prepared the night before and refrigerated.
Heat a griddle or a large sauté pan over medium heat and coat it lightly with oil. Pour 1/2 cup circles of batter and cook until bubbles begin to form on the tops of the pancakes and the bottoms are golden, about 2 minutes. Then flip carefully and continue cooking until the pancades are golden on the other side and dry in the middle.
Transfer the pancakes to serving plates and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, or keep them warm in a 200 degree F oven until ready to serve. Serve with syrup and berries on the side.

Makes 6 large pancakes; serves two to three

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