Snow-capped breakfast mountains
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Folks, just a quick note to let you know that nominations for the 2007 Food Blog Awards are now open. Having glanced over the categories, I don’t think I actually qualify for any of them, but you should definitely stop by and nominate any blogs that you love that fit the categories! Now, onto the pancakes! |
Now tell me that this picture doesn’t make you hungry. I dare ya. Ethereally light and moist ricotta pancakes resting ever so gently on a pile of fresh, sweet, ruby-red strawberries, dusted in a generous helping of powdered sugar.
Here, want a napkin to wipe up that drool? 
Now, if you’re even the slightest bit familiar with Aussie chef and toothpaste icon Bill Granger1, you’ll know that his ricotta pancakes are famed for being the breakfast/brunch food of choice, and as a result most folks who visit any of his cafes in Sydney end up ordering them and joining the list of converts. Unfortunately, the last time I made it to Sydney quite some years ago, I was unaware of who exactly Bill was and thus didn’t seek the chance to try them out - something I regret quite a bit now (mostly because I would rather have every teeth pulled than willingly go back to Sydney - I tell you, the town planners were on crack cocaine when they designed that city) as I don’t see myself visiting the area again anytime in the near future.
However, thankfully all is not lost, and continue reading to find out why…
Recently, I have been lucky enough to have an independant grocery store open in my area (YEAH! F*CK YOU, COLES!), and whilst its small and no frills, they’re doing things that I highly approve of - such as training their staff to keep a careful on on the produce (there is a staff member manning every section and constantly checking over all the fruit/veg/meats/chiller cabinet goods, removing anything that is no longer fit to be there and keeping the shelves stocked with a minimal amount of produce - enough so that you have choice, but not so much that everything risks going off), and using 100% biodegradable plastic bags. The flip side of this is that the store is extremely bare bones and has no kind of print advertising, though frankly I think of this as another bonus as they’re producing less waste this way 
Anyway, back to the story…
So, I was browsing the grocery store the other day when I noticed that there was some extremely loud commentary going on somewhere in the store. At first I thought that someone had just turned up a tv WAY too loud, I scanned the store to spot a little figure in the corner who appeared to be in the midst of cooking and waving his arms around. As it turned out, it was an Australian/French chef by the name of Gabriel Gaté who happened to be giving an in-store presentation. Now, while I know OF him, I don’t actually know much about him, so I decided to take a closer look, being very careful to look very intensly at the various product aisles that I was passing so that I wouldn’t look like I was making an actual beeline in his direction. Deciding that the dairy chiller was about as far as I wanted to go, I parked my trolley and cast a lazy eye over the goods on display while keeping one ear in Gabriel’s direction to listen to what he was saying.
Something about garlic…and Greek cooking…ahh, poor bastard, he may be a good chef but he’s pretty darn uncharismatic and not much good at getting an audiences attention.
Anyway, having lost interest in the cooking demo, I began to look over the goods in front of me in earnest when I spotted a tub of ricotta right in front of my face. Hmmm…I’d never cooked with ricotta before, but they suddenly reminded me of Bill’s pancakes, so I took ‘em off the shelf with the intention of trying them the next day.
And the verdict?
Fluffy? Obscenely so.
Light? As a cloud.
Moist? Almost TOO moist.
Would I make them again?
Ahh, now there’s the sticking point. You see, to me pancake breakfasts are all about lazy mornings, kicking back with a well brewed pot of tea, taking your time and slowly moving about. Since this recipe requires the beating of egg whites to firm peaks, this meant waking up the household on a Saturday morning at 8am - something that wasn’t entirely appreciate. Of course, the pancakes did make up for it, but the complaints I got before they sat down to enjoy the pancakes kinda killed that thrill. So yes, I would make them again, but perhaps only for a brunch or special occasion. Otherwise, my 5-minute pikelets will more than suffice for a regular pancake indulgence…
Bill Granger’s Ricotta Pancakes
Ingredients
For the honeycomb butter
250g/8¾oz unsalted butter, softened
100g/3½oz sugar honeycomb, crushed with a rolling pin (you can use a Crunchie bar for this)
2 tbsp honey
For the hotcakes
225g/8oz ricotta
170ml/6fl oz milk
4 eggs, separated
140g/5oz plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
a pinch salt
50g/1½oz butter
To serve
banana or strawberries
icing sugar for dusting
1. Make the honeycomb butter first. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Shape into a log on clingfilm, roll, seal and chill in a refrigerator for two hours.
2. Place ricotta, milk and egg yolks in a mixing bowl and mix to combine. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Add to the ricotta mixture and mix until just combined.
3. Place egg whites in a clean dry bowl and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites through batter in two batches, with a large metal spoon.
4. Lightly grease a large non-stick frying pan with a small portion of the butter and drop two tablespoons of batter per hotcake into the pan (don’t cook more than three per batch).
5. Cook over low to medium heat for two minutes, or until hotcakes have golden undersides. Turn hotcakes and cook on the other side until golden and cooked through.
6. Transfer to a plate and quickly assemble with other ingredients.
7. Slice one banana lengthways onto a plate, stack three hotcakes on top with a slice of honeycomb butter. Dust with icing sugar. You can use strawberries in place of the banana.
Technorati Tags: Bill Granger, pancakes, strawberries, breakfast, brunch, recipes, dessert
1 - Bill Granger has an insanely white and picture-perfect smile, and was featured in a commercial for Macleans toothpaste earlier this year…I looked for a video on youtube but alas, nothing can be found 
Others who have tried this recipe:
- Thanh at I Eat Therefore I Am
- Trish from TeaLilyPhotography
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Comments
Angela What a fantastic shot! I’ve seen Bill make these pancakes several times and I keep thinking that I should give them a go, but never seem to get around to it.
Thanh Those pancakes look great. I love pancakes for weekend brunch. I’m going to give these a go.
Cherie Hi! Just wanted to say that those look fabulous!!! I still havent mastered the perfect pancake. I did try a recipe for ricotta pancakes that came out well. Basically the ricotta made them more rich but didnt drastically change the flavor.
MyKitchenInHalfCups Um Ellie I’d never feel uninterested in Greek and garlic!
I have enjoyed ricotta pancakes (not exactly this one) and they really are wonders!
Amelita (Squishy) I to have always wanted to cook with ricotta, one of those other things I have to get to in a very long list. Yours look beautiful. You should have got Mr Gate’s autograph, you would have given him a thrill. 
As for Bill, I love some of his recipes but his overly metrosexual shirts, hair style and smile just seems to get under my skin. Goodness knows why?
Ellie Linda - Awww, thank you! That’s a lovely compliment 
I do hope you give some of them a try, I’d love to hear what you think!
Angela - Thanks hon They are quite marvellous as far as pancakes go, and while I wouldn’t make them every day, its worth the effort once in awhile
Anh - I’d definitely make them for a special occasions 
Thanh - Pancakes for weekend brunches are perfect, especially with a side of seasonal fruit salad and fresh yoghurt! Ahh, I’m getting hungry just thinking of it!
Cherie - Thanks hon I think the ricotta is what gives these pancakes their almost achingly soft tenderness and moistness, flavour-wise I didn’t notice too mujch either
Tanna - LOL! I’d usually be interested too, but there was something in his presentation manner that half put me to sleep!
Kat - Thanks hon
Amelita - LOL! Do you ever think that maybe food blogging is just a little bit dangerous for our wallets and hips? I know that my list of recipes and ingredients to try grows by the day and I wonder if I’ll ever catch up! And to be honest, I know what you mean about Bill - he’s just too clean cut and perfect and it gets under my skin too! That, and I’m not a fan of the whole metrosexual thing :/ Personally, I like my me a little rough around the edges Like Gordon Ramsay, yum!
Lynn - Thanks hon, and I’d agree except my waistline is telling me not to
ilingc Hey Ellie,
I love Bills Ricotta Hotcakes. Fortunately I don’t wake up at 8am in the morning so they’re quite often on the menu for brunch. I even manage to get Alv hooked on them and mind you, he’s quite a picky eater!
Ahh how I miss the ruby red of colours of the strawberries back home. The ones I’ve seen here so far are all kinda bright red.. almost artificial.
ps. and yes, I am super hungry now that I’ve seen that stack of pancakes!
Deborah The waffle recipe I use requires the folding of the beaten egg whites - so I only make them when everyone is up!! These do sound wonderful - I’ve never had pancakes with ricotta, but I’ve always wanted to try them!
Ellie I-Ling - Ahh, I wish I didn’t wake up so early on my weekends, but I must be getting old as I need to be in bed by midnight else I cease to function, and I automatically wake up anywhere between 6:30 - 7:30am (o_O) damn body clock! Hope you’re having a great time over there
Clumsy - hehehe, thanks hon
Deborah - If only someone could invent a silent eggbeater, it would make our lives SO much easier! The ricotta doesn’t add much in the way of flavour, but it does do wonders for the moisture content and texture
Johanna love your photo - looks light and delicious - but my heart sank a little when I saw your bit about beating egg whites - definitely not my way to start the day but would like to try these some time - and by the way, my mum always used to think Gabriel the Gate very sexy because she loves a french accent
Thanh Ellie, I made these pancakes and they’re great. I love the combination of everything together, it just works. It wouldn’t taste the same if you leave something out. I usually don’t like honeycomb but the honeycomb honey butter really works.
Ellie Johanna - I’d say save these for a special brunch, that way you won’t be starting the day with beating egg whites, which is a little jarring on the nerves And while I can see where your ma’s coming from (I have a HUGE crush on Manu from Ready Steady Cook), I have to admit that I’m a sucker for an English, then Irish accent before it
Thanh - If I’d ordered them, I probably wouldn’t have batted an eyelid at the butter…but it was just a bit of a balking thing once I saw how much oil these babies drank up, plus all those eggs…I thought I’d have it as a lighter dish
trish Thanks for the recipe - they turned out unexpectedly good! I’ve catually tried Bills honeycomb butter and it is amazing….so I thought I wouldn’t ruin it (aka I’m a bit lazy) and used ice cream and maltesers instead
Ellie Trish - Just saw your version, think it looks damn fine and probably a nice quick alternative to the honeycomb butter
Wow!
That looks incredibly yummy!
I have to try this some day, as a matter of fact, I have to get around to trying quite a few of your recipes. Just about everything you post looks so good!