Ricotta Pancakes with Blackberry Compote

My husband Matt and I love relaxed, slow breakfasts on Saturday mornings. The coffee is bottomless, there’s no place to be, and we can let the day just happen. We are huge fans of breakfast foods in general so we always have the staples on hand, but I love just letting inspiration strike and creativity flow in the kitchen (after the caffeine kicks in, of course!).

Pancakes have always been a breakfast comfort food for me. Growing up, my dad made them every Saturday morning. He was always bragging that he knew the recipe by heart but always secretly changing it in some way. I loved helping him flip the pancakes and got so excited when he would save the “baby pancakes” for me, the little drops of batter that accidentally fell on the griddle. We always had them with butter and pure maple syrup - no add-ins or anything fancy.

Recently, I’ve started getting creative with pancakes. I love to serve them with a warm fruit compote or make them seasonal by adding things like pumpkin spice. They are so versatile - literally anything can be added in! So when I ended up with a bunch of homemade ricotta cheese leftover, I decided to try out ricotta pancakes.

Honestly, it’s like new worlds are opening up for me with this whole ricotta business. I wrote in a previous post how I tried making it from scratch for the first time and am never going back. It was light, fresh and delicious. Adding this homemade ricotta into pancakes was maybe the best decision I’ve made - they turned out amazing.

I saw a few techniques out there for ricotta pancakes - things like separating the eggs and folding fluffy egg whites into the prepared batter. On slow Saturday mornings we want easy and streamlined recipes, so I took a gamble and left that technique out. I’m happy to say it worked like a dream! The ricotta, eggs, sugar and vanilla are mixed together first, almost whipped up to create volume, then I added the rest of the ingredients.

These pancakes are so light and airy, but are packed with a creamy sweetness that can only be attributed to that beautiful added ingredient - ricotta. In order to compliment the sweetness, I opted to top these pancakes with a blackberry compote. Any other slightly tart fruit would also work, like raspberries, cherries or even passion fruit. The other option is to go topping-less! These pancakes would be just as delicious with maple syrup or nothing at all.

I hope you’ll try these pancakes out the next time you know a slow, lazy Saturday is in store!

Serves: 2 | Prep Time: 10 min. | Cook Time: 20 min. | Author: Liz Genders

blackberry compote

1 cup (8 oz) blackberries

1 Tbs. honey

2 Tbs. lemon juice

1/2 tsp lemon zest

1/2 tsp cornstarch (optional)

ricotta pancakes

1/2 cup ricotta cheese (strained if watery)

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 c. sugar

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup milk

butter or oil for cooking (I used avocado oil)

method

Begin by making the blackberry compote. In a small saucepan, combine berries, honey, lemon juice and lemon zest. Cook ingredients on medium-high heat. Once the liquid in the pan begins to boil, stir often and crush the berries using the back of a spoon. Continue to cook until the whole mixture thickens slightly. If you prefer a thicker compote, you can add cornstarch and let it boil for a few more minutes. Once cooked, set aside to let cool.

Heat a griddle on medium low heat. Wait to add butter or oil until your pancake batter is ready.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the ricotta, egg, sugar and vanilla. Mix on medium to high speed until the ingredients appear fluffy and fully incorporated. In a separate bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir to combine. While the stand mixer is running on a low speed, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Slowly add milk to the stand mixer, starting with 1/2 cup, then adding the other 1/4 cup if the mixture still looks thick. The consistency should be easily pourable, slightly thinner than cake batter.

Pour scoops of the batter into the hot griddle. Wait a few minutes until bubbles form and then pop around the outer edges, then flip in one fluid motion. Let the other side cook for about 3 minutes or until golden brown. Keep in mind that as you keep cooking the pancakes, your skillet may get hotter and hotter so you might need to turn it to a lower temperature.

Plate the pancakes and pour the blackberry compote over top. Garnish with fresh blackberries and a few mint leaves. Enjoy!