Filled with cherry jam and dusted with confectioners' sugar, our rich ricotta pancakes are sure to please the entire family. When spooning the jam into the pancakes, place it in the center of the batter to ensure the jam stays neatly tucked inside. The pancakes puff up considerably when cooking, so fill the wells with just the amount of batter specified in the recipe. Kids will enjoy helping to prepare the pancakes. They can whisk all of the ingredients together. Then, after an adult carefully measures out the amount of batter and jam to go into each well, a child can spoon it into the pan.
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 Tbs. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
Zest of 1/2 lemon
3 egg yolks
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
5 egg whites
4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
7 Tbs. cherry jam
Confectioners' sugar for garnish
Directions:
In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, granulated sugar, salt and lemon zest. In another bowl, lightly whisk the egg yolks. Whisk in the buttermilk and ricotta. Whisk the egg yolk mixture into the flour mixture until well combined; the batter will be lumpy. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff but not dry peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, gently stir the whites into the batter in two additions.
Put 1/4 tsp. butter in each well of a filled-pancake pan. Place over medium heat and heat until the butter begins to bubble. Pour 1 Tbs. batter into each well. Place 1/2 heaping tsp. cherry jam in the center of the batter and top with 1 Tbs. batter. Cook until the bottoms are golden brown and crispy, 3 to 5 minutes. Using 2 skewers or toothpicks, flip the pancakes over and cook until golden and crispy, about 3 minutes more. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining batter.
Dust the pancakes with confectioners' sugar just before serving. Serve warm. Makes about 30.
Williams-Sonoma Kitchen.
