Bill Granger's ricotta hotcakes

Half a tub of leftover ricotta in the fridge provides a perfect excuse to whip up a batch of Bill Granger's famous ricotta hotcakes. Light, soft and incredibly fluffy, it really does make a difference when you beat the egg whites separately and fold them into the batter oh-so-very gently.

Surprise pockets of ricotta are the best part about these hotcakes. If you fold them in at the very last minute there's a much better chance of preserving generous clumps of ricotta.

Bill serves these with banana and honeycomb butter but I find a few slices of banana and a dousing of maple syrup more than suffices.



Bill Granger's ricotta hotcakes

170ml (about 3/4 cup) milk
4 eggs, separated
1 cup plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
250g ricotta
50g butter
banana
maple syrup

Mix together the milk and egg yolks in a large mixing bowl until combined. Sift in the plain flour, baking powder and salt and stir through gently until almost incorporated. Add the ricotta and stir gently.

In a separate clean and dry stainless steel bowl, whisk the egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Gently fold half the egg white mixture into the batter using a metal spoon or wooden spatula. Fold in the remaining egg whites.

Melt a small dab of butter in a non-stick frying pan and cook small batches of hotcakes over a low to medium heat, ladling about two tablespoons of batter per hotcake. Flip when golden underneath and cook the other side.

Serve hotcakes with slices of banana and a generous drizzle of maple syrup.

The batter (if there's any left!) does keep in the fridge for 24 hours if covered with clingfilm.