Food is the element that brings us to the table, where life is lived and memories are made.
This is a sentence that popped into my ever-wandering brain while recipe testing several months ago. I couldn’t find a piece of paper, or my phone so I wrote it down on the inside of a plastic wrap box that was sitting on the counter. I have pens and paper all over the house and yet, at that moment I was paperless. This is so me.
I’ve always felt life was lived at the table. A place to breathe and dream, share thoughts and opinions (always opinions around the Bennett table), to connect and inspire. I know it sounds cliché, but the table where we dine, truly brings us together.
My family is typically all about dinner. Breakfast has always been optional for some reason. If my oldest gal is home she grabs a banana and my youngest has a handful of granola. I prefer a few cups of coffee and maybe an oatmeal cookie or a slice of gluten-free toast with grass-fed butter and local honey. But when I do make breakfast, I go big.
Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Lemon Curd and Vanilla Bean Maple Syrup. I said I go big. 🙂
I make ricotta pancakes on occasion, usually laced with the typical citrus flavors and then topped with berries and cream or jam. However, my sister was in NYC recently and came back raving about Lemon Ricotta Pancakes topped with Lemon Curd and drizzled with Vanilla Bean Maple Syrup and, well, I couldn’t stop thinking about Lemon Ricotta Pancakes so I had to make them.
This is my tasty version of Lemon Ricotta Pancakes. I make my own lemon curd but you can certainly purchase it to save time. I was wondering if I’d enjoy the vanilla bean maple syrup combined with all the lemon… I’m a bit of a purist when it comes to flavors, but these two flavors paired deliciously. Just in case the vanilla bean maple syrup wasn’t a hit with the fam, I also served a wild blueberry syrup which was also complimentary.
If you love this recipe, or other recipes that you prepare from Karista’s Kitchen, join me on Instagram @karistaskitchen and tag your photos #lifearoundmytable and @karistaskitchen. I’d love to see what you’ve prepared! I’m totally a nosy person and I love to know what other people are cooking. Just ask my friend Heidi. I can’t email her without asking what she’s cooked that week.
Thank you all for sharing this website and its social media. I deeply appreciate your follow and support!
Delicious Wishes and Loads of Love,
Karista
PS: for those of you who follow me on social media, you’ll note I decided to use an out take photo… even though I didn’t see the black nail polish until editing. Thank you all for your comments!!
Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Lemon Curd
Notes
I've prepared a lot of lemon curd recipes and I have to say I like this one the best. It's from Elinor Klivans, Fine Cooking Magazine Issue 26
Thanks to my sis, Kristin Bryan, for this exquisite recipe idea! Love you!
Ingredients
- 1 15oz tub whole milk ricotta (or scant two cups)
- 1 large lemon zested and juiced
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For the Lemon Curd
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- 2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
For the Vanilla Maple Syrup
- 1 -2 vanilla beans, sliced in half and beans scraped out (we're using the beans so don't toss)
- 1 cup real maple syrup
Instructions
To make the Classic Lemon Curd
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer, about 2 min. Slowly add the eggs and yolks. Beat for 1 min. Mix in the lemon juice. The mixture will look curdled, but it will smooth out as it cooks.
- In a medium, heavy-based saucepan, cook the mixture over low heat until it looks smooth. (The curdled appearance disappears as the butter in the mixture melts.) Increase the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, about 15 minutes. It should leave a path on the back of a spoon and will read 170°F on a thermometer. Don't let the mixture boil.
- Remove the curd from the heat; stir in the lemon zest. Transfer the curd to a bowl. Press plastic wrap on the surface of the lemon curd to keep a skin from forming and chill the curd in the refrigerator. The curd will thicken further as it cools. Covered tightly, it will keep in the refrigerator for a week and in the freezer for 2 months.
To make the Vanilla Bean Maple Syrup
- Heat the maple syrup in a small pan until warm and then stir in the vanilla beans. Let the syrup simmer slightly for a few minutes, take the pan off the heat and let it sit for about 30 minutes while you prepare the pancakes.
To make the Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
- In a large bowl mix together the ricotta cheese, eggs and sugar until well combined. Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt and then stir it into the ricotta mixture. Last stir in the lemon juice and zest. The batter should be thickish but easily dolloped on a griddle.
- Heat a non-stick ceramic pan or a cast iron griddle over medium heat and add a little butter. When the pan is hot but not smoking, add 1/4 - 1/3 cup sized dollops of batter to the pan. Spread the batter a bit for thinner pancakes. Cook the pancakes for about 2-3 minutes or until you see the underside is golden brown and the top is bubbling. Flip and cook 2-3 minutes longer until the pancakes are cooked through. Repeat with the remaining pancakes.
- Place the pancakes on plates, top with lemon curd, fresh berries and vanilla bean maple syrup. Serve immediately.
I’m unclear on the vanilla bean usage…scrape the bean(s), and add only the “bean” to the syrup, or the scrapin’s, too?
Hi Penni, I slice the vanilla bean lengthwise and open it and all the moist sticky stuff (the seeds) inside is what I scrape and add to the syrup. Then I toss the whole outside bean or you could place it in a mason jar with sugar and the sugar will take on some of the vanilla bean flavor. Let me know if you need more help!
Thanks for clearing that up, and for another delicious recipe!!
You’re so welcome!