Fluffy Ricotta Pancakes with Homemade Lemon Curd

I have a lot of food related child hood memories.  The smell of home made waffles or pancakes, cooked by my dad, is one of them.  My dad has always been an early riser and would get up, whip the egg whites, measure all the ingredients from memory and cook them to perfection.  I only wish he had thought to replace the butter with ricotta back then because these are incredible.
The pancakes when cooked properly are golden brown with a fluffy just barely cooked interior that melts in your mouth.  Cook on the low side of medium to prevent them from being undercooked.  When I made these for Bill last week I made a very slightly sweetened marscapone cream to go along with the lemon curd (1/4 cup marscapone, 1 tablespoon of half and half and about 1 teaspoon of sugar - whisked).  Enjoy!

Fluffy Ricotta Pancakes with Homemade Lemon Curd

For the lemon curd:

Combine and whisk in a small saucepan:

3 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (reserve zest before juicing)

Cook on medium - to low heat stirring constantly until the mixture covers the back of a wooden spoon.  This will be about 10 - 12 minutes.  Take off heat and continue stirring.

Have ready:

4 tablespoons of unsalted butter cut into 5 - 6 pieces
1 - 2 teaspoons lemon zest

Gradually stir in butter one piece at a time.  Then stir in lemon zest.  Allow to cool before serving.

(If you triple this recipe it makes a great lemon tart)

Ricotta Pancakes

Combine and whisk:

1 Cup Part Skim Ricotta
3/4 cup milk
3 egg yolks
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Combine, whisk and then add to wet ingredients:

3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

Beat until stiff:

3 egg whites

Add a small amount of the egg whites to the batter mixture to lighten then fold in remaining egg whites.  Batter will be very fluffy.

Heat griddle on low to medium heat.  I use a spray oil to grease the griddle.  This is a low and slow process as the pancakes will be slightly gooey in the middle and crispy and dark on the outside if the heat is too high.   I use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop the batter onto the griddle.  Gently even out the surface of the pancake with a spoon.  Flip when golden brown.  Serve with lemon curd.  They are also delicious with fresh raspberries or blueberries. Enjoy!

PS.... I had some commercial lemon curd in the pantry and was appalled at both the texture and taste of it.  I've done a rather stark picture to show you the difference.  The sunny yellow lemon curd on the left is mine - it looks like the commercial one probably doesn't have as much egg yolk and used cornstarch as a thickener.  The gluey consistency, gray color, and lack of true lemon flavor were very disappointing.