Go-To Breakfast (Ricotta Pancakes)

I know some of you are thinking, "there she goes with the food pictures again". And to that I tell you, I write about what I know and I know breakfast. Also, I'm in need of a place to keep the recipes that I use often, organized, and with ingredients measured by weight, not by volume. Given my dislike of paper-products and the lack space on my cookbook shelf, this blog lends itself as a natural alternative, don't you think?

This is another pancake - yes! I figure I'll get all my regular pancake recipes out of the way first. Well, this is a wonderful one that is completely unlike the regular-old-buttermilk pancake that you're probably used to. It takes a bit more work than the german pancake, but about equal time as a regular pancake. Nevertheless, if you're not in the mood to clock full 30 minutes of hands-on time in the kitchen before sitting down with the coffee, look elsewhere (no less delicious) for your breakfast needs.

This recipe came from Deb, of course! She also has an awesome pancake 101. You should check it out if you're into that sort of thing (which you probably are if you've made it this far in my food ramblings). She makes her ricotta pancakes with sautéed apples, which are incredibly tasty, albeit time-consuming. Definitely don't forgo the apples if you have the time. I think thinking they might be especially good when fall rolls around. All I'm doing here is posting the pancake recipe with weights rather than volume.

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4 large eggs (separated)
328 g (1 1/3 cups) ricotta cheese
18 g (1 1/2 tbsp) sugar
freshly grated zest from 1 lemon
62 g (1/2 cup) flour
pinch of table salt
butter for the pan

Mix together egg yolks, ricotta cheese, sugar, lemon zest, and flour until just combined. In another bowl, beat the egg whites and a pinch of salt with an electric mixer until they hold stiff peaks. Whisk a quarter of the beaten egg whites into the ricotta mixture. Fold in the rest of the egg whites. Voila! The batter is done. Heat your trusty cast iron skillet on medium-low heat and cook the pancakes 1/4 cup of the batter at a time. 

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Don't try to make a giant pan-size pancake with this batter like I did. This ricotta pancake is a delicate creature and won't flip very well. You'll end up with, quite literally, a hot mess. But the cool thing is that if you are only cooking for yourself you can save the rest of the batter in the fridge for the next morning.