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| I know, it even says "kids, tear free" on it. Yet, I was unashamed. Tennis playing penguin and all. (Seriously, he has on a headband, yet no pants.) |
Not gonna lie, I left the shower that morning smelling like a scrumptious blueberry lover's dream. (Yet still no better at tennis. Hmmm...) Which of course made me think, "Ohh, now what can I cook with blueberries?"
Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce & Crème Fraîche
Pancakes
3/4 cup cake flour
1/2 cup 2% milk (can use whole if you'd like)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp lemon zest (that's about two lemons)
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup part skim ricotta cheese (can use whole milk ricotta if you'd like)
1 tbsp canola oil
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste (or extract if you don't have it)
2 large eggs, separated
To begin, I wanted to get my lemon ingredients done and put aside. First, we zest. Just buy a good zester. What you happily (or grumbily) fork out the money for is so worth the fine, pith free, flavor-punched wisps you can only get by using the proper tool.
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| Barely skims the surface to give you the essential part of the lemon. |
Next, juice. I have a handy citrus press that I do like, however, I used an antique juicer at a friend's house last year while canning and knew I had to get one for myself. I only buy things to use, not to collect, so this was not going to be a showpiece. One online auction lost, followed by one I won and there I was, the proud owner of a 1940's art deco style glass juicer. (Need I mention that I absolutely LOVE it? Should a person be this excited over a juicer?) It's so nice to have simple, time-tested tools that our grandmothers would have used. (Yes, I have SUCH a soft spot for grandmothers, so I will do whatever I can to be like them. Minus the wrinkles and pigmentless coif.)
What I like about this type of juicer is 1.) It makes juicing as easy as any other fancy tool. 2.) You can keep the yummy pulp if you want to use it, which I did. 3.) You look so traditional while using your own woman power to juice a lemon that your dish is bound to be a success.
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| How cool! It's glass art. Wonder what little grandma owned it before me! I hope my use for it would have made her proud. |
It's important to zest the lemon before you juice it. (Yes, I know this from doing the opposite.) A tip: I roll the lemon on the counter a few times while whole, giving it a good softening up, then when I go to juice it, it's already loosened up.
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| Perched atop the juicer - the tart lemon half. Ready to be mashed! |
I got the blueberry sauce ready, so that once the pancakes came hot off the grill, I could serve them up without delay.
Blueberry Sauce
1 pint fresh blueberries
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp corn starch
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp agave nectar
3 - 4 tbsps water
Into a small saucepan went, well, all the stuff. Isn't that the best kind of recipe! Throw everybody in there and put on low to simmer. Stir frequently so nothing sticks to the bottom.
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| It's close to how you make jam. |
Allow the blueberries to soften and breakdown some. If you want it more liquidy and loose, just add more water to your pleasing.
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| A jammy quality to the consistency. |
Full disclosure: I'm not one to order pancakes when I go out. (Makes this post extra strange, no?) Two reasons. 1.) I'm not much into overly sweet breakfasts. 2.) One bite and they sink in my stomach like a rock, causing me to feel full and unable to take a second bite. If I can't do that, how on earth am I expected to make it through an entire short stack! What could I do to avoid this nasty pitfall when making them at home, I wondered... (Insert dream bubble with question marks above my head.)
So, I used the handy-dandy Internet to read up and learn me some important stuff. This is what I unearthed. There are two keys to supreme pancake making. Here is the first one: cake flour.
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| Very glad my favorite flour maker has a cake flour blend. And also thankful Wegmans carries it. |
The magical properties of cake flour can basically be summed up in these three points: 1.) It has low protein content, thus less gluten which can make baked goods tough. 2.) It's very finely milled. 3.) It has a high starch content so it can properly hold fat and sugar without flopping.
1.) I have made WAY too many lists in this blog post. 2.) I will stop doing that from here on out.
Separate two eggs. Throw the yolks into a small bowl and put the whites in a mixing bowl of their own. (More on this below.)
Into a large bowl went these items: flour, milk, baking powder & soda, salt, sugar, lemon juice & zest, vanilla, egg yolks, canola oil and ricotta. Whisk away until well blended. (Note: When the lemon juice hits the baking soda, it bubbles up like a volcano! Adding major fluff potential.)
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| Can you see the bubbles in the bottom right? I felt like a mad scientist. (Moo-ha-ha-ha.) |
The lemon aroma is so fresh and lively from the oils in the zest. Like you picked your fruit off a tree in your own backyard that very morning. (I have no yard, I don't even own dirt, so mine were freshly-picked grocery store types.)
The batter was looking pretty good at this point. Not unlike any normal pancake batter.
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| As expected. |
Back to the egg whites as promised. The second key (okay, I'll really stop the list making after this) is what you do with the egg whites. If you want a light and fluffy pancake, the best thing you can add - is air. Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks.
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| Looks good, but a copper bowl is on my Christmas list this year. |
Add the fluffy egg whites to the batter and gently fold them in, as to not deflate all your hard work putting all that air into them in the first place.
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| Fluffly egg cloud. (And secret air weapon!) |
Another thing I need is a griddle. (Not like I get paid to do this blog... yet.) A large frying pan will do, but don't turn it up full blast. More like medium high. No need to scorch your breakfast and be in an even worse mood in the morning. Liberal use of butter on the bottom of the pan and a quarter cup measurer to scoop evenly.
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| Similar to other pancakes, when bubbles near the edges burst and don't fill back in, they are ready to flip. |
Dark or light, you can choose what you like. Made to order!
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| It's clear I need some flipping practice. This is an acquired skill. (I hid from you my near disaster one that almost missed the pan completely!) |
A couple minutes on each side. And please, oh please, do NOT press them down with the back of your spatula. It's not grilled cheese. We worked so hard to get them fluffy - they need to stay that way. I got 12 out of the batch, btw.
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| My short three stack. |
On top of the stack goes a little warm blueberry sauce.
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| Warm and gooey, it will dribble down the sides. Still has chunks of fruit in it. |
Looks so perfect, eh. But wait! There's more! One final decadence and I'll let you pick up a fork. Crème fraîche. (Pronounced krem fresh.) It's French and they spell things with lots of funny marks on them. But regardless of their strange punctuation and general disdain of Americans, they know how to make amazing food items that I enjoy. Crème fraîche tastes like sour cream, only, a little less tangy. It is pure silky, smooth perfection.
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| Most grocery stores carry it these days. Often used with caviar on cheese blintzes. |
There is a fancy name for taking two spoons and creating sort of an oval shape with ice cream, called a quenelle (which actually originally comes from the name of a dumpling - weird), that I tried to mimic here. You can add powdered sugar too, but really, how much more perfect can this be! Served to you without delay.
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| A mountain of multi-sensory delight! |
Okay, NOW you can pick up your fork. And happily, you will. For once you slice your utensil into the three flavor layers and take your first complete mouthful of all your plate has to offer, you may slip into unconscious bliss for a moment or two. Stay with us, man! You're not going to want to miss one, single, fluffy, fruity, creamy bite. (Heck, I'd marry me after a taste of this amazing breakfast!)
For someone who normally can't get past the first bite of heavy, brick style restaurant pancakes, I cleaned my plate of every delicious morsel. And wanted more! The tart lemon combined with the sweetened berries and the tang of the fancy French cream will send you up to breakfast heaven. (I bet you God totally has these on the menu up there.)
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