I recently saw a bit on a late night talk show that prompted viewers to come up with the everyday activity they’d win a gold medal in if it were an Olympic sport. For me, that prize-winning skill is making pancakes. As a mom of three, I make a lot of pancakes. Chocolate chip, Mickey Mouse, silver dollar, monster truck, fire truck, blueberry, banana; you name it and I’ve poured, flipped, and plated it.
All that practice has led to my being able to whip up a batch of pancakes without a recipe, just good vibes. A little flour, egg, dairy, some leavener, a pinch of cinnamon and usually some sort of fruit or vegetable I’m trying to hide from my kids. Through all of this tinkering I feel qualified to tell you the one ingredient that makes the best pancakes every single time is ricotta cheese. Why? This one ingredient guarantees my pancakes–no matter what their shape–are the lightest and fluffiest possible.
How I Discovered Ricotta Cheese Was My Pancake Secret Ingredient
I discovered the secret to the best pancakes ever while developing a recipe several years back for a poppy seed pancake for Mother’s Day. My first few attempts were a fail; the pancakes were dense and oddly textured from lots of crunchy poppy seeds. I tried whipping the egg whites to incorporate some air, but it was overly fussy and tasted too eggy to me. Then I tried buttermilk, which got nice and fluffy in the pan, only to fall flat once they started to cool. Dejected, I decided to give ricotta a try, hoping it would have the same effect as it does on my favorite spongelike ricotta cake.
The results were hands down the best pancakes I’ve ever tried. They were light, airy, and had almost a creamy interior. They rose near-impossibly high in the pan and retained their height even as they started to cool, thanks to the structure and protein the ricotta provided. They browned evenly and the batter was thick enough to form a perfect circular shape. To be honest, they were gold-medal winning pancakes.
How to Add Ricotta Cheese to Your Pancake Recipe
The beauty of adding ricotta is almost like an insurance policy for your pancakes; adding extra fat in the form of fluffy cheese keeps the pancakes moist without weighing them down like butter would. If you’d like to give ricotta pancakes a try, you can start out by adding one cup of full fat ricotta to your standard recipe in place of the milk or buttermilk called for. If your recipe of choice calls for more than 1 cup of total dairy, make up the difference by slowly whisking in additional milk or buttermilk until you have a nice pourable, but thick, batter. Too much ricotta can weigh the pancakes down and make them take longer to cook, so it’s best to cap the total amount at one cup. Simply whisk the cheese in with your wet ingredients. Don’t fuss too much with lumps; they will sort themselves out while they cook and overmixing the batter can yield tough pancakes. If you are making these for a large group, baking them on a sheet pan is a great way to save time and feed a crowd without having to stand over the stove.
To highlight the flavor and amp up the fresh spring feeling, I also like to add a little lemon zest for a light and floral note. When piled high with lemon curd and berries, it’s hard to imagine a better spring brunch dish. Gold medal!
