Bill Granger's Ricotta Hotcakes

After my trip to New York, I've been desperately trying to re-live my glory days. Glorious food days that is. I miss everything about the city from the stuffy subways to the gorgeous foliage but of course the one thing I miss most is all of that food!! One thing I'll always remember fondly are the pancakes from Clinton St. Baking Company, ohhh the pancakes...

I made Eggplant Parmesan the other day (recipe to come soon) and I had some extra ricotta left over. I decided to make these precious little hotcakes. The eggs are separated and the whites are whipped to airy perfection and then gently folded into the batter. If that isn't enough, ricotta is just barely mixed into the batter, leaving little chunks of ricotta goodness all throughout. Yep, it's true.

To top it all off, and to fully re-live my Clinton St. days, I made a maple butter syrup. The saltiness of the butter and the sweetness of the maple was enough to drive me over the edge. Make these and you'll be looking over the ledge soon yourself!

It's not so obvious, but that little white blob is a chunk of ricotta goodness!!

Bill Granger's Ricotta Hotcakes

Yields: about 12 large hotcakes

Original recipe here.

For the hotcakes:

1 cup ricotta cheese

3/4 cup milk

4 large eggs, separated

1 1/4 cups flour

2 tbsn. sugar

dash of salt

2 tsp. grated lemon zest

1 tsp. baking powder

1 - 2 cups blueberries or other berries, if desired 


For the maple butter syrup:
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup salted butter

Pour the milk into a mixing bowl, then add the egg yolks; mix until combined. Add the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt and mix well. Add the lemon zest and mix. Beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry peaks form. Gently fold throughout the batter, leaving some streaks of white. Lastly, add the ricotta and mix gently (take care not to overmix as you want it to be slightly chunky). Heat a non-stick or cast iron pan over medium heat, then grease lightly with butter or oil. Pour 1/2 cup of the batter (per hotcake) into the pan. If using berries, sprinkle the top of the hotcake with a few berries. Cook on one side until little bubbles appear, about 2 minutes, then flip over and cook on the other side for about 1 minute. Serve with more fresh berries. 


To make the syrup, combine the syrup and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat until the butter is melted and everything is thoroughly combined. Remove from heat and serve alongside the hotcakes. 

Orange Ricotta Pound Cake

This recipe and I were meant to be. It really is just that simple.

Many things brought us together. First of all, when you see a recipe pop up over and over again on Tastespotting or Foodgawker, you know that it's going to be good because good recipes have ways of migrating and finding their ways into the homes and hearts of people.
Second of all, this recipe is from Giada de Laurentiis and from my past history with this lovely lady, she can really do no wrong. Third of all, it's pound cake. We here (my family & I) sure do love our pound cake. Throw in some ricotta and bright citrusy flavor? Man, that's a done deal.

This cake has a looser and larger crumb than most pound cakes I've tried before, probably due to the use of ricotta but it's extremely moist and full of flavor. I didn't have Amaretto, so I used almond extract instead which gave it this unbelievably delicious scent! I served this cake with some macerated strawberries but I can imagine it being heavenly with some lightly sweetened whipped cream!

Orange Ricotta Pound Cake

Yields: 1 loaf, 6 - 8 servings

Original recipe here.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/ricotta-orange-pound-cake-with-strawberries-recipe/index.html

1 1/2 cups cake flour

3 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

3/4 cup or 1 1/2 sticks butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese

1 1/2 cups + 1 tbsn. sugar

3 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 orange, zested

2 tbsn. Amaretto (or 1 tsp. almond extract)

Powdered sugar, for dusting (optional)

1 pint strawberries, hulled and quartered

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan with butter, set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine. Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, ricotta and 1 1/2 cups sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Then add the eggs, one at a time. Next, add the vanilla, orange zest and Amaretto (or almond extract) until combined. Add the dry ingredients, a small amount at a time, until just incorporated.

Pour the mixture into a prepared pan and bake until a toothpick comes out clean and the cake is beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 45 - 50 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired. Meanwhile, place the strawberries and remaining 1 tbsn. sugar. Let sit until the juices have pooled around the strawberries. Serve with a slice of cake and enjoy!

Ricotta Anything Muffins: Two Ways

These muffins are delectable.

The ricotta in the batter is so unbelievable dreamy and creamy. The sugar on the tops add a teeny bit of crunch and the berries add a bit of tang. The almond extract is a nice addition as well, as it goes great with both blueberries and raspberries.

I ended up trying two different recipes just for experimental sake. I had only planned on making the blueberry muffins but the recipe only yielded 10 muffins plus I had tons of ricotta left over. The blueberry muffins use almond meal, which is a bit harder to come by and just a teeny bit more of a hassle to make. So for the raspberry muffins I eliminated the almond meal but still had all the delicious almond flavor by using extract and topping it with more almonds.

Raspberry Ricotta Muffins

Yields: 10 muffins

Slightly adapted from here.

Printable Recipe

1 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

3/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

pinch of salt

1/2 stick butter

1 egg

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. almond extract

1 cup fresh raspberries

1/4 cup slivered almonds, for topping (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a muffin tin with liners and set aside. Mix together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. In another bowl cream together the sugar and butter. Add the egg, ricotta and extracts and mix well. Mix wet with dry until just moistened. Fold in the raspberries carefully. Pour batter into prepared tin. Sprinkle each with a little sugar then top with slivered almonds. Bake for 28 - 25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Enjoy!

I really can't tell which muffin I like better. Each of them were incredible in my opinion. The ricotta is what really makes these muffins. They were so moist and full of flavor! But honestly you could add whatever fruit or flavorings you'd like in this muffin, I'm sure anything would be just as delicious as these combinations!

Blueberry Ricotta Muffins

Yields: 10 muffins

Original recipe from Stick to Your Hips, which can be found here.

Printable Recipe

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

1 egg + 1 white

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. almond extract

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

3/4 cup flour

1/2 cup almond flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

2 cups fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a muffin tin with liners and set aside. In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg, egg white, vanilla, almond extract and ricotta cheese. In a small bowl mix the flour, almond meal, salt and baking powder. Stir into the ricotta mixture until just moistened. Fold in 1 1/4 cups of the berries. Fill muffin tin with batter and press the remaining berries on top of the batter, then sprinkle with extra sugar and bake for 18 - 20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Enjoy!

Moist and bursting with juicy blueberries!