Souffléd Ricotta Pancakes – Recipe

It's officially Pancake Day, so let's make souffléd ricotta pancakes! OK so it's more like Pancake Night right now, but I'm a little behind on my baking schedule since I'm straddling two houses at the moment – my own flat, and my folk's house (I'm on cat-sitting duties while they're away on holiday). Tuesday nights are also my Chinese class nights, hence me making these so late in the evening. Yay dessert for dinner.

Ricotta adds an extra moistness to souffle pancake batter, and whipping the egg whites makes them so fluffy they're almost moussey. I served mine with extra ricotta and homemade strawberry compote, but you can add whichever toppings you like most.

This recipe makes about five souffle ricotta pancakes, depending on how big your scoops are. That's enough for one generous serving of ricotta souffle pancakes, but you can also share if you're feeling equally generous.

The texture of your souffle ricotta pancakes will also depend on the quality of your ricotta. I've tried it with several different types of supermarket brand ricotta, and they all seem to have been strained until different points of thickness. One I used had more water left in it, so the pancakes were a bit flatter but moister. One brand of ricotta had almost no excess moisture left in it and it was almost crumbly-dry, so the resulting pancakes were thicker but denser. But there's no one 'best' brand, and it all depends on how you like your ricotta pancakes.

(2024 update: here's my latest shot:)

You can also watch me make these on my YouTube channel, Tashcakes:

Ready? Let's go.

Ingredients for Pancakes:

2 eggs, separated

30g tbsp caster sugar

Pinch of salt

100g ricotta

50g self-raising flour

Ingredients for Strawberry Compote:

100g strawberries, chopped

50ml water

80g caster sugar

To Serve:

Extra ricotta

Method:

1. To make the strawberry compote, simply bring everything to a boil in a small pan, then lower the heat to a simmer until reduced (about 10 minutes). Set aside to cool.

2. To make the pancakes, whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks (like a meringue), then whisk in the caster sugar and salt.

3. In a separate bowl, Combine the rest of the ingredients until smooth. Mix in a large spoonful of your meringue mixture to loosen it up, then gently fold in the rest of the egg whites, taking care not to knock too much of the air out.

4. Cook spoonfuls in a lightly-oiled pan on a low to medium heat, covering with a lid. Flip your ricotta souffle pancakes when lightly-browned (about 1–2 minutes), and cover again for another minute.

5. Stack up with extra ricotta and the strawberry compote on top, and serve for whichever meal you desire.

Enjoy, and have fun!