Sometimes the circumstances dictate that Sunday night dinner can only be pancakes. Maybe you have just been dumped. You might just be feeling a little bit sorry for yourself. Maybe you broke your wrist and spent all morning in accident and emergency unable to drink liquids. Maybe the love of your life has just taken a job that means they're going to be away for long periods at a time and they just left. Maybe you just feel like wallowing. You might have one of those hangovers where you crave sweetness and sweetness only. Maybe you thought you were devoid of emotion but you started crying again. You might have spent the afternoon listening to too much Bright Eyes. Maybe you ran into your ex and it had an unexpected effect on your heart. You might miss your family, or your close friends, wherever they may be. Or maybe you just deserve a treat.
Nothing says treat like pancakes for dinner. Especially if they're served with black doris plums, citrus mascarpone and maple flavoured syrup.
It's not often I indulge, but pancakes for dinner were dinner this evening. I hadn't done so since the famous post-Patrick Swayze-dying Ghost and Dirty Dancing pancakes-for-dinner marathon my friend Rach and I got amongst in Mt Vic back in '09. I used to swear by buttermilk as the key to a good pancake. That changed this evening with the introduction to my pancake repetoire of Nigella's ricotta hotcakes. These, dear readers, are the best pancakes I have ever had.
Ricotta Hotcakes
(Nigella Lawson's, and I got them from her website. She says the recipe makes 25 so I halved it, and it made 2 smallish dud ones and 4 fluffy light amazingly perfect ones. And yes, I ate them all.)
250g ricotta
125g trim milk
2 large eggs, separated
100g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
butter or oil, for frying
Put ricotta, milk and egg yolks in a bowl and mix well.
Add flour, baking powder and salt, and whisk to form a smooth batter. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until the become foamy (it doesn't take long) and then fold into the mixture.
Heat your frypan and add a glug of oil or a knob of butter. Drop spoonfuls of batter and cook for about a minute until golden, before flipping.
For the citrus mascarpone put some mascarpone in a bowl, add the juice of about half an orange and some zest, then sprinkle over some icing sugar. Mix well.
Serve with a few pitted black doris plums from a tin. Drizzle over some maple syrup and cheer the hell up.
Whatever the circumstances of your Sunday, these come very highly recommended.
Treat yourself!
Yum! I've seen this recipe before and thought about trying it -- I definitely will now it has your seal of approval. Gosh, pancakes for dinner are just the best. My sister and I used to get them for dinner when Dad couldn't be bothered making anything else. K x
ReplyDeletesuch a strange coincidence, i was listening to the bright eyes song you linked as i was reading this. weird!! we used to have pancakes for dinner in our family too, an alison holst recipe with oats in them. x
ReplyDeleteOh I'm so pleased that someone else recognises that sometimes you just have to have pancakes for Sunday night dinner. I really love ricotta pancakes - I've tried Marcella Hazan's version and Mark Bittman's version, clearly I now need to try these ones. Love the idea of serving with the citrus mascarpone and plums. I have some gin soaked damsons in the fridge that would work perfectly :-)
ReplyDeleteHope you'll share your pancakes with this month's Sweet New Zealand - link up is now open http://bit.ly/nScpZE
Sue :-)
Mr Cake's parents have pancakes for dinner very often on a Sunday - we were staying with them over the weekend so we also had the glorious pancake dinner. I have to say I am a maple syrup snob and can't stand the fake stuff - but I'll happily make do with brown sugar or (glory!) ice-cream, as I had the opportunity to do last night. It's the best!
ReplyDeleteSo about a week or so ago I had the best, fluffiest ricotta hotcakes and I couldn't get them out of my head for ages... finally stopped thinking pancakes and then you go and post this! Okay. I give in. Pancakes for dinner will so be happening this week.
ReplyDeleteI think a broken collarbone and oozing knee wounds are worthy of pancakes for dinner.. But only if topped with Canadian pure maple syrup :P
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recipe - I may just coincidentally leave it open on the computer when the husband returns from work ...
ex smex, I bet he was thinking "damn she looks good" .... as good as your ricotta pancakes :)
ReplyDeleteOoh, new pancake frontier! I thought buttermilk was the pinnacle, but now I'll have to try these to make sure. I'll save them up for a miserable Sunday. Future sad timeforalittlesomething thanks you :)
ReplyDelete