WARNING: You will feel hungry after reading this!

As you you can see by the inside of these pancakes, they are lemony (notice the zest), luscious (trust me), and light (evidenced by the airy texture)! They are also incredibly easy to make. Whisk together the dry ingredients, whisk together the wet ingredients, and fold the two together.

Once the batter is ready heat your griddle to 375 degrees. Spray the griddle and wipe off the excess. Too much oil on the griddle will cause the edges to “fry” and get crispy.

Drop 2 ounces of batter onto the hot griddle. We use a #16 scoop or 1/4 cup measure.

As the pancakes cook they will puff up and form bubbles on the surface. They are ready to flip when the surface is covered and the bottom side is golden brown.

We use a burner griddle that cooks six pancakes at a time. The finished pancakes are shingled onto a parchment lined sheet pan and held in a very low oven to keep warm.

Half the fun of pancakes is the toppings. The first step to presenting pancakes is dusting with powdered sugar. Next, add fruit that will complement the flavor. Blueberries and strawberries are classic spring flavors and pair beautifully with lemon. Finally, serve warm maple syrup in a mini bowl or ramekin.

Not only are blueberries a perfect complement to lemon, they are full of antioxidants, hold their shape in a sauce, and available year round.

To make sauce I add 1 cup of fresh berries to a small sauté pan. Cover the berries with 1 T of sugar and 1 T of water. Bring to a simmer. As the berries cook they will pop and release pectin thickening the sauce. Once the berries are cooked as far as you want, stir in an additional 1/2 cup berries and 1 T water. Stir just until it begins to simmer again. Remove from the heat.

The second portion of berries will stay whole creating color and texture. Blueberries vary in sweetness and have a lot of pectin so adjust the sugar and water to your liking.

Lemon Ricotta Pancake Recipe

2 cups Flour
1/2 cup Sugar
1 T Baking powder
1 tsp Baking soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 1/3 cups Milk
1 cup Ricotta cheese
4 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla extract
2 T Lemon zest
1/3 cup Fresh lemon juice
2 T Butter, melted

Whisk together the dry ingredients.
Whisk together milk, ricotta cheese, eggs and vanilla.
Whisk lemon zest, juice and melted butter into wet ingredients.
Stir wet ingredients into dry just until combined.
Heat griddle to 375°. Spray and wipe off excess.
Drop 2 ounces of batter onto hot griddle using #16 (blue) scoop or 1/4 cup measure.
Cook pancakes until bubbles form on surface and they are golden and set on the bottom.
Flip pancakes and cook until golden and set. Pancakes will puff in the center and bounce back when lightly touched.
Dust with powdered sugar.
Serve with fresh berries, berry sauce, and maple syrup.
Makes about 20 pancakes.