Bill Granger: "Born in America, the hotcake has assimilated well into Australian breakfast society. Take it back to its roots by substituting maple syrup for the golden-flecked crunch-sensation butter."
Ricotta Hotcakes with Honeycomb Butter (Serves 6-8)
(Adapted from Bill Granger's Bills Sydney Food)
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cups ricotta
- 3/4 cup (6 fl oz) milk
- 4 eggs, separated
- 1 cup plain (all-purpose) flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- A pinch of salt
- 50 g (1 1/2 oz) butter
To Serve
- Banana
- Honeycomb butter, sliced (below)
- Icing (cofectioners') sugar for dusting
Honeycomb Butter
- 250 g (8 oz) unsalted butter, softened
- 100 g (3 1/3 oz) sugar honeycomb, crushed with a rolling pin
- 2 tbsp honey
Method
- Place ricotta, milk and egg yolks in a mixing bowl and mix to combine.
- Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Add to the ricotta mixture and mix until just combined.
- Place egg whites in a clean dry bowl and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites through batter in two batches, with a large metal spoon.
- Lightly grease a large non-stick frying pan with a small portion of the butter and drop 2 tbsp of batter per hotcake into the pan (don't cook more than 3 per batch). Cook over low to medium heat for 2 minutes, or until hotcakes have golden undersides. Turn hotcakes and cook on the other side until golden and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and quickly assemble with other ingredients.
- Slice one banana lengthways onto a plate, stack 3 hotcakes on top with a slice of honeycomb butter. Dust with icing sugar.
- Honeycomb Butter: Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Shape into a log on plastic wrap, roll, seal and chill in a refrigerator for 2 hours. Store leftover honeycomb butter in the freezer - it's great on toast.
Note: Hotcake batter can be stored for up to 24 hours, covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator.