Ricotta Pancakes With Mixed Berries & Vanilla Yoghurt

Using ricotta in the pancake batter means that you end up with beautifully moist pancakes with a much lighter and fluffier texture than you’d achieve with a standard pancake mixture. The combination of warm pancakes with vanilla yoghurt and some fresh berries or a fruit compote is a great option for breakfast, brunch or dessert.

Place the ricotta, milk and egg yolks in a bowl and whisk together. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Add this to the ricotta mix and combine.

Place egg whites in a bowl and whisk until stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the batter until just mixed through. Lightly grease a large, non-stick frying pan with a knob of butter and drop two heaped tablespoons of batter per pancake into the pan. Cook until each pancake is golden on the underside, turn over and repeat on the other side.

For the berries, place the sugar, water, red wine, cinnamon stick, star anise and vanilla pod in a saucepan and bring it up to the boil. Add the blackberries and cook for 1 minute and then add the raspberries. Turn off the heat. If you wish to have a thicker sauce, remove the fruit with a slotted spoon and reduce the syrup to gain the consistency you need.

Add the yoghurt and honey together in a bowl and then scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod and add them to the mix.

The pancakes may be wrapped in tin foil and held in a warm oven if necessary.

Serve the ricotta pancakes with the mixed berries and vanilla yoghurt.