Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Cherry Sauce

Our weekday mornings can be a little rushed sometimes, so I really love to take our time on the weekend to make a nice breakfast. I've made several varieties of pancakes - buttermilk, buckwheat, corn meal, with blueberries, pumpkin, apples, pears, etc.  I really wanted to make some with ricotta cheese though. I had some extra cherries on hand and thought this sounded like a great combination for a summer pancake breakfast.

I think the cherry pitter is the best invention, especially when you're cooking/baking with fresh cherries.

I've usually only used ricotta cheese to make lasagna, but it's going in pancakes this time.

The lemon peel smelled amazing and adds such a nice bright color and taste to the pancake batter.

I think they turned out great and little A agreed after gobbling down a few.  The pancakes were a nice light and fluffy texture and the cherry sauce provided a great balance of flavor with the cherries and lemon.

Recipe for Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Cherry Sauce

Adapted from recipes in Bon Appetit and Gourmet

Ingredients:

Pancakes:

4 large eggs, separated

1 1/3 C. ricotta cheese

1 1/2 T.sugar

1 1/2 T. freshly grated lemon zest

1/2 C. all-purpose flour

melted butter for brushing the griddle

Cherry Sauce:

1/2 C. (or more) water, divided

2 t.cornstarch

1 T. unsalted butter

2 cups halved pitted fresh Bing cherries or other dark sweet cherries (about 14 ounces unpitted cherries)

2 T. (packed) golden brown sugar

1 T. fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Pancakes:

In a bowl whisk together the egg yolks, ricotta, sugar, and lemon zest, add the flour and stir the mixture until it is just combined. In a bowl with an electric mixer, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they hold stiff peaks, whisk about one fourth of them into the ricotta mixture, and fold in the remaining whites gently but thoroughly. Heat a griddle over moderately high heat until it is hot enough to make drops of water scatter over its surface and brush it with some of the melted butter. Working in batches, pour the batter onto the griddle by 1/4-cup measures and cook the pancakes for 1 to 2 minutes on each side, or until they are golden, brushing the griddle with some of the melted butter as necessary. Transfer the pancakes as they are cooked to a heatproof platter and keep them warm in a preheated 200°F. oven.

Sauce:

Whisk 1/4 cup water and cornstarch in small bowl. Melt butter in medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add cherries, 1/4 cup water, and brown sugar; stir until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium-high; add cornstarch mixture and stir until mixture boils and thickens, adding water by tablespoonfuls if sauce is very thick, about 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice.

Cherry Blossom Cupcakes

I hadn't made any fun cupcakes in a while and was inspired by the cherry blossoms here in DC. It was wonderful and they were just as gorgeous as everyone says they are. So, here is my fun springtime take on a cherry blossom cupcake. 

I was going to make a cherry almond cake, but didn't want flavor overkill, so I just went with a vanilla cake. I had all kinds of fun flower and cherry papers that I had gotten in England last year so it was fun to have something to use those for.

I also decided to make two different sizes...little mini ones and standard size cupcakes. 

The frosting?  Real buttercream, of course and I made my usual vanilla buttercream with a cherry twist.  I used a few tablespoons of diced maraschino cherries and just one drop of Americolor soft pink gel food coloring. 

The maraschino cherries I found at Whole Foods are SO good.  They are organic ones that have no added color. It was nice to find some that aren't bright neon red and taste like they've been soaking in syrup. These actually seemed like fresh cherries with the stems still on and were already pitted (they were also $7 a jar).

I love how the frosting has little specks of red cherry in it.

I used already prepared marzipan (I know, slacker right?) for the little flowers on top. I have always made my own marzipan, but tried this one that I found at the store and it tastes amazing (and is much easier, of course).  I colored it pink with the same soft pink food coloring and used little candy pearls to press into the center of each marzipan flower.  My little marzipan cherry blossoms!

My little A tested a mini one for her snack this evening and loved it.  The rest are already packed to take to my fellow Washingtonians to enjoy at the office tomorrow.

Stars, Stripes and Cherries

Happy 4th of July! I have always loved the 4th of July. What's not to love? BBQ, fun in the sun, fireworks and time with family. I also have always looked forward to my birthday being only a week away. This year, my husband is traveling far, far away (to the far east, in fact) and wouldn't be here to enjoy all those lovely things. While I knew he would have an amazing first class airline meal to choose from, we had our 4th of July celebration on the 3rd this year including a picnic, some time at the beach and a lobster dinner that ended with this yummy cherry pie with homemade vanilla bean ice cream.

This stars and stripes pastry idea was on the most recent cover of Martha Stewart Living. They used different pie fillings, but I decided to use cherries that are in season in Michigan right now and these cherries were picked just up the road from where we live.

I made my pastry a day in advance to allow it to chill. I actually made enough for four single crust pies, so I have some pie pastry in the freezer to save me some time later.

I made a small pie with some of these vintage pie tins my mum gave me. I was able to get the pie crust for the bottom and have plenty left over to cut out my stars and stripes to use for the top from just a single crust portion of dough. I used a rotary ravioli cutter for the stripes and a Christmas cookie cutter in the shape of a star.

I pulled this together quick while we were video conferencing with my husband's family and preparing our lobster dinner. Oh....and chasing our 1 1/2 year old around! The four stars and three stripes have no significant meaning aside from that is what I fit on this little pie.

After I arranged the stars and stripes, I brushed on an egg wash and sprinkled it with turbinado sugar.



Here it is all baked and ready to serve with homemade ice cream. The pastry got nice and golden brown from the egg wash and the fresh cherry filling was so juicy and sweet. The stars and stripes just weren't as pretty when it was cut into pieces, so I didn't bother taking photos after it was cut.

Shortbread and Tea

Each Christmas for the last several years, I've made homemade shortbread. It's an icebox shortbread recipe that is very easy, but I've been told that it rivals Walkers. You can make the dough, roll it into a log shape and refrigerate or freeze it and then slice it and bake it later. This year I made cherry, pecan, chocolate and plain shortbread. I've used it to package in cellophane bags or pretty boxes to give as gifts. But, I always keep some extra to have with a nice cup of hot tea. In fact, I just indulged in one of each flavour while I sat in front of the fire with my book and cup of tea. This is one of my favorite china cups in the photo - a toast and tea set that my Auntie Vera in England gave to me a few years ago to add to my collection.