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Breakfast · Australian

Ricotta Hotcakes with Mango and Honeycomb Butter

Cafe-style ricotta hotcakes, thick and fluffy from whipped egg whites, served with mango and honeycomb butter. A weekend breakfast project.

Prep
20 min
Cook
20 min
Total
40 min
Serves
4
Jump to recipeIngredientsMethod
Stack of ricotta hotcakes with mango slices, a pat of butter and maple syrup on a white plate

What separates these from an ordinary pancake is whipping the egg whites separately and folding them through at the end. That's where the height and the slightly cakey, soufflé-like texture come from, rather than relying on baking powder alone to do the lifting.

Use full-fat ricotta from the deli counter rather than a tub from the dairy aisle if you can get it. Tub ricotta holds more liquid and can make the batter wetter than it should be. If that's all you've got, tip it into a sieve for 20 minutes first to drain off the extra whey.

Fold the egg whites through gently, in two or three additions, cutting down through the middle of the bowl rather than stirring in circles. Overmixing at this stage knocks the air back out and you lose the lift you just worked for.

Cook them low and slow. A pan that's too hot browns the outside before the inside sets, and because this batter is thicker and more delicate than a standard pancake batter, it needs more time to cook through without burning. Honeycomb butter sounds fussy but is just softened butter with crushed honeycomb or caramelised sugar through it, and it melts into pools over the warm hotcakes.

Recipe

Ricotta Hotcakes with Mango and Honeycomb Butter

Prep
20 min
Cook
20 min
Total
40 min
Serves
4

Ingredients

4 Servings

Hotcakes

Honeycomb butter

To serve

Method

  1. Step 1: Mash the butter and chopped honeycomb together with a fork until roughly combined. Spoon onto a piece of plastic wrap, roll into a log and chill while you make the hotcakes.

  2. Step 2: Whisk the ricotta, egg yolks and milk together in a large bowl until smooth. Sift in the flour and sugar and whisk until just combined, a few small lumps of ricotta are fine.

  3. Step 3: In a separate, clean bowl, whisk the egg whites and salt with electric beaters until stiff peaks form.

  4. Step 4: Fold a third of the egg whites into the ricotta batter to loosen it, then gently fold through the rest in two batches. Stop folding as soon as no large streaks of white remain.

    Tip: The batter will be thick and a bit lumpy with air. That's correct, don't try to smooth it out further.

  5. Step 5: Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium-low heat and add a small knob of butter. Spoon in rounds of batter, about 1/3 cup each, and cook for 3-4 minutes, until bubbles appear on the surface and the edges look set.

  6. Step 6: Flip carefully and cook for another 2-3 minutes, until golden and cooked through. Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more butter to the pan as needed.

  7. Step 7: Stack the hotcakes, top with a few slices of the honeycomb butter so it melts on contact, and serve with sliced mango and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Tips

  • Keep the cooked hotcakes warm on a plate in a low oven (about 100°C) while you cook through the rest of the batch.
  • A standard ice cream scoop gives you evenly sized hotcakes without needing to measure each one.
  • If the first hotcake browns too fast before the inside sets, turn the heat down a notch for the rest of the batch.

Variations

  • No mango: use any soft stone fruit in season, or berries, instead.
  • Simpler topping: skip the honeycomb butter and serve with plain butter and maple syrup or honey.
  • Gluten-free: use a gluten-free self-raising flour blend, the texture is slightly denser but still works.

Storage and make-ahead

Best eaten fresh, straight off the pan. Leftover hotcakes keep in the fridge for a day and reheat in a toaster or low oven, though they lose some fluffiness. The honeycomb butter keeps in the fridge for up to a week.

Nutrition per serving, estimated

Calories
420
Protein
15g
Carbs
48g
Fat
19g

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