Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 100ml milk
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp natural vanilla extract
- ¼ cup caster sugar
- ½ cup self-raising flour
- 100g ricotta, crumbled
- cooking oil spray
- 150g mascarpone
- 80g creamed honey
- 100g pineapple, diced finely
- ½ mango, diced
- 6 lychees, halved
- 2 passionfruit, pulped
Ricotta hotcakes with creamed honey mascarpone and tropical salsa
What is the difference between pancakes, flapjacks, hot cakes and pikelets? Are there distinctions, or are these just interchangeable names for the same product?
As it turns out, they are a band of batters that are cooked gently in pans or on a griddle, but each has its own character and recipe.
Pancakes are the thinnest of the lot, and traditionally are made with a straight batter – whisked eggs, milk, oil, sugar and flour, fried gently until just set on both sides.
A flapjack is similar, but with more flour added so that the batter is thicker, and the resulting cake rises taller. You’ll need to add extra baking powder to a flapjack batter so it doesn’t become too dense.
Pikelets are a small pancake, but one whose batter has been beaten well – this gives them a slightly chewy texture that soaks up honey and cream perfectly.
The hotcake is the sophisticated member of the group whose eggs have been separated and the whites whipped until light. It’s a bit more work and a tad intellectual for breakfast, but this gives them a surprisingly fluffy texture that lingers briefly, before finishing all too soon.
Method
Whisk the egg, milk, oil, vanilla and caster sugar, then stir in the flour. Mix until smooth then fold in the ricotta gently. Spoon ½ cup amounts in a non-stick frying pan using just a little cooking oil, and cook for 2 minutes each side until just set.
Stir the creamed honey into the mascarpone. Combine the fruits. Serve the hotcakes with a pile of salsa and a spoon of mascarpone.
Submitted byFast Ed
Tips and Tricks
As soft cheeses deteriorate faster than hard cheeses, they are best stored in a cooler part of your fridge. It’s best to also keep soft cheeses wrapped in grease proof paper rather than plastic, in order that they can breathe.
Store milk in a cool and stable environment in your fridge. If you have space, ideally this would be your top shelves rather than the fridge door, where fluctuating temperatures may shorten the lifespan of your milk.
Choose mangoes that are firm when a small amount of pressure is applied to any part of the fruit. If the skin does not move under pressure, the mango is not ripe. To speed ripening, place in a brown paper bag and add a couple of apple slices to the bag.
