Tag: Lemon

Strawberry Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner you may be on hunt for a pink or red dessert. You can always turn to a tried and true Red Velvet cake but what about something a little different like a Strawberry Cake. Now, strawberry cake can pose some issues. Basically, how to get the strawberry flavor into the cake without it ending up being a soggy mess thanks to the extra moisture of the strawberries. You could dice up some strawberries and add them to your batter, but, that’s not really a strawberry cake. There’s also the option of reducing the strawberries into a syrup and then incorporating that into your batter. But, a much more simpler way is to use freeze-dried strawberries. For this cake, I simply processed the strawberries in my food processor to turn them into a powder that I then incorporated with the rest of my dry ingredients.

Once my batter was ready I decided to bake it in a 6-inch heart pan. If you don’t have a heart pan on hand you can bake it in a 6-inch round cake pan instead. You could also do an 8-inch pan, but, your cake won’t have as much height to it and you will also have to adjust your baking time.

Typically, most strawberry cakes are topped with a strawberry buttercream. I opted not to do that for one simple reason. I only had enough freeze-dried strawberries to make the cake! So, I did a little brainstorming and thought that a Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting would work well with the cake. I came up with a frosting that still has the flavor of cream cheese with just the right amount of lemon. I literally could eat this frosting by the spoonful.

To frost the cake, I decided to go a little fancy and use a small star tip to decorate and then sprinkled some Valentine’s Day sprinkles around the perimeter.

And I am happy to say that the cake and frosting worked well together! You can’t tell from the picture, but, my cake was a very light pink. If you want a cake with a deeper pink or red hue you can add in some food coloring once you are done making the batter to get to the color you want.

Strawberry Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

For The Cake:

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

1 oz. freeze dried strawberries

1/2 cup sugar

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 large egg, at room temperature

1/3 cup sour cream, at room temperature

1/4 cup milk, at room temperature

1/2 tablespoon lemon zest

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the Frosting:

1 8oz. block cream cheese, at room temperature

1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups confectioners’ sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons lemon zest

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

For the Cake:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 6-inch pan with baking spray or coat with butter and then dust with flour.

Using a food processor pulse the strawberries into a powder. 

Whisk together the strawberry powder, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer cream together the butter and sugar on medium speed. Add the egg and beat until well combined. Add in the sour cream, milk, lemon zest & vanilla and continue mixing until well combined. Add in the flour mixture and beat until just combined.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake 30 to 40 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the Frosting:

Using a handheld mixer (or stand mixer) beat the cream cheese and butter together on medium speed until smooth and creamy. With the mixer speed on low add in the sugar until well incorporated. Raise the speed to medium and add in the lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla extract until all incorporated.

Lemon Oatmeal Sugar Cookies

These cookies have a little bit of everything. A nice light lemon flavor, a tad bit of oatmeal and the soft chewiness of a sugar cookie. While they are perfect for the warmer months ahead, they would also be a nice addition to your holiday cookie baking. Since I wasn’t sure how they were going to taste, I halved the recipe and ended up baking only 24 cookies. Big mistake! These cookies were such a hit I should have baked the full amount. But just in case you don’t need 48 cookies, you can easily halve the recipe below.

Lemon Oatmeal Sugar Cookies

  • Servings: 4 Dozen Cookies
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Ingredients:

1 cup butter, at room temperature

2 cups sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

3 tablespoons lemon juice

2 3/4 cups flour

1 cup quick-cooking oats*

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Additional sugar to roll the cookies

*Can also use old-fashion oats

 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lines two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, oats, baking powder and salt and set aside.

In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer on medium speed cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, lemon zest and lemon juice. Gradually add in the flour mixture.

Pour additional sugar into a small bowl. Use a cookie scoop to scoop the dough and then roll in the sugar and then place on the prepared cookie sheets. Using the bottom of a glass flatten the cookie about halfway down.

Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are beginning to brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Recipe slightly modified from Taste of Home

Lemon Ricotta Fritters

It’s the first Friday in June and you know what means… Happy National Donut Day! A little history just in case you didn’t know, this food holiday started in 1938 by the Chicago Salvation Army as a means to raise money during the Great Depression and to honor the WWI Salvation Army volunteers who helped prepare baked goods, including donuts, and coffee for soldiers. I wonder if this could possibly be the oldest “food holiday”, I tried to do some research but came up empty-handed. In honor of the day I am sharing with you a recipe for Lemon Ricotta Fritters.

I began by making the batter. In a large bowl I whisked together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Next, I added in lemon zest, eggs, whole milk ricotta cheese and vanilla extract and continued whisking until the ingredients were well combined.

Meanwhile I heated vegetable oil in my Dutch oven over medium low heat to 350 F. I normally use my cast iron skillet to fry things, but, I already had my Dutch oven out and I like that the higher sides of the pot prevent the oil from splattering. Also, I find that the temperature of the oil remains consistent in the Dutch oven throughout the frying process. It’s important to keep the oil around 350 F, any hotter and you could end up with cooked fritters on the outside with raw dough in the middle. Once the batter was ready I used a cookie scoop to drop small amount of dough into the oil and fried them until they were golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes on each side.

I then transferred them to a paper towel lined cookie sheet to drain off the excess oil. Now, these were delicious on their own, they are incredibly light with just enough hint of lemon…

But, if you want a little extra sweetness, while they are still warm, dust them with confectioners’ sugar. I prefer to sift the sugar over them as opposed to rolling them in the sugar so it’s not too thick or clumpy.

 

If you love the combination of lemon and ricotta, check out these other lemon ricotta recipes:

Lemon Ricotta Bars

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

 

Lemon Ricotta Fritters

  • Servings: About 40 Fritters
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Ingredients:

Vegetable oil, for frying*

2 cups flour

3/4 cups sugar

2 tablespoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons lemon zest (from 2 lemons)

5 large eggs

1 3/4 cups ricotta cheese**

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Confectioners’ sugar for coating

 

*Can sub with canola or corn oil

**I used whole milk ricotta cheese

 

Directions:

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium low heat to 350 F. Line a cookie sheet with paper towels to drain the fritters as they come out of the oil.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add in the lemon zest, eggs, ricotta cheese and vanilla extract and continue whisking until the ingredients are well combined.

Using a cookie scoop drop mounds of the batter into the hot oil. Add about 5 to 6 at a time, make sure not to crowd the pot. Fry until the fritters are golden brown. About 3-4 minutes on each side. Check the temperature of the oil periodically. You don’t want the oil to get too hot because then the fritters will cook on the outside but be raw on the inside. Remove from the oil and drain on the paper towel lined cookie sheet. Repeat until the dough is finished.

While the fritters still warm dust with the confectioners’ sugar. You can either roll them in a bowl of the sugar or use a sifter (or a fine mesh sieve) to dust the sugar over the fritters.

Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 to 5 days.

Recipe slightly modified from Domino Sugar

Lemon Mascarpone Crepe Cake

I’ve been wanting to make this Lemon Mascarpone Crepe Cake for over a year now. Somehow it just got away from me last summer and it almost did the same this summer. I truly feel the flavors of this cake are ideal for the summer months. This isn’t my first crepe cake though, last fall I made a Chocolate-Pumpkin Crepe Cake which was quite delish.

Unfortunately this crepe cake wasn’t a hit amongst my friends who tried it. Not because of the taste but because they weren’t keen on the crepes. They agreed that the lemon curd cream filling between the crepes was good but the crepes themselves not so great. Not so much the flavor, but, the texture. Which I can completely understand. Eating a cake of crepes is nothing like eating a fluffy moist cake. I myself enjoyed it, but, I’m a texture person. In other words, I like sprinkles on my ice cream, nuts in brownies and cookies and so forth. Oh well… You can’t always bake something that everyone will rave about.

One thing I have to point out… This very apropos cake stand I used for this cake. It has a glass lemon as the stem between the base and the plate. I got it from a dear friend’s mom a few days before I made this cake and it made making this cake a little more fun!

 

Lemon Mascarpone Crepe Cake

Ingredients:

Lemon Curd*:

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cups sugar

1 large egg

3 large egg yolks

3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, from 5 to 6 lemons

 

Crepes:

1 3/4 cup whole milk

4 large eggs

1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 cup flour

6 tablespoons finely ground cornmeal

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

An additional 3 tablespoons of butter to cook the Crepes

 

Assembly:

2 1/2 cups heavy cream

6 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

5 ounces mascarpone cheese

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Crushed amaretti cookies, for garnish (optional)**

 

*If you opt to use store bought lemon curd, you will need 1 cup.

**I used Stella D’oro Breakfast Treats

 

Directions:

Lemon Curd: Beat together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Reduce the speed to low and add the whole egg. Once well combined, gradually add in the egg yolks, then the lemon juice. The mixture may appear curdles. Transfer the mixture to a small saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface and refrigerate until cool. You can keep the lemon curd in the refrigerator up to 1 week.

Crepes: Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth, about 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight. Once the batter is cold, stir it the batter until smooth again. Melt 1/2 teaspoon butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Pour about 1 ounce of batter on the skillet and tilt it to even distribute the batter. Cook until the edges on the crepe turn golden and then carefully flip and cook until just set. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Melt another 1/2 teaspoon of butter and continue cooking the crepes in the same manner. Mix the batter between each crepe. Stack the crepes on top of one another and let cool for 30 minutes. You will have between 16-20 crepes.

Assembly: Beat 1 1/4 cups heavy cream with 3 tablespoons of confectioners’ sugar until soft peaks form. Fold a third of the whipped cream into the lemon curd with a rubber spatula until combined. Then fold the cream-curd mixture into the remaining whipped cream until completely combined.

Place 1 crepe on the center of a cake stand and spread 3 tablespoons of the curd mixture evenly over the crepe. Repeat layering with remaining crepes and curd mixture, ending with a crepe.

Whisk together the remaining cream and confectioners’ sugar with the mascarpone and vanilla extract until soft peaks form. Spread the mascarpone cream on the top and the sides of the cake. Refrigerate until set, about 2 hours. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes and garnish with crushed cookies before serving.

Recipe from Martha Stewart

Lemon Blueberry Snack Cakes

I don’t have enough space in my kitchen to store all of my baking supplies so I keep them nicely organized on a shelving until in my basement. Not long ago while grabbing my Bundt pan to make a pound cake I thought it was about time I use my snack cake pans again. I’ve only used them once to make these Chocolate Snack Cakes. So, the wheels started turning to come up with a flavor. Initially I was thinking of making a Raspberry Cake with a Lime Curd Filling, then, it became a Raspberry Cake with a Lemon Curd Filling, next, a Lemon Raspberry Cake with a Pastry Cream filling, but, since blueberries were on sale the week I decided to make them it ended up being a Lemon Blueberry Snack Cake. Maybe another day will try out one of those other flavors. Oh, and in case you are wondering what a snack cake pan is, it’s essentially a pan that will make cakes that look like Twinkies. I have this one from Fat Daddio, which I believe isn’t available anymore, but, Wilton makes a similar one.

I tweaked the recipe that I used to make this Lemon Cake a few years back and then gently folded in blueberries that I dredged in flour (a little trick to ensure the blueberries won’t sink to the bottom of the batter while baking). I then divvied the batter among my snack cake pans and baked them in the oven. If you don’t have snack cake pans, you can use the batter to make cupcakes. They are delicious on their own, but, it you opt to make the cupcakes top them with cream cheese frosting and decorate with lemon zest and a few more blueberries for a little extra wow.

 

Lemon Blueberry Snack Cakes

Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

5 oz. buttermilk*

3/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Zest of 1 lemon

1/2 cup blueberries, dredged in flour

 

*I made my own buttermilk by stirring together 4 1/2 teaspoons of white vinegar and 1 cup whole milk and let it sit for 10-15 minutes until it curdled. You can refrigerate the leftovers.

 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray a snack cake pan with baking spray. If making cupcakes, line a cupcake tin with liners.

Sift together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda & salt) and set aside.

In a large bowl beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light & fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the buttermilk and beat until just combined. Add in the lemon zest and vanilla extract.

Fold in the blueberries and pour batter into the pan. For the snack cake pan use about 3 tablespoons of batter per cavity, for cupcakes 1/4 cup of batter.

Bake for 18 – 20 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Lemon Ricotta Bars

So, even after I made the Ricotta Orange Pound Cake I posted about last week, I still had ricotta cheese left-over and I didn’t want to toss it. So, I decided to make Lemon Ricotta Bars. Lemon & ricotta go together so well… If you don’t believe me try making these bars, these pancakes I posted about a few years ago or these cookies I posted right before the holidays last year. All were delish!

Lemon Ricotta Bars

Ingredients:

For the crust:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs (15 crackers)

2 tablespoons sugar

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

1 cup whole-milk ricotta

4 large eggs, beaten

1 1/3 cups sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons lemon zest

2/3 cup lemon juice, from 3 to 4 large lemons

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray a 9x13x2 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

For the crust: Combine the ingredients for the crust in a medium bowl and mix until moistened. Press the mixture evenly in the prepared pan and about 1/4 inch up the sides of the dish. Bake in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes, until set, and then set aside to cool.

Reduce the oven to 325F.

For the filling: Whisk the ricotta, eggs, sugar and flour in a bowl until well combined. Stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice and salt and blend well. Pour the filling into the crust and bake until filling is firm, about 30 minutes.

Let the pan cool on a wire rack, at least 2 hours. Cut into desired sized bars with a knife, wiping the knife between cuts.

Recipe adapted from Food Network and Food52

Lemon Pudding Cakes

It’s the first day of spring and unfortunately the temperatures aren’t spring-like and there’s snow in the forecast for tomorrow. Too bad the weather doesn’t automatically switch with the seasons – of course people would only enjoy that for the warmer months. Not many people would be too keen on frigid temps and snow the first day of winter, although it would make for a white Christmas! I’m welcoming spring today with a lemon treat. I’m not all that sure that lemon is synonymous with spring – I think it more of a summer flavored dessert – but, when I Googled Spring desserts a bunch of lemon ones were the first to come up. So, the lemon treat I settled on was Lemon Pudding Cakes.

I started by making the lemon base of the cakes by mixing together egg yolks, buttermilk, lemon juice and zest. Once those ingredients were well combined, I sifted in flour, sugar and salt and mixed these ingredients until combined.

Next I beat the egg whites until stiff peaks formed. Now, we all have those kitchen tasks we’re not fond of doing. I used to dislike having to mince garlic until I purchased a garlic mincer. Another task I dislike, beating egg whites into stiff peaks, well by accident, well not really accident, I finally realized what I was doing wrong… I was using the wrong bowl. I would normally beat them in a wide stainless bowl and I guess it would take long because of the larger surface of the bowl. I didn’t feel like grabbing that bowl when making these pudding cakes so I grabbed a smaller stainless bowl instead and my egg white were ready in half the time. I apologize to those of you who are like “Duh.” Sometimes we get so used to doing things a certain way we don’t stop to think of a more efficient way to do it.

After the egg white were ready I folded them – a small amount at a time- into the lemon mixture. I then divvied up the batter among 4 ramekins and baked them in a water bath. After letting them cool, I inverted them on a dish and topped them with fresh strawberries and confectioners’ sugar.  I knew these were going to be delicious, but, I was surprised by just how good they are. The cake texture was reminiscent of a ricotta cheesecake and there was a nice layer of lemon pudding on top… Hence, a Lemon Pudding Cake. This was a quick dessert if you are looking for a nice dessert for a small get together or, you just want a dessert that will remind you of the warmer temps that are sure to come.

 

Happy Spring!!!

 

Lemon Pudding Cakes

Ingredients:

2/3 cup superfine sugar, plus more for dusting

2 eggs, separated

2/3 cup reduced fat buttermilk

2 tablespoons lemon juice*

1 tablespoon lemon zest*

1/4 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

 

Topping

Fresh berries

Confectioners’ sugar

 

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Butter and lightly sugar 4 ramekins.**

In a large bowl add egg yolks, buttermilk, lemon juice and lemon zest and using a hand mixer beat until well combine on medium speed. Sift in flour, sugar and salt into the mixture and beat on low until well combined.

In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the lemon mixture a little at a time until completely incorporated.

Divide the batter evenly among the ramekins and bake in a water bath. Place the ramekins in a large roasting pan and fill hallway with water.

Bake for 45 minutes until the top springs back when gently pressed. All the cakes to cool slightly and then invert onto a plate and garnish with fresh berries and confectioners’ sugar.

**I sprayed my ramekins with cooking spray then sprinkled sugar in them.

Recipe from Food Network

Food Network

 

Cookie Palooza – Lemon Ricotta Cookies

Lemon Ricotta… A flavor combination I first had in the form of pancakes and was instantly hooked so when I saw a cookie recipe using the two I knew I had to try it. A few things to note, these cookies are soft, almost cake-like. They kind of remind me of muffies – aka the top of a muffin. And while I am not one for glazes, I usually leave my baked good unglazed when a recipe calls for it, these cookies definitely need the glaze. Not because they are not delish without it – I tried one before glazing and it was good as is – but when I added the glaze the lemon flavor was kicked up a notch, but, not to the point that it was overbearing.

Lemon Ricotta Cookies Lemon Glaze

  • Servings: 40 cookies
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Ingredients

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 15 oz. container whole milk ricotta cheese

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (juice of 1 lemon)

1 lemon, zested

 

Glaze:

1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 lemon, zested

 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375F.

In medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl combine the butter and sugar. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beat the mixture well so all of the ingredients are incorporate.

Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice & zest. Beat to combine and then stir in the dry ingredients (the flour mixture.)

Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Spoon the dough – about 2 tablespoons for each cookie – onto the baking sheets. Bake for about 15 minutes, until the edges of the cookies are golden. Remove from the oven and the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 20 minutes.

During the 20 minutes make the glaze: Combine the all of the ingredients in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon onto each cookie and use the back of the spoon to smooth the glaze over the cookie. Let the cookies sit for 2 hours so the glaze can harden.

Recipe from Food Network

Lemon & Raspberry Bundt Cake

This cake was a few different things before it finally came to be a Lemon & Raspberry Bundt Cake. First I thought of making a raspberry crumb cake, then I thought of omitting the crumb part and making a raspberry cake with a cream cheese icing drizzle, this is where the lemon came in and I thought of a lemon raspberry cake, then it was a loaf cake and ultimately it became a Bundt cake. While initially I was thinking of sticking with the cream cheese icing drizzle I decided to pass on it so the cake wouldn’t end up being super-sweet. Did you get all that? Long story short… I ended up making a delicious lemon tinged cake that was filled with perfectly sweet raspberries.

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To make the batter I began by creaming together butter and sugar until it was light and fluffy. Following that I added six eggs, one at a time, beating the mixture well after each addition and finally I added in vanilla extract. I put that aside for a moment and in a medium sized bowl I whisked together flour, baking soda and salt. With my mixer set to a lower speed I then added in the flour mixture in three parts alternating with lemon Greek Yogurt.

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And finally I folded in the juice and zest of one lemon and fresh raspberries which I dredged in flour – dredging the berries in flour prevents them from falling to the bottom of the batter while baking.

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I then poured the batter into a Bundt pan which I sprayed with baking spray and baked it in a 325 F preheated oven.

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After about 50 minutes the cake was ready to come out of the oven.

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I let it rest in the pan for about 20 minutes and then inverted it onto a wire rack so it could cool completely.

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Once cooled, I couldn’t wait to slice into the cake and enjoy a slice, and I wasn’t disappointed, it was absolutely delish. Just the right amount of lemon flavor and the berries were definitely a nice complement to the citrus flavor. And just as important… It was perfectly moist!

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Lemon & Raspberry Bundt Cake

Ingredients:

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups sugar

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

6 large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup lemon Greek yogurt*

zest and juice from one lemon

2 cups raspberries, dredged in 2 tablespoons of flour

*I used 2 5.3-ounce containers of Chobani Greek Lemon Yogurt. You can also substitute with plain Greek yogurt or sour cream.

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F. Prep the Bundt pan by spraying it with baking spray or coating it with butter and then dusting it with flour.

2. Using a mixer beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy – about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add in the vanilla extract.

3. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.

4. Reduce the speed of the mixer to low and add in the flour mixture in three parts alternating with the yogurt. Mix until just combined.

5. Fold in the raspberries, lemon zest and juice and then transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake for approximately 50 – 60 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.

6. Place the cake on a wire rack and let it cool in the pan for 15-20 minutes before inverting and letting it cool completely.

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

When it comes to pancakes I’m a bit of a traditionalist. I’ll take plain old regular pancakes or buttermilk ones over any flavor (i.e. banana, pumpkin, corn, etc…) or additions (i.e. chocolate chips) – although blueberry pancakes are quite delish! A few years ago though I decided to try Lemon Ricotta Pancakes at a wonderful breakfast spot in Brooklyn – Tom’s Diner – and was instantly hooked. I don’t know what it is about this particular flavor that makes them so delicious – the hint of lemon, the swirl of ricotta cheese, or the combination of both – but they are definitely one pancake everyone should try. And while there are recipes for pancakes made from scratch I opted to make these pancakes using store-bought pancake mix… short-cuts aren’t always a bad thing. And with Easter just around the corner these would be perfect addition or main dish for your Easter breakfast or brunch.

To begin I whisked together pancake mix, milk and lemon oil (I didn’t have any lemons on hand to zest.) Some things to note, I used Aunt Jemima Complete Pancake Mix and while it calls for water to be used with the mix I always opt to use milk for richer tasting and fluffier pancakes. Also, the equivalent of lemon oil to lemon zest is 1/4 teaspoon vs. 1 tablespoon.

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I then folded in the ricotta cheese; folding in the ricotta helps to maintain the texture of the cheese and allows the ricotta to swirl into the batter.

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I’ll admit I’m not the best pancake maker. Usually the first one I pour into the pan is my “test” one that gets thrown out. I just haven’t mastered getting the pan to the right heat. This time around I almost nailed it.

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After topping my short-stack with syrup…

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It was time to enjoy them!

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Lemon Ricotta Pancakes*

Makes 5 4-inch pancakes

Ingredients:

1 cup pancake mix (I used Aunt Jemima complete)

3/4 cup milk (I used 2%)

1 tablespoon lemon zest (or 1/4 teaspoon lemon oil)

1/2 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese

Directions:

1. Whisk together the pancake mix, milk, and lemon oil (or zest) then gently fold in the ricotta cheese.

2. Spoon approximately 1/4 cup (I used an ice cream scoop) of the batter onto a lightly buttered pan or griddle heated over medium-heat.

3. Cook until bubbles form on the surface and then flip and cook for another minute or two until golden.

*This recipe can easily be doubled.

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