Hotcakes with berry and plum syrup

Recently I've decided that I've wanted to try a few new recipes so that we can broaden our food horizons as we seem to be eating the same old things for what seems like forever. I've told you all before how I like to mix things up sometimes and the kids seem to enjoy eating dessert for dinner so when I found this recipe I knew we just to try it. In Australia we call hotcakes pancakes, so I called these pancakes when I served them up to the children.

The other good thing about trying this recipe was that because of the dairy and sugar content Quinlan might actually gain some weight instead of losing it this month instead. We have been battling with his weight for the last few months and its getting to the point that I need him to gain weight every few weeks. So with this in mind I just knew that he would love this meal and if I added yogurt I'd be ticking all the boxes to make him happy.

The great thing about this recipe is it's adaptable and it can be eaten year round. I'm thinking I'm going to try using mixed berry and vanilla bean cream when winter comes or maybe I can make them for Mr Opoes to celebrate Valentines Day.

Hotcakes with berry and plum syrup.

Sauce Ingredients

5 plums, halved, pitted and cut into 1 cm thick slices

1/2 cup caster sugar

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 vanilla bean, split length ways

1 cup fresh blueberries

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Hotcake Ingredients

1 cup fresh ricotta cheese

3/4 cup buttermilk

4 large eggs, separated

1 cup plain flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 cup caster sugar

100 grams unsalted butter

icing sugar for dusting

Method:

1. Heat a large heavy frying pan over a medium heat. Add plums, sugar and cinnamon. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the plum mixture then add the beans too. Cook, gently stirring the fruit occasionally for 2 minutes or until the sugar melts and the plums release their juice.

2. Gently fold in the blueberries and cook for a further 2 minutes or until the blue berries begin to release their juice. Don't let the berries cook too long or they'll become mushy and lose their shape. Stir in the lemon juice. Remove from the heat and keep warm.

3. To make the hotcakes, whisk the ricotta, buttermilk and egg yolks in a large bowl to blend. Sift the flour and baking powder into the ricotta mixture, whisking until blended.

4. In another bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the egg whites and sugar until stiff peaks form. Using a large silicone spatula, gently fold the egg whites through the batter.

5. Pre-heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium-low. Melt about a teaspoon of butter in the pan or alternatively spray your pan with cooking spray. Ladle the batter into the pan and cook each hotcake for 3 minutes each side or until they puff up. Each side should be golden brown and just cooked through. Transfer the hotcakes onto plates.

6. Immediately after coming out of the pan, spoon the warm fruit and syrup over the hotcakes. Dust with icing sugar, to serve. Alternatively, place the syrup in a bowl and have your diners spoon their own topping over their hotcakes.

7. Repeat to make and serve more hotcakes, wiping the pan with paper towels before cooking each batch.

NOTE: if wanting to make these gluten free I just substituted 1 cup of plain flour for 1 cup of gluten free plain flour and I made sure that the baking powder was also gluten free.

When I served these up to the children I allowed the fruit and syrup to cool down a little so that the kids wouldn't burn their tongues. Alternatively, you could also serve these hotcakes with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a bit of cream on the side. Either way, these hotcakes are now my go to recipe, especially when after a while trying my three year old is eating them with her siblings.

Megan