Would you like to try some Ricotta Pancakes with Passionfruit Syrup? Hello, everyone, its Jillian with another Delicious Bites column for decor8. Normally I write from Sydney but this month I’m writing from Europe, currently Paris, where I’m on vacation. I’ve been eating a pastry a day, purely as research for Delicious Bites of course (wink).

Do you like pancakes? Yes, of course you do! I’ve always loved pancakes yet I don’t make them that often. Blueberry pancakes are my favourite closely followed by ricotta pancakes. Ricotta cheese is one of my all time favourite ingredients. I use it all the time as a spread and in some of my favourite pasta dishes. I’ve even tried making ricotta at home just to see if I could. I mainly use ricotta in savoury dishes but this time I’m using it as the main ingredient in these light and fluffy pancakes.

This pancake recipe was inspired by Aussie cook and restaurateur, Bill Granger. I have one of Bill’s cookbooks at home and the recipes are easy to follow and taste great. Bill is famous for his ricotta hotcakes with honey comb butter and this is my take on his classic dish. Instead of honeycomb butter, I topped the hotcakes with labne and sliced banana then drizzled over some passionfruit syrup. If passionfruit are hard to source, honey or maple syrup would work well or any other of your favourite pancake toppings. These pancakes are at their best when freshly made. They still taste great when reheated but they do lose their fluffiness. Here’s the recipe for you. Ricotta hotcakes with passionfruit syrup (Makes 15 hotcakes)

Ricotta Pancakes 1 cup self raising flour 1 tsp baking powder ½ tsp salt Two 20 ml tbs caster sugar 1 tsp grated lemon rind 4 eggs, separated 250 g (8 oz) ricotta cheese 1 cup milk or buttermilk

Ricotta Pancakes Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl. Stir in the sugar and lemon rind. Gently mix in the egg yolks, the ricotta cheese and the milk. In a large clean dry bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites through the batter. Grease a small non stick pan and place over a medium heat. When the pan is hot, spoon in a few tablespoons of the mixture just enough to cover the pan. When bubbles form on the surface and the undersurface is golden brown, it’s time to flip the hotcake over and cook the other side. I like to lightly grease the pan in between each hotcake, to prevent them sticking. Once cooked, keep the pancakes warm.

Passionfruit Syrup ½ cup sugar ¼ cup water ¼ cup lemon juice 2 passionfruit, pulped

Passionfruit Syrup In a small saucepan combine the sugar, water and the juice. Bring to the boil and lower the heat. Simmer the mixture for a few minutes. Gently stir in the passionfruit pulp and simmer for a further minute. Remove from the heat. Serve hot or cold. If the syrup gets too thick as it cools, just dilute it with a little hot water.

I really hope you get the chance to make these as they are just delicious. See you all again next month with another Delicious Bites post, - Jillian.

(text/images by jillian leiboff)