These are adapted from Nigella Lawson’s recipe for what she calls Cheesecakelets. You can tell how much I love them by how absolutely wrecked this page of my cookbook is. There is even an ancient blue sticky note with slightly scaled down (not halved!) proportions that I used all through university to make myself midnight pancakes-for-one whenever I pulled an all-nighter.

Her version uses cottage cheese, but I prefer them with ricotta. They do require you to separate the eggs and beat the whites, which is a pain in the backside, but I promise it is worth it, because it results in tiny little pancake pillows!

Balsamic and strawberries is a classic combination, and I really love it here, but my children do not. Feel free to just use plain berries, or maple syrup, or indeed whatever topping you enjoy—it’s your breakfast after all!

Ricotta Pancakes w/ Balsamic Strawberries

Adapted from Nigella Lawson

Yield: I have doubled Lawson’s original recipe to satisfy our family of four. Because these are quite delicate, I do find it helpful to keep these on the smaller side. I would also suggest cooking them a touch longer than you think you should in order to make sure the centers are really set.

For the pancakes:

6 eggs
1/4 cup sugar or honey
2 tsp. vanilla extract
450 grams of full-fat ricotta (1 small tub)
100 g all purpose flour

For the berries:

500 g ripe strawberries, sliced
1 tsp. good balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. sugar

Method:

If you have chosen to follow me down the balsamic berry path, stir that together first to get it macerating.
Separate the eggs, placing the whites and the yolks in separate medium bowls.
Beat the whites until they are fluffy. You don’t need to go full meringue, but you want a decent amount of air. I usually just use a whisk, but feel free to whip out your beaters or your stand mixer if you feel called to do so. Set aside.
Add the sugar or honey to the yolks and beat well.
Add the vanilla and ricotta and mix.
Fold in the flour until just combined.
Add a dollop of the egg whites to the batter and mix to lighten the it up a bit, then add the rest of the whites and fold in gently, stopping when no white streaks remain.
Generously butter or oil your griddle or skillet, and cook as you would any other pancakes, waiting to flip until air bubbles form and burst on the surface and the edges begin to look quite matte and dry.
Top as desired and eat while pipping hot!