Hotcakes

I love food. So when my in-laws arrived in Adelaide talking about the ricotta hot cakes they had at Bill's, on their stop-over in Sydney, I knew where I would be having breakfast--my next trip to Sydney. As I waited for that opportunity, I decided to do some research about Bill's. It turns out that Bill's is celebrity chef Bill Grange's restaurant. There are actually three Bill's in Sydney, and they are famous for their signature hot cakes.

I had to wait a couple of months, but last March I finally made it to Bill's over in Darlinghurst. I went on my own, since Mark was in meetings. I actually walked, well over an hour, from CBD (Central Business District aka Downtown for us Yanks). But I figured the walk would allow me to build up my appetite.

When my hot cakes arrived, I was glad my mode of transport to my breakfast had been the foot mobile. My order looked lovely, but the portion--three large fluffy golden discs, a caramelized banana, and a kilo of honeycomb butter--was enormous. Unfortunately, after about 30 minutes of sure oral delight, I had to leave my half eaten plate.

When I slowly sauntered out of Bill's, I decided that as divine as the meal had been, any return visit would not include the hot cakes. I am not saying that they were not good, they were wonderful, but 1 serving was just too much. This being said, I still wanted to share the joy of the ricotta hot cake with my husband. When we got back to Adelaide I was thrilled to find that Bill's Hot Cake recipe is no secret and available on-line. A recipe that is not only a keeper, but one of our favorite Sunday morning pleasures. A pleasure that I am about to head into the kitchen to prepare!

Even though the recipe is easy enough to find, I have included it below. My only changes are that I halve the recipe, use whole wheat flour, and for the Honeycomb butter I skip the honeycomb and add cinnamon.

Ricotta Hotcakes
1 1/3 cups ricotta
¾ cup milk
4 eggs, separated
1 cup plain all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
50g butter

Place ricotta, milk and egg yolks in a bowl and mix to combine. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the ricotta mixture and mix until incorporated. Place egg whites in a dry clean bowl and whip until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into the batter using a wide metal spoon. Do this in two batches. Over a low to medium heat, lightly grease a large non-stick frypan with a small portion of butter. Drop a ladleful of batter into the pan and cook for two minutes or until the edges have turned golden brown. Flip the hotcakes over and fry until it is cooked through. Transfer to a plate. Top with appropriate condiments and dust with icing sugar.

Honeycomb Butter
250g unsalted butter, softened
100g sugar honeycomb, crushed with a rolling pin
2 tbsp honey

Combine all ingredients in a food processor