Orange Ricotta Pancakes

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Orange Ricotta Pancakes | Make the most of your Cara Cara oranges while they are in season in this fluffy, citrusy pancake recipe. These bright, orange-y pancakes will start your day off with a smile.

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Let's celebrate this gorgeous weather (we gotta have something to celebrate right now) with a sunshiny little breakfast recipe that will fill your belly and your soul.

Ingredients you need

oranges - Cara Cara oranges - I love these the best. They're sweet and delicious - get them while they're in season! (They're still in stores around here.)
ricotta cheese - haven't tried yet with homemade ricotta but I'm sure it would also work.
baking powder and baking soda - We want nice fluffy pancakes, right
an egg
flour - just a cup
salt - a pinch!
vanilla - I love vanilla and orange together
sugar - we just need a little
oil - I used sunflower oil. You could try melted butter instead if you want - I haven't tried that yet in this recipe

Tools you need

A microplane to zest the orange (I've tried scraping it with a knife and chopping that but it didn't get fine enough.)

Ingredient Substitutions

If you don't have ricotta cheese or don't want to use it, try plain Greek yogurt, it works really well as a substitute in this recipe.
Try subbing out the Cara Cara orange for a different orange or try using lemons - you might need to adjust the sugar for substitutions. But I bet lemon ricotta pancakes would be just as good as orange ricotta pancakes (with blueberries!)

How to Cook Pancakes

To make the batter for these orange ricotta pancakes, whisk together the ricotta cheese (or yogurt) and the egg until smooth.

Add the vanilla extract, orange juice, orange zest, and the sugar. Whisk together again to make sure everything is evenly incorporated.

Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and a pinch of salt and then gently whisk together, just until combined. Don't over mix.

Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. I add a little bit of oil also, just to make sure the cook nicely and don't stick. Pour a little bit of batter into the pan - about ¼ to ⅓ cup for each pancake.

Now just let the pancake sit there for a few minutes. You'll see the baking powder and baking soda working by sending up little bubbles to the surface of the pancakes. The bubbles will pop and once the pancake cooks the popped bubbles will start to leave holes in the surface. They are ready to flip at this point.

Cook for another minute or so on the other side. Remove them and keep them in a dish and cover them with a lid to keep warm or just plate and serve at once.

My kids like these with butter and syrup. I like them with just butter, I don't think they need anything else.

Tips and Tricks

Keep the heat on medium - no higher. Pancakes can burn quickly. You want to brown the outside and wait until the bubbles rise and pop on the surface. A medium (or medium-low) heat will allow this.