Bill Granger's Ricotta Hotcakes - Danish Style
I remember when I was scheduled to have my First Communion – a few weeks before we had to prepare by going to our first confession. For those who don’t know what this means, basically, you enter a little booth, divided by a wall – one side sits a priest and one the other end is you. You tell the priest your sins and transgressions and ask for forgiveness. Some classmates planted this notion that the more sins we could confess, the better. Not only that, the longer I could drag out my confessions – the more chances I would go to heaven. So my first confession (and the subsequent ones for several years!) contained lots of trivial and irrelevant confessions from “I was angry with this friend”, “I did not finish my vegetables for dinner” or “I told my Mum I took a bath when in fact I just ‘wet’ the soap so she would think I did”
I can imagine the poor priest on the other end of the confessional wishing that this little girl would just shut up!
Why I bring this up is because, well, there is another something I’d like to get off my chest. These Danish Pancakes – well’ they aren’t really Danish.
When Simone from Jungle Frog and Nurit from 1 Family. Friendly. Food posted their Dutch pancakes I was very interested in participating in the next challenge. The idea was to make aebleskivers or Danish pancakes.
Confession Number 1: There was a time I couldn’t tell the difference between the Dutch and Danish pancakes. Try to google these two, and well, they look the same! In fact, I think I must have emailed Simone three or four times asking “what is the difference between the pancakes that start with A and P” . That is, A stood for the aebleskivers, the Danish pancakes and P stood for the poffortjes, or the Dutch pancakes. I also had no idea how to pronounce either Dutch or Danish pancakes.
Confession Number 2: I used the wrong pan. I couldn’t find an aebleskiver pan in Sydney (if anyone knows where I can get it please let me know!). So I thought, well, since I couldn’t immediately tell the difference, maybe most readers wouldn’t as well. So off I went to buy the Dutch pancake pans only to realize after that the Danish pancakes are deeper, allowing you to put more filling in each.
Mini ricotta hotcakes with honeycomb butter
Confession Number 3: – I didn’t use the traditional aebleskiver recipe. Because the pan I had bought was not deep enough, it was difficult to fill (you normally fill the pancakes with your choice of filling – whether it be chocolate, jam, fruit compote etc.). Instead, I used Bill Granger’s Ricotta Hotcake with Honeycomb Butter recipe. Bill’s is one of those iconic breakfast joints in Sydney. One of his most popular breakfast items is the ricotta hotcakes – they’re delicious, especially with the honeycomb butter.
Confession Number 4: My geography is SHOCKING. Remember I told you I couldn’t tell the difference between the two pancakes? Well, this is probably the most embarrassing confession so far – I called the Dutch shop to ask where I could buy the aebleskiver pan.
The lady on the line was quite curt and said “I don’t know what you are referring to”.
So I thought, well, maybe I didn’t know how to pronounce it. So I asked again, “aebleskiver pan – A E B L E S K I V E R ”
“No… I don’t know what that is”
So I said “The one you use to make pancakes”
“You mean the poffertjes pan?” she asked
“No… no, the other one – the aebleskiver – you know, the one used to make the Danish pancakes?”
“My dear, she said – this is a Dutch shop – we don’t sell Danish goods”
OH MY… silly silly me. 🙂
I can just imagine Ellie cringing now!
Ah yes, you must be like the poor priest on the other end of the confessional – wishing this lady with the shocking lack of knowledge of geography would just shut up and give the recipe… okay – without further ado – here it is.
Recipe – from BBC Food
For the honeycomb butter
- 250g/8¾oz unsalted butter, softened
- 100g/3½oz sugar honeycomb, crushed with a rolling pin (you can use a Crunchie or Violet Crumble bar for this)
- 2 tbsp honey
For the hotcakes
- 225g/8oz ricotta
- 170ml/6fl oz milk
- 4 eggs, separated
- 140g/5oz plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- a pinch salt
- 50g/1½oz butter
To serve
- banana or strawberries
- icing sugar for dusting
1. Make the honeycomb butter first. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Shape into a log on clingfilm, roll, seal and chill in a refrigerator for two hours.
Honeycomb Butter
2. Place ricotta, milk and egg yolks in a mixing bowl and mix to combine. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Add to the ricotta mixture and mix until just combined.
3. Place egg whites in a clean dry bowl and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites through batter in two batches, with a large metal spoon.
4. Lightly grease a large non-stick frying pan (I used the dutch pancake pan) with a small portion of the butter and drop two tablespoons of batter per hotcake into the pan (don’t cook more than three per batch).
5. Cook over low to medium heat for two minutes, or until hotcakes have golden undersides. Turn hotcakes and cook on the other side until golden and cooked through.
6. Transfer to a plate and quickly assemble with other ingredients.
7. Slice one banana lengthways onto a plate, stack three hotcakes on top with a slice of honeycomb butter. Dust with icing sugar. You can use strawberries in place of the banana.
Note – hotcake batter can be stored for up to 24 hours, covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator. You can store leftover honeycomb butter in the freezer and slice as required – it’s great on toast!
Ricotta hotcakes with honeycomb butter
Please hop over the Simone’s and Nurit’s site to see their lovely creations.
Trissalicious 
Not only a delicous post but a very “educating” post. Seriously, I just learnt something too. I have an aebelskiver pan (we make something like them in India too) and I should give these a go soon.
1) I just made a version of those hotcakes and they’re truly fabulous
2) I could never tell the difference between the Dutch and Danish versions either
3) That honeycomb butter looks to die for!
Okay, I’m sorry, but these sound too awesome! Ricotta, ginger, and honeycomb butter? I’m making these.
Authentic aebleskivers pivers wivers divers. They’re amazing puffy, golden pancakey perfection..AND they have ricotta cheese in them..AND they’re served with amazing looking honeycomb butter. I am literally weak in the knees.
I love Bill Granger’s ricotta pancakes – that honeycomb butter looks delicious!
Trissa, your hotcakes with the honeycomb butter look absolutely a great way to start the mornings…will have to try it for a weekend brunch…by the way, love your confession story 🙂
oh wow Trissa, your honeycomb butter looks to die for. I must make this butter next time I make some Pancakes.
This was a cute post. There’s nothing, however, cute about your photos and your recipes. They are wonderful. Thanks for sharing them with us. I really enjoy your blog and will be back often.
I’m really amused at your confessions to the priest. I’m sure the priest was smiling on the other side…haha. These ricotta hotcakes look so delicious! I can eat many!! 😛
I made a gluten free version of these for pancake day, they should come with a warning! I couldn’t stop eating them and the honeycomb butter as DEE-VINE! Definitely one of my favourites.
These hotcakes look definitely fantastic! I searched for that pan here in Turkey when I learnt it from another lovely food blog, but no I couldn’t find any. Would really love to have one.
This is such a classic recipe-one of my favourites!
I find myself coming to your blog more and more often to the point where my visits are almost daily now!
I love this recipe! It is one of my favourites!!!!! Love your photography!
Wow those look stunning! I bet the ricotta made them very moist.
these are one of the most beautiful hotcakes. the ricotta and honeycomb butter is so luxurious.
Oh yeah, ricotta hotcakes…I would like to try some of that!
This is a hilarious post! Love it 🙂
Bill’s ricotta cakes are great & this looks like a great variant on his recipe.
those hotcakes LOOK HOT! :). I could just imagine how great the ricotta must taste for this recipe!
i used to wet my tooth brush and make sounds of cup clinking when i was younger – cos i was lazy to brush my teeth- they never found out :O)
ive had these pancakes at bills and they werent as great as people had talked them up to be, & overpriced as well, breakfast for two costed us over $50 :s
Oh how I wish I owned one as well! It’s pretty easy to find one for me; I just can’t afford that lavish expense he he. They still turned out gorgeous!
Oh, btw, I used the same litany of sins when I went to confession … “I fought with my brothers and sister,” “I thought something disrespectful when my parents scolded me,” “I missed church one Sunday …” I always got 8 Hail Marys and 8 Our Fathers as penance. I always thought if I lied and said I did something HORRIBLE, I’d get the same penance.
MMM, those look good. And I even know who Bill Granger is, since I’ve been Down Under!
hahahahahha,…A lovely recipe indeed!
“I told my Mum I took a bath when in fact I just ‘wet’ the soap so she would think I did.”
ha.
also, i’m quite certain that a)i’ll never be able to pronounce either word correctly, and b)i’ll always eat any type of pancake/hotcake/waffle/what-have-you with gusto. these look really tasty, trissa, especially topped with that unique butter!
Ooh, I do like Bill Granger’s hotcakes! Yours looks so fluffy and kinda cute. And don’t get me started on the honeycomb butter – you can’t have one without the other anymore.
omg that dollop of honeycomb butter is making me go crazy! i dunno if id be able to wait for it to sit in the fridge for 2 hours hehe
Oh gosh, your confession story brought back so many memories from primary school confessional. Excited by the minicakes, but that Honeycomb butter looks sinfully delicious too.
O Trissa… how funny is that story! I can almost hear that conversation in my head…lol… Despite all your troubles in getting the pan etcetera I think you’ve done a fantastic job in making these poffertjes or whatever they’re called. I never really understood the difference between the Dutch and the Danish ones until I saw the difference in the pans. That is only when I realized they do look different and well that filling for me is the biggest difference of all! Just love it. Your recipe looks fabulous too and that honeycomb butter… Mmm.. gotta try that too sometime!
[…] Check out Nurit’s post here and Trissa’s post here […]
I would make up sins as well, as I often couldn’t think of any decent real ones! This must be a widespread thing! Poor priests.
I love the inclusion of the chocolate in the butter too. I think I could just eat the butter 😀
I just finished my 4okm bike race… and this would be the perfect breakfast for that after race treat! Lovely.
Trissa, whatever they are called or meant to be they look freaking awesome! Can I have some? That honeycomb butter is to die for.
*drools*
I remember going to confession (I was in a nun school till fourth grade) and really scratching my head to come up with sins and doing what you did: coming up with pseudo sins! ; wow, i really should go to confession now, I have got some really good ones!
Your pancakes look absolutely stunning, amazing and I want to devour them right this minute!
You know what. I dont really care what they are called. They are all round and delicious. I think if you were to explain the difference to me in person while they were sitting there looking at me, by the time you finish your story they would have been eaten. They look great Trissa and proud of you for your confession..
Hahahha that phone conversation was hilarious! But those little hotcakes look so perfect and cute and fluffy! And you honeycomb butter looks just right, oh I love having it whenever I get to visit Bill’s. I want this for breakfast!
Oh when pancakes look as good as yours, there is no need for apologies! My geography has always been shocking but you definitely beat me in cooking talent 🙂
Oh dear Trissa, I was indeed cringing! So which Dutch shop did you call………. lol! I have never thought of using poffortjes pan to make Bill’s ricotta hot cakes!! It’s a very clever idea. Did you include the chocolate from the crunchie bar to make your honeycomb butter? Nice!! Love pancake with chocolate.
What a cute post! The priest on the other end probably just thought you were the most guilt-ridden soul on Earth. It must have been a relief to unburden yourself of the small stuff, those add up too. Do you live in AU? These pancakes look fabulous. The batter is much thicker than that of the traditional aebleskiver recipe. I would of made the same mistake you made about Dutch / Netherlands(?) and Danish / Denmark.
I forgive you for all your sins 😉
What a funny story with that lady in the Dutch shop, haha!
Yeah, I didn’t know the difference either a few years ago, but there really is.
I think both Simone and I prefer the danish ones… but should give the poffertjes another try maybe?
The honeycomb butter looks sooooooo good… it is even better than the Danish hotcake…;-)
I didn’t know there are differences between Danish and Dutch pancakes until I read this post.
ooh that looks yumm! i love ricotta cakes! 🙂 hehe.. we all make geography mistakes.. it’s ok 😀 that was my weakest subject in school..
Ok, that’s just too funny about the confession!
These look just lovely. I love the looks of the honeycomb butter!
Have a great weekend!!!
Ah, I’ve never heard of aebselkivers being referred to as pancakes – I always thought they were more of a sort of doughnut. But I guess the cooking method is more similar to pancakes. There were plenty of those pans in the US and I think there may be an acceptable substitute here in Manila somewhere – I am pretty sure you’ll be successful in Sydney in your search. Anyway, these hotcakes, though not exactly what you were aiming for, still do look lovely and every bit as delicious.
🙂 Trissa. You’re not the only one with Geography issues….I won’t go into mine now. I love the idea of these hotcakes…..and I love poffertjes. I’ve been to Denmark but never tried Aeb……..will aim to do that next time I’m in Copenhagen. Great job!
Well, I have a confession to make, I wouldn’t know all these thing if you didn’t do a post about it. So, thanks for the educational info. These pancakes are absolutely a must have and definitely with the honeycomb butter. Just gorgeous.
This was quite the journey! 8-D Although they were made in the wrong kind of pan, your ricotta hotcakes and honeycomb butter are amazing. I just finished my oatmeal but I want to go back in the kitchen and whip out the aebleskiver pan! For that, I’d say you’re totally absolved.
Ohgod. Ohmygoodness graceous. That butter! THAT BUUUUUTTERRR! And the pancakes too Trissa – they ll look so lovely oh dear lordy I have to calm myself down! 🙂
LOLOLOL!!! Dutch shop, Danish goods. 🙂 Trissa, you are a scream! Having said that, all is forgiven my dear, looking at how beautiful your hotcakes turned out. 🙂
I ma glad we did not share the same confessional.
The poor priest would have changed parishes.:)
I always said the same thing..every single week.I still remember the feeling and scent of the confessional..and while in Europe they are a beauty to behold for me.
I must admit I confess in my heart now.Well since a loooooooooooooooooooooooong long time..More years than you are:)
(the wet soap cracked me up!)
Your offerings look beautiful~
I bought my aebleskiver pan through Amazon.I had to scroll up and check your spelling :)I had the l in th wrong place.
I am extremely poor at Geography and History.
So to me.. you’re brilliant:)
Your stories crack me up! Whatever you want to call them…they look delicious!
Trissa, you really make me smile eveyrtime I visit. And for the record, until I read this post, completely had no idea about Danish pancakes (although I do like poffortjes). So thanks for the info. And I absolutely cracked up at the bit about you wetting the soap to make your mum think you’d had a bath!!
OMG OMG!! I love these pancakes. This was the only dish from Bill’s that I had when I was up.
Trissa,
This post is interesting enough and I just can’t help giggling while reading your “confessions”. You’re so lovely and serious about doing everything right in a adorable way.
BTW, I happened to see some aebleskiver pans available at Robins Kitchen, Brisbane.
http://www.robinskitchen.com.au/
Not sure they have any branches at your nearby suburbs, although they have some in NSW.
The aebleskiver pans offered at Robins Kitchen look like this:
Is that kind of pan you are after? Other than this kind of pan, I can’t find any around here as well. Too bad.