Melting Lemon Pancakes

By SewingDragonfly

Arrange 3 of these small pancakes on a dessert plate with fresh strawberries, raspberries or blueberries alongside. The pancakes are soft and a little tricky to manage. Don't try these of you're in a hurry! Cook them on a nonstick griddle or in a shallow skillet over moderately low heat. Use a thin metal spatula or pancake turner to turn them, not a thick plastic one. They freeze well.

See recipe below for Melting Caramel Pancakes

Ingredients

• 1 or 2 lemons
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 cup creamed small curd cottage cheese (2% or more milk fat)
• 1/3 cup uncooked quick (not instant) farina
• 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 4 T unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• Oil for cooking
• Confectioner's sugar

Preparation

Step 1

Remove 4 lengthwise strips of peel from one lemon with a vegetable peeler.

Put the lemon peel strips in a food processor along with all but about 2 T sugar. Process 2 minutes, until the peel is very finely chopped. The sugar will look moist.

Squeeze the lemons to make 3 T juice. Add to the sugar mixture along with the cottage cheese, farina, flour and butter. Crack open the eggs, letting the whites fall into a deep narrow bowl and adding the yolks to the processor. Process the ingredients abut 30 seconds, until very smooth, scraping the sides once. Sprinkle the raisins over the surface. Turn the machine on/off twice to mix.

Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer at high speed until soft peaks form when the beater is lifted. Add the remaining sugar and beat 2 or 3 minutes longer, until the whites are stiff, glossy and very white.

Spread the beaten whites over the top of the yolk mixture, mixing them in slightly as you go. Then turn the machine on/off 2 or 3 times, until no traces of white remain. Scrape the mixture into the bowl the whites were beaten in.

Heat the griddle or skillet over moderately low heat until it feels warm when you hold your hand directly above it. Grease the griddle very lightly.

For each pancake, drop about 1 heaping T batter onto the griddle and spread it into a 2” round. Cook 2-3 minutes, until the undersides are golden brown. Adjust the heat if the pancakes are browning too fast. Turn the pancakes over and cook 2-3 minutes longer to brown second side.

Keep the pancakes warm in a 200 degree oven on a plate or cookie sheet, covered to stay moist, for up to 1 hour. Sift a little confectioner's sugar over the pancakes before serving. Or refrigerate or freeze, and reheat at 200 degrees for 5-6 minutes.

Melting Caramel Pancakes: Omit the lemon, sugar and raisins in the above recipe. Prepare the batter using ½ cup light brown sugar and 1 tsp vanilla.