Lemon Souffle Pancakes

I know that Bill Granger might be renowned for his ricotta hotcakes with honeycomb butter, but since I hardly have fresh ricotta in my kitchen (though I plan on having more of it now that I have this!), my favourite pancake recipe happens to be another recipe from his Sydney Food book. They are zesty and light, good for summer with some berries and just as enjoyable in winter with a ton of maple syrup.

They are a little more work than your average, back of the flour packet-recipe, but it's worth it. The beaten egg whites help to create the lightest, fluffiest pancake and you will never get the dense, doughy flat pancakes you can sometimes get with other recipes.

Lemon Souffle Pancakes
(from Bill Granger's Sydney Food)

3/4 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, separated
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tsp grated lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla essence
25g unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp caster sugar
pinch salt
To serve: maple syrup or halved strawberies, 1 tbsp honey and icing sugar

Place buttermilk, egg yolks, lemon juice and zest, and vanilla essence in a bowl and stir until combined. Add the melted butter and mix well.

Sift flour, baking powder, caster sugar and salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and gradually stir in the buttermilk mixture until the dry ingredients are just moistened, being careful not to overmix.

Place egg whites in a dry, clean bowl and beat until soft peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter, using a large metal spoon.

Melt a small portion of butter in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat and drop 2 tablespoons of batter per cake into the pan. Cook the cake until golden brown on the underside and looking dry at the edges, then turn and cook the other side.

Transfer to a plate and keep warm while cooking remaining batter. Serve with toppings of your choice.

I was lazy and used 3 tablespoons of batter per pancake so they fit nicely into my new small Green pan, but I usually prefer making the smaller ones because they are fatter and fluffier. Still good this way though!