Sesame & Ricotta Hotcakes with Tahini Honey Butter

I am loving experimenting with pancakes in the lead up to Shrove Tuesday, they just may be my ideal food as they are quick to make and can be modified endlessly to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. While I usually tend towards the thin lacy crepe I feel it is my duty (tough though it is) not to neglect the thicker hotcake. Maybe my years of shunning the hotcake is unfair to a 'genre' of pancake but I have eaten a lot more mediocre thick pancakes in my time than I have crepe failures... there is just a lot more that can go wrong with the consistency. These hotcakes are super light and fluffy with the added depth and nuttiness of sesame seeds and tahini, a good source of antioxidants and calcium (these are practically a health supplement!).

I have adapted Bill Granger's lovely light ricotta hotcakes recipe to make these  nutty hotcakes that are divine with the Tahini Honey Butter but equally satisfying as a savoury meal with avocado and pinch of sumac. The Tahini Honey Butter itself would be good on toast or with fruit muffins, or eaten with a spoon... it's melt in the mouth and not too sweet.

Ingredients (makes 12 hot cakes):

Hot cakes

• 1/2 cup plain flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• pinch salt
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/2 cup ricotta
• 4 tablespoons tahini
• 2 eggs, separated
• 1/3 cup sesame seeds, toasted

Tahini Honey Butter

• 50 grams softened butter, at room temperature
• 4 tablespoons tahini
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Method:

1. Dry toast sesame seeds in a pan until just golden, set aside
2. To make the tahini honey butter, whisk all ingredients together until well combined and fluffy, scoop into a small serving bowl and place in fridge until ready to eat
3. For the hotcakes, sift the flour, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl, make a well in the centre and add the milk, ricotta, tahini and egg yolks, whisk well until smooth
4. In a separate clean bowl beat egg whites until stiff peaks form, then fold these gently into the batter until completely incorporated (don't beat this, you want them to be light and airy)
5. Heat a non-stick frypan on a medium high flame, scoop 1/4 cup of batter into the pan (in an even round hotcake shape), sprinkle liberally with toasted sesame seeds then flip over and cook the other side until golden
6. Serve warm, with the tahini honey butter!