Moist and delicious pancakes with a hint of lemon. The ricotta cheese makes these rich but not heavy. My favorite way to serve them is with a cherry sauce.
In a mixing bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk to blend and make a well in the center. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, ricotta, eggs and vanilla extract until well combined.
In a Pyrex measuring cup mix lemon zest, lemon juice and melted butter. Whisk together with the wet ingredients.
Note: The wet ingredients may curdle a little due to the lemon juice. Don't worry about it.
Quickly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk just to combine. Pancake batter should be slightly lumpy and not smooth.
Using a 1/4 cup or 1/3 cup (depending on how large you want your pancakes) pour batter onto a buttered griddle or flat skillet and cook over medium heat until bubbles begin to appear on the surface and the bottom is golden. Slide a spatula under the pancake and flip to cook the other side until golden.
Repeat process until all the pancakes have been made.
Note: You may need to adjust and lower the temperature slightly if the griddle becomes too hot. The fullness of your measuring cups will affect the pancake yield. I usually get about 10 pancakes.
Serve warm with powdered sugar and Morello Cherry Sauce or fresh fruit and maple syrup .
To keep warm until serving, loosely cover with foil and place in a 200°F preheated oven.
Drain the cherries and reserve the liquid.
In a small sauce pan, combine cherries, sugar, and cornstarch slurry with 1/2 cup of reserved liquid. Bring to a simmer and stir frequently until bubbly and thick. Add Grand Marnier and remaining liquid and cook for an additional 5 minutes on a low simmer.
Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Serve warm over pancakes.