If we are actually going to be home in an actual house for Easter rather than waking up in our tent like we usually do, I suppose it would be nice to make a special breakfast.

We had breakfast at Apte a few weeks ago and they served a dish similar to this. I’ve been inspired to mimic it ever since.

I made my own ricotta so to give me enough time, I started preparing this mid-afternoon Saturday. It’s worth the effort. Make your own and you’ll never want to eat that store bought muck again. I promise. OK, strictly speaking it’s a softy curd cheese. True ricotta is made from whey. Let’s not get bogged down in semantics though, OK?

I used Bill Granger’s recipe for the actual hot cakes. I made the batter on Saturday night and left it in the fridge until morning. It would have been a little lighter had I made it immediately before cooking but not so much as to justify sacrificing some Sunday sleep in time.

Home Made Ricotta.
4 litres full fat milk
1/3 + 1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
candy thermometer
Put milk in large saucepan and add salt. Heat, stirring occasionally, until temperature reaches 85 degrees. Remove from heat, puor vinegar all over surface area of milk and stir for 1 minute until throughly combined. Stand for approximately 2 hours.
Iron a thin tea towel or cheesecloth and line a large colander with it. Place over a large bowl. Using a slotted spoon, lift curds into colander. Place in fridge to drain overnight. Reserve 1 1/3 cups for hot cake batter.
Remove from fridge at least half an hour before serving to allow it to return to room temperature.

Berry topping
I used a punnet of strawberries and some blue berries I found in the freezer.
I hulled the strawberries on Saturday, sprinkled with muscovado and left in the fridge overnight. To serve, gently warm all the berries in 1 sauce pan with a tablespoon of muscovado. Spoon ricotta over hotcakes and top with berries to serve.

This is so festive looking it would make a fabulous Christmas breakfast too. I’d show you a  photo but the lighting in the ktchen was awful this morning and  couldn’t get a decent shot.