Last weekend, I made Dutch Baby Pancakes. They were oh-so-good but I wanted to try another recipe for traditional pancakes.

Some people call them hotcakes or flapjacks. I can not remember exactly what my Mother called them. I think she called them hotcakes. She would make them on occasion. I don’t remember any particular recipe. Actually, I think she used Bisquick.

I used Bisquick for a bit and later tried a variety of different mixes. One was the local mix from one of our famous Breakfast locations – Snoqualmie Lodge. These are both okay but not my favorite. Another mix that I used to use is from Bette’s Diner in Berkeley. The Buckwheat mix is still one of my favorites for waffles. I just can’t find it in my local stores any longer.

But there really is no reason to use a mix. It is also comforting to make from scratch and only use a few fresh ingredients – milk, eggs, flour and leavening agent like baking powder. Instead of a long list of mysterious ingredients listed on the mixes. The key is how you mix the ingredients. You do not want to over mix the batter. The second trick is to figure out how hot to have your pan or griddle. That just takes time and experience.

Maya of The Many Walks of Maya posted comment on my Dutch Baby post about Bill’s Ricotta Hotcakes. Bill Granger is a well known Australia chef who owns several restaurants in the Sydney area. He is known for the Ricotta hotcakes. Maya blogged about them a couple of months back on her blog.

I just happened to have some ricotta and made them this weekend. They were excellent. The ricotta makes them very tender. The flavor is very slight but very yummy. They are traditionally served with a butter honeycomb but I choose to serve them with loads of butter and warm maple syrup. Excellent.

For the recipe – pop over to Maya’s blog and check it out. – Hotcakes