These coconut ricotta pancakes are light and fluffy and topped with a deliciously sweet butter made from caramelized bananas and vanilla creme fraiche.
My goal for this breakfast and these pictures was to depict a lazy weekend morning. The kind where you’re still in your pajamas, taking your time making pancakes alongside a BIG pot of coffee.
The kind where you sit at the table (or let’s be real, the couch) with that cup of coffee and the newspaper (or more likely, your phone/iPad) for an hour or two after and don’t feel bad about it one bit.
Here’s the reality of what went on behind the scenes:
I woke up about 3 hours later than I wanted to yesterday morning.
Ulysses worked a shift that ends at midnight all weekend, meaning he wasn’t getting home until almost 1am.
So, I was up (because it’s pointless to try and go to bed knowing you’re just going to be woken in an hour up by the sound of the garage door and your husband who is incapable of being “quiet” while trying to eat cereal at 1 in the morning) until he got home and my plans of getting out of bed by 8am to make us both breakfast before he had to go to work, already shot.
So, 11am.
I’m up, starting my work at these pancakes and Ulysses is getting ready to leave for work.
On his way out the door however, he looks at Ginger who is giving him the saddest eyes like “you’re leaving me AGAIN, human?!” and decided to give her a new stuffed animal hedgehog to make up for his departure.
Ginger has one toy…a hedgehog (she’s currently on something like her 20th). She suckles it like she’s 13 making out with a boy for the first time and she can do it for hours.
It’s all she wants in life. Really, youtube weimaraners and you’ll see what I mean, they all do this weird suckle thing and it’s freaky.
The problem however, is that Ginger ONLY suckles this thing when humans are in the same room as her and she feels “comfortable”.
It’s incredibly bizarre but I could be 5 feet away in the kitchen and that won’t be good enough for her. A human must be in the room, preferably both of us for prime suckling pleasure.
That was not the case yesterday.
Ulysses walks out the door the second he hands the thing to her and I’m in the kitchen finishing the pancakes and bringing them to the dining room to photograph. This leaves Ginger in an all out state of panic.
HUMANS? WHY ARE YOU NOT IN HERE SO I CAN MAKE OUT WITH MY HEDGEHOG??
She starts trotting around the house with the hedgehog in her mouth, whimpering the most pathetic sounds I’ve ever heard and she doesn’t stop for the entire next 30 minutes while I’m photographing, cleaning up and then finally (at noon) eating my breakfast.
So that whole lazy morning weekend breakfast thing?
Yeah, more like breakfast at noon by yourself while your psychotic whimpering Weimaraner prances around with a hedgehog shoved in her mouth. #thethingsyoudontseeinthepicture
What you do see is some amazingly fluffy coconut ricotta pancakes topped with what I can only describe as heaven in the guise of butter.
I looooove ricotta in pancakes (like these orange basil ricotta pancakes) and other baked goods like this ricotta almond fig cake, it just makes things so fluffy and moist.
I’ve had a container of creme fraiche on hand for the past week and got to thinking it would be mad good on some pancakes.
Then I got thinking some more and decided to blend it with caramelized bananas for this whipped “buttery” like topping that’s just out of this world. See that dollop on top of the pancakes in the picture?
Yeah, I ate about 5 times that amount in real life.
The lunatic canine made me do it.
While the whipped banana creme fraiche is optional, I would at least top this stack with some caramelized bananas for maximum enjoyment!
These pancakes are also gluten-free.
If you’re looking for more gluten-free pancake inspiration try these:
Cinnamon raisin oat bran pancakes
Meyer lemon quinoa pancakes
And if you want a high-protein, super high satiety pancake – try this recipe for protein pancakes or pumpkin protein pancakes!
Coconut Ricotta Pancakes with Carmelized Banana Creme Fraiche Butter
Ingredients
For the Ricotta Pancakes
- 1 cup gluten free baking flour, or all-purpose
- 1/3 cup almond flour
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup whole milk ricotta
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons coconut milk
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon coconut extract
For the Creme Fraiche Butter
- 1 banana, sliced
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons vanilla creme fraiche, or regular creme friache mixed with vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 1 tablespoon coconut milk
Instructions
For the Ricotta Pancakes
- Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Whisk together the remaining wet ingredients in a small bowl and pour into the large bowl. Stir until incorporated.
- Heat a pancake griddle or skillet over medium heat.
- Once hot, grease with butter or coconut oil.
- Pour about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake onto the skillet and cook for about 1 1/2 minutes, flip and cook another 30 seconds. Transfer to a plate and keep warm in the oven while you make the remaining pancakes.
For the Creme Fraiche Butter
- Heat a small skillet over medium heat.
- Melt the butter and brown sugar in the skillet, add the banana slices and cinnamon and cook for about 2 minutes per side until the bananas start to caramelize.
- Transfer the caramelized bananas to a food processor. Add the creme fraiche and milk and process until smooth.
- Top the pancakes with the butter and serve warm with maple syrup.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
Gina – I love that last shot, the lighting, the colors, so soft and perfect.
Great post my friend! XO SHERRIE
You got me at pancakes Gina :D
Just had my breakfast and your photos are making me crave for second breakfast… Temptations
Well, you really captured the whole lazy Saturday vibe, even if the reality was anything but! And that banana creme fraiche butter is seriously out of control, can’t wait to make this!
OMG. These pancakes look amazing. Another masterpiece!!!
Those pancakes, you had me at coconut and bananas. And there’s some vanilla too! Thanks for the laugh about Ginger. I’ve had my cat, Lizard, harass me countless of times during the cooking, plating and photo shoot.
Goodness! Your pancake looks so fluffy and delicious! I’m definitely sharing this recipe!
My cat suckles too and it’s so weird. Sometimes he will try to suckle my hair…yeah, picture that. These pancakes look amazing my friend. I’m so slow at making pancakes that if I decide to make them we don’t eat until noon either….haha.
Haha I love your behind the scenes story! My dog always does the strangest things when I’m trying to cook and photograph as well. I love the “lazy Sunday” styling of this shoot – and I am kind of obsessed with that butter. I need it in my life! Pinned!
These pancakes both look and sound amazing! Really perfect for lazy weekend breakfast :)
Gina I am blown away. So beautiful, fluffy, the height of each pancake..amazing! And the ‘butter’ as you said, it’s pure heaven, indeed! Pinned.