It's not often that a plate of food defeats me, but halfway through the signature ricotta hot cake I had for brunch at Melbourne's Kettle Black, I was well and truly beaten and had to have the other half boxed up to take away. Not that I minded, as it meant I could continue to snack on its deliciousness throughout the afternoon while wandering around the laneways downtown.
Melbourne is well famed for its brunch spots, and you'd be pretty hard pushed to find a bad one across the city - click here for some of my favourites - with menus ranging from familiar crowd pleasers such as avocado and eggs on toast, and sweet pancake stacks to more adventurous dishes . But back to the hotcake. First of all, it's simply the prettiest thing set in front of you - glistening with syrup and topped with seasonal fruits, nuts, seeds, edible flowers and clotted cream. You almost don't know where to put your spoon first as you know that wherever you start, you're going to destroy this artful creation. Then there's the hotcake itself - it's light but substantial, somewhere between a pancake and a cake, and the perfect weekend indulgence for when you have a bit more time on your hands.
Back from Melbourne and with a bit (actually, a lot) of trial and error, I managed to create a version which is 'as good as damn it', and when eaten, instantly transports me back to that sunny day in Australia on the tiled terrace watching the world go by.
Best served with coffee and the Weekend papers.
Ingredients
Makes approximately 4-6 depending on the size of frying pan.
For the hotcakes:
500g Ricotta
250ml Milk
200g Plain Flour
3 Eggs, lightly beaten
50g Caster sugar
20g Baking Powder
For the topping:
100g Almonds
50g Mix of Pumpkin and Sunflower seeds
Handful of fresh berries such as halved strawberries or any fruit in season
Mixture of edible flowers such as calendula, nasturtium or borage
Maple Syrup to taste
Clotted cream, or thick double cream
Method
Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees (180 degrees fan)
Put the ricotta and milk into a large bowl and whisk together until well incorporated.
Add the beaten eggs and sugar to the mixture and whisk well to remove lumps.
Add the baking powder to the flour and sieve together into the mixture, and combine well with the other ingredients until you have a thick, smooth batter.
Heat a knob of butter or a small glug of vegetable oil in a small frying pan approx 13/14cm in diameter (a blini pan is perfect) over a medium heat, and when melted ladle some of the mixture into the pan - approximately 200g.
Gently cook for a couple of minutes until the hotcake looks sealed around the edges, and then transfer to the oven.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until puffed up and golden brown in colour.
While the hotcake is baking, heat another frying pan over a low to medium heat and toast the almonds, pumpkin, and sunflower seeds for a few minutes and then remove from the heat.
When the hotcake is cooked, gently transfer to a shallow serving bowl or plate and drizzle generously with the maple syrup and top with the toasted nuts and seeds, halved strawberries, edible flowers and a big spoonful of clotted or thick double cream.
Leftover mixture can be kept in the fridge for a couple of days. Just whisk well before cooking.
