Pancakes with sweet ricotta filling and triple berry reduction

This is what I made for breakfast this morning. Pancakes piled high with sweet ricotta filling in between and a triple berry reduction syrup on top. I didn't have any, myself, and instead opted for a ham, swiss and scrambled egg sandwich on whole grain bread, but the kids tell me this was delicious!


To start, make your favorite pancake recipe. Any pancakes will do, but because of the sweetness of both filling and topping, I would suggest plain buttermilk pancakes so you don't end up with a too sweet brekkie.


For the ricotta filling:
~ 2 cups ricotta
~ 1 cup confectioner's sugar
~ 1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix well in a medium sized mixing bowl. Set aside.

For the berry reduction:

~1 bag frozen berries
~ sugar, to taste
~ water

1 bag of frozen berries (this is convenient, you can use fresh if you'd like.) Any type of berries will do. I used a berry medley of blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries. If you use a larger fruit like strawberries you may want to cut the berries into bite sized pieces like I did.

Pour your berries into a saucepan. Cover with 1 to 1 1/2 half cup water. Sprinkle with sugar to taste. Boil your berries, stirring occasionally, as you cook and flip your pancakes. By the time your pancakes are done you will have a nice sauce. If you like your berries firm, don't cook as long and they will hold their shape and texture.

To serve:
Place one pancake on a plate. Spread ricotta cheese mixture on top as if icing a cake. Top with another pancake. Add as many pancakes as you like, (there are 4 in my picture), when you get to the top pancake, instead of icing with the spread, top with your fruit reduction, making sure to scoop several berries on top of the pancake as well as the juice. Sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar for a nice finishing touch. Enjoy!