Recipes are all about sharing. Sharing the method and technique, and ultimately sharing the food across the table with family and friends. I love getting recipe recommendations, and a friend shared this one with me.

Pancakes require patience at the griddle. Heat can't be too hot and if it's too low, you'll be standing at the stove for a long time waiting for those bubbles to slowly appear. If you cook them too fast, the middle is just batter. And who wants to eat batter, unless it's of the cookie dough variety.

This combination of lemons, raspberries, and blueberries with some ricotta cheese for tang will have you making this batter again and again. You could even make the batter the night before, and that beats a pancake mix any day.

Recipe for Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Makes 4 to 6 pancakes (2 servings)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk
1 lemon, zested and juiced
Butter, for griddle
1 (11-ounce) jar prepared lemon curd [I didn't use this]
Fresh raspberries, for garnish
Confectioners' sugar, for garnish

Click here for the recipe.

Recipe for Blueberry Syrup

3 cups blueberries
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and stir occasionally. Simmer for about 2 minutes and set aside.


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Hollywood is coming to Canada. The Toronto International Film Festival starts September 9 where 300 films will be shown in 11 days. It's a chance to brush by Brad Pitt, George Clooney, U2, Adam Brody, James Franco or even Christopher Plummer.

You could win two Gala Screening tickets to TIFF thanks to the California Strawberry Commission, the official strawberry provider for the event.

Click Here to Read More...

Is it a cake or a pie? To me, it seems more pie-like with its crispy crust. The filling is just an almond-flavored pastry cream (crème pâtissière), so if you like pastry cream, this is a winner. It is a signature cake from the Basque region of Spain, which shares borders with France.

I whizzed all the ingredients for the Gateaux Basque in my food processor. To make the pastry cream, I brought the milk and vanilla to a boil. While it was heating, I whisked the yolks and sugar in my stand mixer. Then folded in the flour and ground almonds. When the milk mixture came to the boil, I slowly drizzled it into the yolk mixture while whisking with my stand mixer. Then I returned everything back to the heat and brought it to a boil again. Then just simmer for 5 minutes and stir constantly to keep it from sticking or burning. To cool the pastry cream, pour it into a shallow pan and cover with plastic wrap (and dot with butter on top, if desired).

Assemble the pie and bake at 350°F for 50 to 60 minutes.

Despite its name, it's not really a gâteaux, or cake, but rather two layers of buttery, crumbly crust filled with pastry cream. As it bakes, the crust and filling meld into one delicious whole.
- Sunday Suppers at Lucques: Seasonal Recipes from Market to Table
by Suzanne Goin, Teri Gelber

Recipe for Gâteaux Basque (Almond-Filled Basque Cake)

Serves 8

Gâteaux Basque
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cake flour
1 cup sugar
Pinch salt
1 lemon, zested
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and softened
1 whole egg
2 egg yolks

Almond Pastry Cream
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 ounce fine-ground almonds (about 1/4 cup)

1 egg, lightly beaten, for glazing
Unsalted butter for pastry cream and tart pan

You can find the recipe for Gâteaux Basque (Almond-Filled Basque Cake) in the book Le Cordon Bleu at Home.


Tasting Notes
I loved the crust, but would fill it with more than just almond pastry cream next time.

More Almond-Inspired Desserts
Chow: Basque Cake with Pastry Cream Filling Recipe
The Worldwide Gourmet: Gâteau Basque - Basque Cake Recipe
Said she said he: Cherry Lavender Gateau Basque

Next Time
Meringue in Concorde (Chocolate Meringue Cake Filled with Chocolate Mousse) page 464

::Whisk Whenever::
I'm baking my way through a cooking school curriculum using the Le Cordon Bleu at Home cookbook. The "classes" are based on the Le Cordon Bleu curriculum found online and used as a guideline. Not all the items in the curriculum are in the cookbook, but most are. Where the items are not in the book, I try to find a suitable substitution.

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To see an index of recipes, click here.
To see a visual index of recipes, click here.
To see an index of Julia Child-inspired recipes, click here.