Banana (or Pumpkin) and Ricotta Hotcakes with Bacon and Manuka Honey (or Maple)

To my lovely American friends who seem to have a fondness for pumpkin around this time of year, you could easily swap the banana for mashed pumpkin, add 1 teaspoon cinnamon and change the honey to maple syrup et voila - 'fall hotcakes'! 

Manuka honey or maple butter:
120g butter, slightly softened
3 tablespoons manuka honey or maple syrup

Banana and Ricotta Hotcakes:
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons caster sugar
pinch of salt
250g ricotta
¾ cup buttermilk
3 medium eggs, separated
2 small ripe bananas, mashed (or you could use 1/2 cup mashed pumpkin)

2 tablespoons rice bran oil

To serve:
16-20 rashers bacon
Manuka honey or maple syrup
150g mascarpone - optional

Stir honey through softened butter then pop in the fridge to firm up for 10 minutes. Sift flour, baking powder, caster sugar and salt into a large bowl. In a separate bowl whisk egg whites to firm peaks. Separately again (sorry about the washing up!) whisk ricotta, egg yolks and banana with a fork to combine. Add banana mix to flour and fold in briefly. Add egg whites and fold in. If you are serving bacon, lay it out on a baking tray and have ready to grill while you cook the hotcakes. Heat rice bran oil (a little each time) in a frying pan over a medium heat and drop in 1/3 cup lots of hotcake batter at a time. After a few minutes flip to cook other side. Serve with grilled bacon, a scoop of honey butter or mascarpone and a drizzle of honey or maple syrup. Makes 10.