Orange Ricotta Pancakes

Last week, I had promised my son that if he behaved at Tae Kwon Do that I would take him for breakfast dinner at IHOP (don't judge me, daddy was out of town and I was tired).  Needless to say he didn't so I was stuck having to figure out last minute dinner.  So we stopped at Publix on our way home.  Since I was already in the mindset of breakfast dinner, I decided to just make my own.  I had tried ricotta pancakes in a restaurant before and was kind of disappointed.  They tasted like just regular pancakes, but with an extra $5 charge.  But I knew that couldn't be the end all, so I went on a mission to make them myself and see if it was just a bad recipe.  Glad to say that it was!  My version of a ricotta pancake is light, fluffy and creamy all at once (my husband said it reminded him a bit of my blintzes that he loves so much).

Ingredients:

1 cup milk
1 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 large eggs separated
2 Tbl sugar
1 Tbl orange zest (they actually have dried zest in the spice aisle that works out great in a pinch)
5 Tbl unsalted butter
1 Tbl frozen orange juice concentrate
1/2 tsp almond extract
3/4 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
mandarin oranges 
maple syrup

Place the butter, milk and orange juice in a small saucepan. 
Heat over medium-low, stirring occasionally until the butter melts and is combined. 
Remove from heat to let it cool.
In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and 1/2 tsp of the salt.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, 1 Tbl of the sugar, orange zest, and almond extract until combined. 
Whisk in a small amount of the milk mixture (to prevent the eggs from curdling), and then whisk in the remaining milk mixture. 
Pour the liquid mixture into the flour mixture and stir until just combined (don't overmix!).  Set aside to let it settle.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until foamy.  Slowly add the remaining 1 Tbl suagr and 1/2 tsp salt.  Continue to whisk until the whites form soft peaks.
Gently fold the whites into the batter until combined.
Gently fold the ricotta into the batter until just combined, being careful to not mix too much (you will see streaks of ricotta throughout).
Heat your griddle (or frying pan) to 350* or medium heat until hot.
Grease your griddle with butter or other grease (I love cooking bacon first and then my pancakes...yes I know how fattening and unhealthy this is but it just tastes so good) and then pour batter onto the griddle (about 1/4 cup scoops).
Cook until small bubbles form on top (about 4 minutes) and then flip to cook the other side to a golden brown (about another 2 minutes).
Repeat until all the batter is used.
Serve with oranges and maple syrup on top.