Lemony Cream Cheese Pancakes with Blueberries

By • November 21, 2009 • 43 Comments


Author Notes: A world without lemons would be a very sad one. The world would be sad without blueberries, too, but this recipe is good with our without. Rather than a griddle cake you need to stack high then load up with butter and syrup, I wanted one that was both light and custardy, rich and reserved--immediate gratification. This recipe uses cream cheese and egg whites to pull that off, I think. Honey or jam would be just as good as maple syrup. Or you could eat them plain. ENunn

Food52 Review: For those who crave the purity of a plain pancake but occasionally find themselves wanting more, ENunn's recipe might be the perfect compromise. Lemon's perfume (from both the juice and zest) permeates these light, fluffy buttermilk pancakes, but the real magic lies in the addition of one key ingredient: chunks of cream cheese are blended into the batter until they are reduced to about pea-size, later resulting in salty, creamy pockets scattered throughout the cooked pancakes. The trio of lemon, cream cheese and tangy sweet blueberries is subtle yet seductive -- a combination that can only be improved upon with a generous slathering of excellent quality maple syrup. - A&MA&M

Serves 6

  • 1 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 2 large eggs, separated
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 6 ounces cream cheese, cut up
  • 3 teaspoons melted butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • zest of one large lemon
  • 1 1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
  1. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, sugar baking powder, baking soda, salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg yolks, buttermilk. Add cream cheese and mix until cream cheese has separated into uniformly small lumps, about the size of large cottage cheese curds. Stir in melted butter, vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest.
  2. Add dry ingredients to wet, then stir to combine. Whisk two egg whites until stiff but not dry; fold gently into batter.
  3. Heat a griddle or cast iron pan over medium high heat, until a drop of water sizzles. Lower heat to medium; butter or oil pan. Drop batter into pan by 1/3 cupfuls. Once the batter has spread, drop in the berries. You might want to drizzle some batter to cover them. These need to be cooked a bit longer than you might expect; they won't bubble as quickly or as much as plain pancakes. Turn down the heat if necessary, to keep them from overbrowning, and let them puff up to their full extent after you turn them, which will take 2-3 minutes. Serve with honey or maple syrup or jam.

Tags: brunch

Comments (43) Questions (1)

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about 1 month ago Skyler23

I make a similar pancake with fresh ricotta...the cook up very light, almost soufflé like. Very yum!

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3 months ago casandmatt

I made these for dinner the other night and they were wonderfully yummy!

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4 months ago Emily

I made these again this morning and used regular cream cheese instead of whipped, and it really made a difference. I left the cream cheese a bit chunky and it was sublime to taste all the pockets of gooey cheese!

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5 months ago Emily

These are superb! I used what I had at home, whole milk instead of buttermilk and whipped cream cheese instead of regular. Also I was in a rush so I didn't separate the eggs. They were still incredible, even though I just sort of threw them together.

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8 months ago Of Pots and Pens

These look delicious. Would go great with some cinnamon infused maple syrup. I made whole wheat buttermilk pancakes to go with it. http://ofpotsandpens.com...

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11 months ago CapitainCook

Made these today, my family can't get enough of it! :)

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12 months ago Sagegreen

Made these today and loved!

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about 1 year ago Maria@spoonglish

These are the best pancakes I have ever tried. I used strawberries instead of blueberries because I happened to have strawberries. Just amazing!

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about 1 year ago EmilyC

Great recipe! I made them today and love the pockets of cream cheese.

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over 1 year ago roland.hu

I made these pancakes over the weekend and I have to say I was really impressed! I am not a pancake sort of guy, but these are the best I have ever tasted. I had them with homemade orange marmelade and it was so tasty!

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over 1 year ago LilRhodyisCookin'

This are unbelievably decadent and delicious--my husband is a pancake fanatic and these sent him over the moon. Highly recommend these for a special Sunday morning breakfast.

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over 1 year ago LilRhodyisCookin'

This are unbelievably decadent and delicious--my husband is a pancake fanatic and these sent him over the moon. Highly recommend these for a special Sunday morning breakfast.

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almost 2 years ago gichilee

This was delicious! To save time I just used 1 1/2 cup of store-bought pancake mix instead of mixing up the dry ingredients, and I didn't have vanilla on hand, but it still turned out great. You can control how much or how little blueberry goes into each pancake which is great. I could barely taste any lemon though so I may increase the zest/juice next time. Also. whipped cream tastes amazing with pancakes when there's cream cheese mixed in the batter!

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about 2 years ago rickygee

I used cranberries from Christmas, Sliced them in half with just a pinch of sugar on them. Thank you for the recipe! My daughter and I ate the whole batch!

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over 2 years ago KirbysDad

I made these today for an ex and now we're dating again.

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over 2 years ago SenoraBeeps

Quite a delectable recipe. I put an entire package of cream cheese in (8oz total), I personally loved it, but some of my guests thought it was a bit much. Pshhh, what do they know :)

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over 2 years ago yummydoodah

Should I leave the cream cheese out for some time before I mix it with the other ingredients?

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over 2 years ago SenoraBeeps

You would think that would make sense, however I just chopped up a hunk of cream cheese straight out of the fridge, tossed them in and gave the batter a quick stir. You want the cream cheese to be lumpy, not blended in with the batter. This creates pockets of saltly, gooey goodness.

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almost 2 years ago gichilee

Same here, I just cut it up straight out of the fridge and tossed it in. It's soft enough already that you don't need to let it stand out.

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over 2 years ago stephen1004

I made these pancakes this morning and they were awesome. It was a quick and easy recipe. I made a few modification to suit my specific taste. They will join my repertoire of favorite breakfast items.

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almost 3 years ago Lizthechef

Oh boy - these look great. Long walk in the morning to rationalize spectacular brunch!

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almost 3 years ago phyllis

I have a large amount of blueberries and I'm going to cook these for dinner tomorrow night. I can taste them now as I get ready for bed. Thank you!!!