We are currently working on a brunch feature at work. This had me going to Granger & Co, a London restaurant by Bill Granger, for a photo shoot where we had to photograph various brunch dishes, including their famous ricotta hotcakes.

I first tried them in the original Bill Granger restaurant in Sydney and they are still as good as they were all these years ago and I have been wanting to share them with you for a while.

In the restaurant and original Bill Granger receipe they are always served with a honeycomb butter but I think they go very well with a simple rhubarb compote too.

Rhubarb season has just started in England and even if you don’t fancy the hotcakes, you should get yourself some rhubarb and make the compote which takes no longer than 15 minutes and is great with a simple greek yoghurt too.

For the rhubarb compote you’ll need:

• 500g rhubarb
• 160g sugar
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla essence

Place the rhubarb, sugar, water and lemon juice into a medium saucepan set over low heat and cover. 

Simmer gently, stirring occasionally for 10- 15 minutes until rhubarb is tender but not totally fallen apart (keep checking).

Remove from the heat and set aside to cool down.

For enough hotcakes to feed 4-6 people you’ll need:

• 340g ricotta cheese
• 190ml milk
• 4 eggs, separated
• 125g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 pinch of salt
• a little vegetable oil to bake the pancakes 

Whisk the egg whites until they are stiff and set them aside.

In a large bowl combine the egg yolk, milk and most of the ricotta – but keep two tablespoons of the ricotta aside. Sift the flour and baking powder over the mix and gently fold it through.

Now fold the egg whites, in two batches, through the batter, along with the two tablespoons of the ricotta you have set aside. This is to keep some ricotta lumps in the hotcakes, which makes for a nicer texture.

Heat a little oil in a frying pan and drop two tablespoons of batter per hotcake in the pan. Fry the hotcakes over a low to medium heat for about 2-3 minutes per side, so they become cooked through and golden on the outside.

Serve with the rhubarb compote.