Lemony Cream Cheese Pancakes with Blueberries

By ENunn, posted 8 months ago

Photo: Sarah Shatz

Amanda & Merrill's Notes:

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&M

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.

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

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.
Add dry ingredients to wet, then stir to combine. Whisk two egg whites until stiff but not dry; fold gently into batter.
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.

Comments (23)Add yours

Lizthechef 2 days ago: Oh boy - these look great. Long walk in the morning to rationalize spectacular brunch!
phyllis 10 days ago: 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!!!
Sagegreen 10 days ago: Love the buttermilk and lemon combination!
melissav 6 months ago: Made these a few weekends ago for breakfast and they were so good that I made another batch a few nights later for dinner! Thanks for the recipe.
spinthebottleny 6 months ago: Just made these -- delicious! Um, is it wrong that Paul and I polished off the whole batch that serves 6?
Veronica 7 months ago: Congratulations! We had these the Saturday morning after Thanksgiving and they were heavenly!
Candyland Queens 7 months ago: My daughters are always asking for pancakes for breakfast. I am going definitely try this recipe. Congrats!!!
Maria Teresa Jorge 7 months ago: Congratulations, will definetely try them.
eatboutique 7 months ago: Congratulations!
ChezSuzanne 7 months ago: These are hands down the best pancakes I've ever had! I used 1 t candied lemon zest from lemons I candied a month ago instead of the zest, but otherwise followed your recipe. I had an absolutely wonderful breakfast today thanks to you! We're having a New Year's Eve house party this year and now I know what I'm serving for breakfast on New Year's Day before we go skiing (assuming I last that long before making them again).
AntoniaJames 7 months ago: The only two edible things growing on my property, other than my herbs, are, believe it or not, lemons and blueberries! The latter are not in season and all the berries that we did not eat by the handful off the bushes (or recently picked) last summer, I put into jars . . . . dozens of jars . . . so, I did something I never thought I'd do. I bought frozen blueberries! This recipe is sublime. Simply sublime. Thanks for posting it!
kitchenwitchcookie 7 months ago: We have pancakes nearly every morning in our house. Of course, ours have chocolate chips in them (occasionally blueberries for company), but I can't wait to try this recipe. Perhaps I will make a few pancakes with blueberries, a few with chocolate chips, and then try some other wonderful add-in. The base recipe sounds like it will taste great with a lot of variations. Thanks for sharing! :D
Oui, Chef 8 months ago: These remind me of some lemon ricotta pancakes I had years ago that were so good they made me weep...well, almost. I love your combination of lemon and blueberries and can't wait to try these.
The Bookette 8 months ago: My family loves chocolate chip pancakes - have you ever tried this recipe with chocolate chips? The lemon and cream cheese sounds so original - I cannot wait to try!
The Internet Cooking Princess 8 months ago: I'm not normally a fan of blueberry pancakes because I tend to be a pancake purist. (I won't even have them with syrup.) But the addition of lemon and cream cheese has totally sent me over the edge. I cannot wait to try these!
ENunn 8 months ago: I hope you like them! The blueberries really do transform them; and remember: they are very good without them, just not as fantastic.
menumaniac 8 months ago: Okay, I tend to prefer a savory breakfast...but I think I'm going to have to try this on the weekend. We have friends coming to visit and I want to wow them!
ENunn 8 months ago: They are wowers, I believe. I like that they puff up after you flip them. Boffo. And they are really easy! Thank you!
Jennifer Ann 8 months ago: I have been hooked on the paper thin Swedish pancakes, but am ready to something a little fluffier - and the cream cheese and lemon in your recipe remind me of my favorite sandwich cookies - will definitely put these in the Thanksgiving weekend rotation.
ENunn 8 months ago: Jennifer Ann, let me know what you think! The blueberries really turn them into something crazy. (I froze some from the greenmarket on a cookie sheet this summer, and have two giant bags in my freezer--happy!) And I use butter to cook them, which makes them super-crispy on the outside, the way I like them.
Jennifer Ann 8 months ago: ENunn, The pancakes were delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
ENunn 8 months ago: This recipe requires 1 cup Buttermilk, not 3/4 cup buttermilk.
mlythcott 8 months ago: This recipe sounds absolutely delicious. I know what I'm doing the weekend!

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Lemony Cream Cheese Pancakes with Blueberries

Amanda & Merrill's Notes:

Serves 6

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Lemony Cream Cheese Pancakes with Blueberries

Amanda & Merrill's Notes:

Serves 6

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Cooks' Rating:

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