Holiday Eggnog Brunch Pancakes

Salted Caramel Brown Butter Sauce

• In a small skillet, melt butter over medium heat until foamy and starting to turn amber in colour; remove from heat.
• ​In a large, high-sided skillet, sprinkle sugar in an even layer. Over medium-low heat, melt sugar until caramel in colour, whisking as necessary to melt evenly.
• Slowly whisk in brown butter for 1 minute until smooth and remove from heat. Slowly drizzle in cream, whisking continuously until all the cream is added and bubbles subside. Add salt and whisk to combine. Carefully pour sauce into a heat-safe jar or pitcher and set aside.

Eggnog Pancakes

• In a bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, baking powder and salt.
• In a large bowl, whisk together ricotta, eggnog, egg yolks and vanilla. Add flour mixture and mix with a handheld mixer to combine. Clean beaters and beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into batter.
• In a large, non-stick skillet or griddle, heat about 1 tbsp (15 mL) of the butter over medium heat. Ladle about 1/3 cup (75 mL) of the batter into skillet and cook for 3 minutes or until bubbles appear on top. Flip and cook for 2 minutes or until golden. Repeat with remaining batter, using butter as necessary.
• Stack pancakes and drizzle salted caramel brown butter sauce over top. Top with a liberal scoop of mascarpone and serve.

Tip:  For a rich brown butter flavour, whisk only the melted butter—not the milk solids—into the sauce.