Blood orange whole-wheat pancakes are healthy sweet rewards after morning gym

This nutritious breakfast does not take away any of the sugary goodness. Expect more, and in only 15 minutes after working up an appetite.

They are easy at home to make thanks to Kara Lydon's recipe.

Preparation takes 5 minutes and cooking only double of that.

Then you have 8 pancakes to savour down with your favourite breakfast/brunch drink.

Get your ingredients out

• 1 cup of white whole-wheat flour
• Baking powder half a tablespoon 
• Salt half a teaspoon
• I cup ricotta cheese or cottage cheese/cream cheese/ buttermilk cheese
• Half a cup of almond milk
• Half a teaspoon of vanilla
• 1 teaspoon blood orange zest (Zest is a piece of the peel of citrus fruit, in this case, the blood orange, used as flavouring).
• 2 tablespoons blood orange juice
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons of butter 
• 
  
• You can forego the Blood Orange Syrup but if you want to include it: (optional):
• 1/3 cup of maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon blood orange zest 
• Blood orange slices, to decorate the meal.

Prepare the pancakes

1. Stir the flour, salt and baking powder together in a medium-sized bowl until finely mixed
2. Stir in a small bowl, the ricotta, vanilla, almond milk (use more almond milk if you want thinner layers), blood orange zest and juice, and the egg until finely mixed.
3. Pour the ingredients of the small bowl into the medium-sized bowl containing the flour mix.
4. Don't over-mix the two.
5. Heat butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Each pancake requires 1/4 of butter.
6. Spread the butter into a round shape on the pan.
7. Slip cut out pancake on the butter and cook until the surface of the pancake bubbles. This should take about 3 minutes to happen for each.
8. Flip the pancake onto the uncooked side until it turns light brown, within 3 minutes.

Serve with the blood orange syrup if you want to make it.

Blood orange syrup

Stir maple syrup and blood orange zest together and heat the mixture in the microwave for 15 seconds tops.

Pour it all over the pancakes and serve with the leftover cut slices of the blood orange.