Hearty Boys Cafe Orange Blossom Pancake Stack with Mascarpone Cream and Fresh Berries

Source: Dan Smith, co-owner and chef, Hearty Boys Cafe, Chicago, Illinois

Pancakes
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk
3 large eggs separated
3 tablespoons orange blossom water

Mascarpone Cream
16 ounces mascarpone at room temperature
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

Berries
2 cups sliced strawberries
1 cup blueberries
1/2 cup blackberries
1/2 cup raspberries
Zest of 1 orange
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Put the mascarpone in a medium mixing bowl and whip it with an electric mixer. Slowly add the cream and the confectioners' sugar. Set aside.

Put all the berries in a large bowl. Add the sugar and orange zest and toss. Refrigerate.

Put all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix them together by hand. (Don't USE your hand - use a whisk.) In a smaller bowl, whisk the egg yolks, buttermilk and orange blossom water together. Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth. It'll take about a minute.

Next, beat the egg whites in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until they're stiff - you'll know by lifting the beaters out of the bowl (turn the mixer off first for God's sake!) The egg whites will stand straight up in a peak. Fold the whites gently into the batter.

Now spray a large heavy bottomed skillet with cooking spray and let it heat over a medium low flame for a couple of minutes. Ladle the batter into the pan (about 1/4 cup per pancake) and cook about 3 minutes per side. Don't rush it or you'll wind up with pale, underdone cakes - you want them to be golden. If needed you can hold them on an oven safe dish in an oven set to "warm". You'll get about 20 pancakes out of the batter.

To assemble, place one pancake on a plate. Add a healthy dollop of the mascarpone cream and top with a second pancake. Top with another dollop of mascarpone cream and surround that with the mixed berries. Hit it with a shaker of confectioners' sugar and serve with pure maple syrup.