Ingredients

5 plums (580g total), halved, pitted, cut into 1cm-thick slices
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 vanilla bean, split lengthways
125g fresh blueberries (1 cup)
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

HOTCAKES
1 cup fresh ricotta cheese
3/4 cup buttermilk
4 large free range eggs, separated
1 cup  plain flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup caster sugar
100g unsalted butter
Sifted icing sugar, for dusting

Method

Step 1
Heat a large heavy frying pan over medium heat. Add the plums, sugar and cinnamon. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the plum mixture then add the beans too. Cook, gently stirring the fruit occasionally, for 2 minutes or until the sugar melts and the plums release their juice. Gently fold in the blueberries and cook for 2 minutes or until they are heated through and begin to release their juice. Stir in the lemon juice. Don’t let the berries cook too long or they will become mushy and lose their shape. Remove from the heat and keep warm.
Step 2
To make the hotcakes, whisk the ricotta, buttermilk and egg yolks in a large bowl to blend. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the ricotta mixture, and whisk until just blended.
Step 3
In another large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat egg whites and sugar until stiff peaks form. Using a large silicone spatula, gently fold the egg whites through the batter.
Step 4
Preheat a flat large non-stick frying pan over medium-low. Melt about a teaspoon of the butter in the pan. Ladle the batter into the pan and cook 3 hotcakes at a time for 3 minutes each side or until they puff, become golden brown on both sides, and are just cooked through. Transfer the hotcakes to plates.
Step 5
Immediately after they come out of the pan, spread butter over the hot hotcakes, and spoon the warm fruit and syrup over them. Dust with icing sugar, to serve.
Step 6
Repeat to make and serve more hotcakes, wiping the pan with paper towels before cooking each batch.