Ricotta Strawberry Breakfast Panini

 

These are the sweet cousins of the sausage breakfast paninis, and I think I might like them even more than the savory ones. Pound cake tastes delicious when lightly toasted, and the ricotta and strawberry filling is rich but not overly sweet. I've made these with store-bought pound cake and homemade pound cake, and not surprisingly the homemade pound cake was much better. The store-bought pound cake tasted good, but was more delicate and had a weird aftertaste. You could use the pound cake recipe from this site, but I would suggest leaving out the nutmeg since it is overly strong when toasted.

 

Ricotta Strawberry Breakfast Paninis

1 cup ricotta cheese

2 T cream cheese, softened

1-2 T powdered sugar, depending on how sweet you want the filling

1 egg white (or 1 T egg beaters)

1 loaf pound cake

1/2 pound strawberries, cut into small pieces

Whipped cream for topping (optional)

1. In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, ricotta cheese, powdered sugar and egg white until well-combined. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes to firm up filling. (Don't skip this step or the filling will just come oozing out the sides of the panini instead of staying inside.)

2. Slice pound cake into 1/2 inch pieces. Heat panini maker and butter one side of each piece of pound cake. Spoon 2 T of chilled filling onto a slice of pound cake, top with 1 T chopped strawberries and top with another piece of pound cake, butter side out. 

3. Working with two sandwiches at a time, place in the panini maker and let cook until the outside of the pound cake is golden brown and the sandwich is hot through. Remove from panini pan, top with whipped cream, if using, and serve immediately. 

Posted in: Breakfast