Goat Cheese Pancakes With Fig And Thyme Compote Recipe

Goat cheese pancakes are having a moment, and while some trends are better left on TikTok or in the pages of a glossy magazine, these goat cheese pancakes with fig and thyme compote prove the hype is real. They are well worth the effort, and they're tasty and pretty enough to turn even the dullest morning into a brunch celebration fit for royalty.

As a recipe developer and blogger, I can appreciate an exciting trend, but I'm also the first to roll my eyes when a recipe has unnecessary steps and ingredients you'll buy once and never look at again. When working on these goat cheese pancakes, I really strived to steer away from aspirational and into inspirational, and even instructional. Every ingredient here is needed — the figs give fruity earthiness, the honey sweetness, the goat cheese tang, the thyme herbaceousness. The technique is also intentional — we beat the egg whites separately to give the pancakes body and airiness, and use a mix of half regular flour and half almond flour to make the pancakes as light as possible. The goat cheese ties it all together with a dose of funk that sets these pancakes apart. My kids actually asked for these for days in a row, albeit occasionally skipping the compote in favor of more honey.

Goat cheese in pancakes may sound like a stretch, but it proves its worth in this recipe. It melts into pockets throughout the batter, adding tang that balances rather than overwhelming the other flavors. Combined with whipped cream for a topping that feels like cake icing, and a compote that takes 10 minutes of work, and you've got yourself a brunch dish worthy of The Ritz.

For the fig and thyme compote that accompanies our pancakes, you'll need fresh figs, honey, balsamic vinegar, kosher salt, and fresh thyme sprigs. For the whipped goat cheese cream, you'll need fresh goat cheese, honey, and cold heavy cream.

For the pancake batter itself, grab unsalted butter, all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt, buttermilk, separated large eggs, more honey, lemon zest, and fresh thyme leaves, plus more fresh goat cheese. For serving the pancakes, save the nicest fresh figs, fresh thyme sprigs, and honey, for drizzling. 

Combine the figs, honey, balsamic, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat.

Cook, stirring occasionally, until the figs break down and the liquid thickens slightly, 8–10 minutes.

Remove the leaves from the thyme sprigs, and add them to the compote. Set aside.

Beat the goat cheese and honey together until smooth.

In a separate bowl, whip heavy cream to soft peaks.

Fold the whipped cream into the goat cheese in two additions until combined. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

To brown the butter, melt 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat, swirling occasionally, until the foam subsides and the milk solids turn amber and smell nutty, 3–4 minutes.

Pour the butter into a bowl through a sieve immediately and let cool.

Whisk both flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk, egg yolks, cooled brown butter, honey, lemon zest, and thyme until combined.

Beat the egg whites to soft peaks.

Fold the egg whites and wet ingredients into the dry in 3 additions, until just combined.

Fold in the goat cheese gently, letting a few streaks or lumps remain. Rest the batter for 5 minutes.

Heat a cast iron skillet or griddle over medium-low and butter it lightly.

Drop ¼-cup portions onto the griddle and cook for 2–3 minutes per side. The goat cheese inhibits bubbling, so you'll know to flip when the edges are set and the underside is golden.

Repeat with the remaining batter.

Serve the pancakes topped with whipped goat cheese cream, fig compote, fresh fig halves, thyme sprigs, and a drizzle of honey.

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Before we discuss why we add goat cheese to these pancakes, it's important to understand that not all goat cheese is made equal. There's aged or fresh goat cheese, and even beyond those two categories. Depending on the type of cheese you choose, there's also a vast variety of what you can do with it beyond salad. For this recipe, we'll be using strictly fresh goat cheese.

In this recipe, we fold goat cheese directly into the batter rather than just topping the pancakes with it. This adds tang that balances out all the sweetness. It also changes the texture. As the pancakes cook, the goat cheese softens into little pockets throughout, so every bite has a slightly creamy, savory contrast. This works because goat cheese doesn't fully melt when heated at lower temperatures; instead, it softens and turns slightly gooey, but still holds its shape.

The cheese also affects browning. When cooking these pancakes, you'll get spots when the goat cheese hits the cast iron pan, creating a spot of browning and extra flavor. It is these points of contact that make the pancakes taste especially delicious.

The first thing you can do with these pancakes is take a page from my children's book and skip the compote. Is it delicious? Absolutely. But if you're not a fan of figs or want to save time on prep, then using a good store-bought preserve is perfectly acceptable. You can also just serve these with honey and fresh figs, or fresh berries or apricots if you want to go another route, or can't find fresh figs. I do suggest you steer clear of using very sweet toppings like Nutella, dulce de leche, or chestnut spread, because those would overwhelm the delicate pancakes.

For a gluten-free swap, change the all-purpose flour to oat flour. The combination of oat flour and almond flour holds up well and avoids making the pancakes gummy, like they could have if you used a store-bought blend.

Another thing I love is to add crunch to these by throwing walnuts into the mix. Chopped walnuts go well with figs, and they're great scattered on top of the pancakes, but you can even fold them into the batter if crushed really finely. The blend helps do this quickly and easily.

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