Cornmeal Towers with Strawberries & Cream

Directions

1. Place egg whites in a small bowl; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, beat cream until soft peaks form; refrigerate, covered, until serving.
2. In a large bowl, whisk cornmeal, flour, baking powder, cardamom and salt. In another bowl, mix milk, ricotta cheese, orange juice, honey and extract until blended. Add to cornmeal mixture; stir just until moistened. With clean beaters, beat egg whites on high speed until stiff but not dry; fold into batter.
3. Heat a griddle or large nonstick skillet over medium heat; grease with butter. Filling a 1/4-cup measure halfway with batter, pour batter onto griddle or skillet. Cook until edges begin to dry and bottoms are golden brown. Turn; cook until second side is golden brown. Cool pancakes slightly.
4. In a bowl, toss strawberries with sugar. For each serving, stack 3 pancakes, layering each pancake with strawberries and whipped cream.