Japanese soufflé pancakes are the new rage. With their soft pillowy center and their slightly crisp exterior, they could be the perfect pancake. There's a few extra steps than a regular pancake batter but don't let that deter you, they're not hard to make and are the fluffiest pancakes you'll ever try!
This recipe will make approximately 8 pancakes. Don't need photos, skip to "Just the Recipe" at the bottom of the page.
Ingredients:
4 eggs
3 tablespoons milk (any milk will do, I used almond milk I had on hand)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup all purpose flour (minus 1 tablespoon)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
vegetable oil
Directions:
Begin by separating the egg whites and yolk. Place egg whites in the bowl of your stand mixer (or any medium sized bowl if using hand held mixer), set in the fridge while you gather and prepare the other ingredients.
Add the vanilla and milk to the egg yolks and whisk until frothy (1 minute)
Sift the flour, cornstarch, and baking powder into the egg yolks and whisk until JUST combined. Don't worry if it's not perfectly smooth
Take the egg whites from the fridge and beat them on medium high until the eggs turn frothy (about 2 minutes). Slowly add in the sugar with the mixer still on. Continue to whip until you have stiff peaks. The egg whites should lump in the whisk, but still make peaks when you lift the whisk out.
Carefully whisk in 1/3 of the egg white mixture into the egg yolk mixture. You don't want to deflate the egg whites, so just whisk in a very slow and smooth circular motion.
Once it is well combined, add half of the remaining egg white mixture to the egg yolk mixture and again slowly whisk until just combined.
Add the egg yolk mixture to the remaining egg white mixture and whisk slowly until everything is just combined.
You can already see how fluffy the mixture is!
You'll need a pan that has a lid. I like to use a cast iron pan for making pancakes because I think it holds its heat the best. But use any pan you're accustomed to. Heat it on low until the bottom of the pan is evenly hot. Drop a small amount of oil onto the pan and wipe it down with a paper towel. You want the pan to be greased but you don't want pools of oil because that will cause the pancake to have areas that are not touching the pan so you won't get that perfect browning on the entire surface.
Using a large spoon or preferably a small cookie scoop, scoop one scoop of the batter onto the pan. Scoop out the remaining pancakes, leaving a good amount of room between the pancakes (they will spread). Now go back in the same order as you started and place another scoop on top of the first scoop. Once again, go back and place a third scoop of batter on top, in the same order as you started with.
***Note: you want to build on the batter upwards rather than outwards. So scoop directly on top, the batter will naturally settle and spread a bit, but not too much. That's why we do small scoops and let it set slightly before adding the next scoop.
Put the lid on the pan, and cook for 2 minutes. Remove the lid, and put one final scoop onto each pancake.
Place the lid back onto the pan and cook for approximately 6-7 minutes. You can tell the pancakes are done when they don't stick to the pan and can be easily flipped. They will also be a golden brown. Every pan is different so start checking your pancakes at around the 5 minute mark.
Using a small spatula or angled spatula, very carefully flip the pancakes by just sort of rolling them over. The pancakes are still pretty fragile so you don't want to deflate them after all your hard work.
Place the lid back onto the pan and finish cooking the pancakes for another 5 minutes or so.
***Note: make sure you keep the temperature on low the entire time, don't try speed up the process here by turning the heat up. It will result in overcooked top and undercooked centers. Low and slow is the way to go here.
These pancakes taste best served right after cooking. Serve with your favorite topping. I added some bananas, pecans, and warm maple syrup.
Just the Recipe
Ingredients:
4 eggs
3 tablespoons milk (any milk will do, I used almond milk I had on hand)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup all purpose flour (minus 1 tablespoon)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
vegetable oil
Directions:
Begin by separating the egg whites and yolk. Place egg whites in the bowl of your stand mixer (or any medium sized bowl if using hand held mixer), set in the fridge while you gather and prepare the other ingredients.
Add the vanilla and milk to the egg yolks and whisk until frothy (1 minute).
Sift the flour, cornstarch, and baking powder into the egg yolks and whisk until JUST combined. Don't worry if it's not perfectly smooth.
Take the egg whites from the fridge and beat them on medium high until the eggs turn froth (about 2 minutes). Slowly add in the sugar with the mixer still on. Continue to whip until you have stiff peaks. The egg whites should lump in the whisk, but still make peaks when you lift the whisk out.
Carefully whisk in 1/3 of the egg white mixture into the egg yolk mixture. You don't want to deflate the egg whites, so just whisk in a very slow and smooth circular motion.
Once it is well combined, add half of the remaining egg white mixture to the egg yolk mixture and again slowly whisk until just combined.
Add the egg yolk mixture to the remaining egg white mixture and whisk slowly until everything is just combined.
You can already see how fluffy the mixture is!
You'll need a pan the that has a lid. I like to use a cast iron pan for making pancakes because I think it holds its heat the best. But use any pan you're accustomed to. Heat it on low until the bottom of the pan is evenly hot. Drop a small amount of oil onto the pan and wipe it down with a paper towel. You want the pan to be greased but you don't want pools of oil because that will cause the pancake to have areas that are not touching the pan so you won't get that perfect browning on the entire surface.
Using a large spoon or preferably a small cookie scoop, scoop one scoop of the batter onto the pan. Scoop out the remaining pancakes, leaving a good amount of room between the pancakes (they will spread). Now go back in the same order as you started and place another scoop on top of the first scoop. Once again, go back and place a third scoop of batter on top, in the same order as you started with.
***Note: you want to build on the batter upwards rather than outwards. So scoop directly on top, the batter will naturally settle and spread a bit, but not too much. That's why we do small scoops and let it set slightly before adding the next scoop.
Put the lid on the pan, and cook for 2 minutes. Remove the lid, and put one final scoop onto each pancake.
Place the lid back onto the pan and cook for approximately 8 minutes. You can tell the pancakes are done when they don't stick to the pan and can be easily flipped. They will also be a golden brown. Every pan is different so start checking your pancakes at around the 5 minute mark.
Using a small spatula or angled spatula, very carefully flip the pancakes but just sort of rolling them over. The pancakes are still pretty fragile so you don't want to deflate them after all your hard work.
Place the lid back onto the pan and finish cooking the pancakes for another 5 minutes or so.
***Note: make sure you keep the temperature on low the entire time, don't try speed up the process here by turning the heat up. It will result in overcooked top and undercooked centers. Low and slow is the way to go here.
These pancakes taste best served right after cooking. Serve with your favorite topping. I added some bananas, pecans, and warm maple syrup.