Indulgent Japanese Soufflé Pancakes are extra thick and fluffy, made with eggs, sugar, milk and vanilla.
If you’re a breakfast fan, check out our Buttermilk Pancakes, torrijas (Spanish French toast), huevos rancheros, and crepes.
What makes Japanese Soufflé Pancakes so airy and light? The secret is the eggs. The yolks give the pancakes a wonderful custardy flavor, while the whites, whipped into a meringue, incorporate lots of air for a final product that is a pillowy cloud of delicate goodness.
Making Japanese pancakes is not hard, but it does take precision and patience. At our house, we like to make them when we feel like treating ourselves to something fancy, or when we get hit with that foodie itch to make something that requires just a touch of artistry. Properly plated with a dollop of freezer jam, a few berries, a spray of whipped cream and a couple mint leaves, you’ll feel like you’ve just created this year’s winner of the Bocuse d’Or!
How to make Japanese Soufflé Pancakes:
Note: You will need ring molds to make these pancakes properly. If you don’t have any, see below on how to DIY with aluminum foil!
- Mix egg yolks, sugar, milk, vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.
- Stir dry mixture into wet mixture just until no large lumps remain.
- In another large bowl, beat the egg whites with a hand mixer until they produce stiff peaks.
- Gently fold egg whites into pancake batter, just until incorporated.
- Grease your molds with butter or non-stick cooking spray and set in the middle of a pan over LOW heat.
- Fill the molds 2/3 with batter, cover pan with a lid and cook for about 8-10 minutes, until the center of the pancakes are only slightly jiggly.
- Release pancakes from pan with a spatula and carefully flip, making sure not to spill any batter.
- Cover and cook for another 5 minutes, then serve with butter, syrup, and berries!
Pro Tips:
- Whip the egg whites on medium speed — it takes longer, but makes for better bubbles.
- Be patient. Cook on low, slow heat so that pancakes have time to cook all the way through.
- Don’t overfill the molds with batter.
- Serve hot and right away.
Foodie Challenge:
If you’re a good meringue maker, or aspire to be, you can try making this recipe the traditional way without the baking powder. They will be less cake like and have a nice jiggle to them. The trade-off is that they will taste eggier which not everyone likes. Timing on flipping them is also crucial. If you do it too soon, they could collapse.
Pancake Topping Ideas:
- Fresh fruit
- Powdered sugar
- Whipped cream
- Homemade Syrup
- Freezer jams.
Make your own Japanese Pancake Mold:
Fold a piece of tinfoil into a long strip 2.5-3 inches deep and wrap to make a circle about 3.5 inches in diameter. Secure with a small piece of tape on the outside middle of the strip or a couple staples.
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Recipe
Japanese Souffle Pancakes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 egg yolks
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 ½ cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 8 egg whites
Instructions
- Mix together the egg yolks, sugar, milk, vanilla. In a separate bowl mix the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir into the yolks mixture just until no large lumps remain.
- In another large bowl, beat the egg whites with a hand mixer until stiff peaks.
- Gently fold the egg whites into the pancake batter, just until incorporated.
- Lightly grease a large skillet with butter or cooking spray, over LOW heat. Grease 3.5-inch (9 cm) metal ring molds* well with butter (as many as can fit at a time in your skillet) and set them in the middle of the pan over LOW heat.
- Fill the molds 2/3 with batter, then cover the pan with a lid and cook for about 10 minutes, until the center of the pancakes are only slightly jiggly.
- Release the pancakes from the bottom of the pan with a spatula, then carefully flip them over, making sure not to spill any batter inside. (I like to slide a spatula under the pancake and place another spatula on the top of the pancake ring mold, flip, then place it back in the pan and slide the spatula out.)
- Cover and cook for another 5 minutes, then serve with butter, syrup, and berries!
Notes
- Whip the egg whites on medium speed -- it takes longer, but makes for better bubbles.
- Be patient. Cook on low, slow heat so that pancakes have time to cook all the way through.
- Don't overfill the molds with batter.
- Serve hot and right away.
Nutrition
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I keep coming back to this on my list of recipes “to make” but maaaaaaaaaaaan I’m so intimidated to make them!!! LOL
Very difficult to flip. Cooked on lowest setting in the foil rings suggested. Too bad I can’t post the pic of the runny, yet, burnt disaster that cannot be eaten. Please, don’t waste eggs on this one. Stick to a traditional buttermilk pancake recipe.