It seems in the last few years these fluffy Japanese pancakes have become quite the fad. Or, maybe fad isn’t the right word as I don’t believe they are going away anytime soon. The Japanese pancakes are also known as souffle pancakes in that they are really quite fluffy and rise as they cook on the skillet. There are two ways to do these pancakes, either the super traditional way by piping the batter directly on the skillet and flipping it without it losing its volume, or by “cheating” and using a ring mold.
As you can see by the featured picture, I used the cheat and did these in a ring mold. Do I think that causes a difference in taste to the traditional method? Absolutely not. Having had the traditional Japanese pancakes earlier this year in Tokyo I think the ring mold is a great way for beginners to keep the fluff.
The secret of these Japanese pancakes is in the egg whites. It is essentially the whipping of the egg whites into a stiff meringue before folding them into the batter that keeps these pancakes extra fluffy.
Japanese Pancakes Ingredients
- 2 Egg Yolks; room temperature
- 4 Egg Whites; room temperature. It is imperative that absolutely no part of the yolk broke when separating the egg whites. If even the tiniest bit of yolk got into the whites you’ll have to start all over again as the whites will not whip up and hold their shape.
- 50 grams Sugar + 1 tbsp Sugar
- 50 ml Milk; 2.5%
- 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
- 75 grams AP Flour. You can also use cake flour if you want even fluffier pancakes, but I don’t think that works as well in the ring molds because the bottom would cook faster than the middle.
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Vanilla Sugar
- Pinch of Salt
- Vegetable Oil; to grease the pan
Japanese Pancakes Instructions
I do the meringue and the batter at the same time as the whites take a while to fluff up. Using my trusty stand mixer with the whisk attachment I add the four egg whites and let run on low-medium until a bit frothy. Slowly add the 50 grams of sugar and bring the speed up to medium.
In a separate bowl make a paste of the Egg Yolks and the tablespoon of sugar. When it is combined add the vanilla sugar and continue mixing.
Slowly add the milk and vegetable oil while whisking constantly. You want the mixture to be well homogenized before adding the rest of the dry ingredients.
Turn the stand mixer up to high and all the egg whites to become shiny with stiff peaks. While that is happening you can do step 5.
Sift the flour and baking powder directly into the bowl, add a pinch of salt, and whisk well.
When the egg whites are fully whipped and show stiff peaks, fold the whites into the batter carefully as to not deflate the meringue. I break this into thirds and fold until it is just combined.
On an electric griddle or a skillet pan on very low heat grease the surface then place the ring molds down. Pipe of ladle the mixture directly into the ring mold about 75% of the way up. Cook for 3 minutes, then flip and cook for another 3 minutes.
Serve these Japanese pancakes with butter, powdered sugar, and/or maple syrup.
Notes
Japanese pancakes are much easier to do on an electric griddle as you can precisely control the exact temperature they should be at, however a pan on the very lowest flame worked just fine for me.
This recipe makes about 6 pancakes, or 8 if you only fill the ring mold up halfway instead of 75%.
If you want to do it without the ring mold, the recipe is the exact same. All you have to do is carefully put the batter into a piping bag and pipe the pancakes directly on the skillet/griddle. Try to get a small diameter and pipe high as the pancakes will naturally spread without the ring mold to keep them in place.
More Japanese Recipes You Might Like
Japanese Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 Egg Yolks room temperature
- 4 Egg Whites room temperature
- 50 grams Sugar
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- 50 ml Milk 2.5%
- 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
- 75 grams AP Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Vanilla Sugar
- 1 pinch Salt
- Vegetable Oil to grease the pan
Instructions
- I do the meringue and the batter at the same time as the whites take a while to fluff up. Using my trusty stand mixer with the whisk attachment I add the four egg whites and let run on low-medium until a bit frothy. Slowly add the 50 grams of sugar and bring the speed up to medium.
- In a separate bowl make a paste of the Egg Yolks and the tablespoon of sugar. When it is combined add the vanilla sugar and continue mixing.
- Slowly add the milk and vegetable oil while whisking constantly. You want the mixture to be well homogenized before adding the rest of the dry ingredients.
- Turn the stand mixer up to high and all the egg whites to become shiny with stiff peaks. While that is happening you can do step 5.
- Sift the flour and baking powder directly into the bowl, add a pinch of salt, and whisk well.
- When the egg whites are fully whipped and show stiff peaks, fold the whites into the batter carefully as to not deflate the meringue. I break this into thirds and fold until it is just combined.
- On an electric griddle or a skillet pan on very low heat grease the surface then place the ring molds down. Pipe of ladle the mixture directly into the ring mold about 75% of the way up. Cook for 3 minutes, then flip and cook for another 3 minutes.
- Serve these Japanese pancakes with butter, powdered sugar, and/or maple syrup.
