Japanese Sufflé Pancakes with homemade whipped cream and fresh berries!
This batter makes 3 pancakes (1 serving)
Ingredients:
- 2 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell)
- 1 ½ Tbsp whole milk (22 g)
- ¼ tsp pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup cake flour (30 g; If you’re using a cup measurement, please follow this method to measure. Otherwise, the amount of flour tends to be more than you need.
- ½ tsp baking powder (2 g)
- 2 Tbsp sugar (25 g)
- 1 Tbsp neutral-flavored oil (vegetable, canola, etc) (for greasing the pan)
- 2 Tbsp water (for steaming)
Toppings:
- Fresh Whipped Cream (optional) ½ cup heavy (whipping) cream (120 ml)
- 1 ½ Tbsp sugar (20 g)
- 1 Tbsp confectioners’ sugar/powder sugar
- Fresh berries
- Maple Syrup
- Chocolate Sauce
- Caramel Sauce
- Nuts
Instructions:
Gather all the ingredients. You will also need a large non-stick frying pan (large enough to cook 3 pancakes at the same time) with a lid.
Separate egg whites and egg yolks into two different bowls.
Add milk and vanilla to the egg yolks and whisk until thick and frothy.
Sift the cake flour and baking powder into the bowl.
Whisk to combine thoroughly (but do not over-mix). Set aside.
Now start beating egg whites. When the egg whites turn frothy and pale white, gradually add in sugar (roughly ⅓ at a time). Continue to whip the egg whites.
The egg whites will become glossier and firmer. Stop beating when you lift up the mixer and the egg whites stand right up with stiff peaks slightly bending over.
Heat the large non-stick frying pan to 300 ºF (150 ºC) over the lowest heat. Brush with cooking oil and lightly remove any visible oil (otherwise the pancakes will have a spotty pattern). Keep the heat on while you combine egg whites and egg yolk mixture.
Take ⅓ of egg whites and add to the egg yolk mixture. Whisk together (don’t worry too much about breaking air bubbles at this step).
Next, take half of the egg whites and add to the egg yolk mixture. Using a whisk, gently fold in without breaking the air bubbles in the egg whites.
Now transfer the egg yolk mixture into egg whites. Carefully fold in two mixtures together without breaking the air bubbles. Make sure to gently mix the batter thoroughly!
Keep stove heat at 300 ºF (150 ºC) all times on low heat. Remember each pancake gets roughly 4 scoops of batter, so that’s a total of 12 scoops for 3 pancakes. Now, scoop the batter and place on the frying pan. Use a small ladle (or a serving spoon that’s bigger than a regular spoon – probably 2-3 Tbsp) and make a tall pancake. Next, stack one more scoop to the first pancake. Then move on to the next two pancakes giving each 2 small scoops.
By the time all 3 pancakes have 2 scoops, the surface of the batter is slightly dry already, so you can stack one more scoop on top, keeping it up high. In the bowl, you should still have roughly 3 scoops left (if you have slightly more, that’s okay).
Set timer for 6-7 minutes, add 1 Tbsp water in 3 empty spaces inside the pan and cover with the lid. Water keeps the pancake moist. Please note: the suggested time is just a guideline it all depends on the stove and frying pan that you are using.
After 2 minutes passed, open the lid, and add one more scoop for each pancake (or more scoops if you have more batter). Make sure to stack high, not wide. If the water has evaporated, add a little bit more. Cover with lid and cook.
After 6-7 minutes passed, use spatula, lift the pancake very gently. If you feel the pancake is stuck, don’t touch until they firm up a little. If you force it, the pancake will crack in the middle. When the pancake is ready, you can easily move the pancake.
Slightly pull the pancake to create an empty space and gently flip over with “rolling over” motion.
Add water in empty spaces and set a timer for 4 to 5 minutes to cook the other side on the lowest heat.
Once they are nicely browned, transfer the pancakes to your serving plates.
Place fresh cream on the pancakes and top with berries. Dust the pancake with confectioners’ sugar and drizzle with maple syrup. Enjoy!
Important tips to succeed
- Souffle pancakes can be tricky to make, so read my tips.
- Beat your egg whites correctly. Any under or over-beating will cause the pancakes to deflate after cooking.
- You are looking for stiff peaks, where you lift up your whisk and the egg whites go straight up firmly, but the tip of egg whites bend over. If you over-beat egg whites, they will break into pieces. If you under-beat the pancakes won’t be fluffy.
- Cook over low heat, and make sure the inside of the pancakes are properly cooked through.
- Preheat the pan on the lowest setting for a long time. You want to preheat the pan at the lowest heat to help prevent hot spots.
- Pile up the batter vertically high
- The key to make lofty pancakes is to add a new pile over the batter on the pan after it starts to form.
- Cook slow, covered with a lid, on low heat.
- Unlike regular pancakes, you will need to cook these thick & fluffy Japanese pancakes for a much longer time. If you use higher heat, the pancakes may look done, but the inside will be too raw. Therefore, steady slow cooking over low heat is necessary. To lock in the heat and moisture inside the pan, cover with a lid.
- Add water to create a little bit of steam. Just drop 1 tablespoon of water to empty spaces in the frying pan to add moisture in the pan.
- One of the common situations people run into is that the pancakes tend to deflate after cooking. Now, is that normal? No, a souffle, including souffle pancakes, should still stand tall after you place them on the plate.
- What goes wrong? What can you do to stop your souffle from collapsing?
- You have probably under or over-beaten the egg whites. The goal is to create air bubbles in the batter that will give structure for the pancake. Without them, the pancake will deflate.
- Stove heat was too strong. Just because the pancake is nicely brown, it doesn’t mean it’s done. The inside of the pancakes may still not be cooked through and if you move them out of the pan earlier, the air deflates. Properly cooked souffle pancakes will have a solid structure and height.
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