Japanese soufflé pancakes. Delicious, airy, light and fluffy pancakes with a vanilla egg flavor. These are great for breakfast or dessert in 30 minutes!
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What are Japanese Souffle Pancakes?
Japanese Souffle Pancakes are fluffy, pillowy soft pancakes that jiggly when you wiggle them. They are a special pancake dessert from Japan. They sweet in taste with a stronger egg flavor and airy light in texture. These Japanese pancakes almost melt in your mouth as they're made with little flour and more egg. They're absolutely divine and are one of my favourite treats to have! You'll find these fluffy egg pancakes at many Asian dessert shops nowadays and they are commonly served with a variety of toppings like cream, ice cream, maple syrup, fruits and more!
I love these Asian pancakes so much. They really are a delight and are such a special way to enjoy pancakes. Because they're so light and airy, I would recommend making more if you plan to serve this for breakfast.
Ingredients
- Eggs: yolks and whites separated
- Milk of choice
- Neutral oil: like vegetable oil, avocado oil or any scentless oil with a high smoke point
- Vanilla extract
- Cake Flour
- White vinegar: this helps beat the egg whites into stiff peaks
- White granulated sugar: I would not suggest substituting this with another type of sweetener.
Equipment
- Electric mixer or whisk
How to Make Japanese Souffle Pancakes
Create Batter
In a mixing bowl, add egg yolks, milk, oil and vanilla extract. Whisk until foamy. Sift in cake flour and whisk until well combined but do not over mix. The batter should still be runny.
Beat Egg Whites
In another large mixing bowl, add egg whites and white vinegar. With a hand mixer, start at a medium speed and then increase to high speed. Gradually add sugar in three portions. Beat egg whites just until you reach stiff peaks. Do not over beat or it can cause deflated pancakes.
Tip: to test if egg whites are stiff enough, dip whisk into the meringue and lift it out of the bowl. If meringue does not drip, it is stiff enough. This is important to creating soft fluffy pancakes.
Combine Meringue with Batter
Gently whisk meringue into the batter. Whisk mixture 5-6 times. Then softly fold with a spatula until combined. Do not over stimulate the batter.
Transfer to a Piping Bag
Quickly transfer batter to a piping bag rested in a tall glass. This helps you create tall fluffy pancakes.
Grease Pan
In a non-stick griddle set on low heat, lightly grease with vegetable oil.
Fry Soufflé Pancakes
Once the pan is hot, squeeze enough batter into the pan forming a 3-4 inch wide pancake. Add a second layer to make the pancake taller.
Steam the Pancakes
Spoon 1 teaspoon of water in empty surrounding spaces of the pan. Cover with a lid.
Cook Until Golden Brown
Cook pancakes for 5-6 minutes on each side until golden brown and cooked on the inside. If they're still mushy inside, cook for another 2-3 minutes. If the pancake is undercooked, it can also cause for deflated pancakes.
Enjoy!
Serve with maple syrup and butter.
Storage & Reheating
Leftover souffle pancakes can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge up to 4 days. To reheat, microwave for 1-2 minutes until hot or pan fry on the stove top in a pan on medium heat.
Expert Tips
- Cleanly separate the egg whites from the yolks. Not a single trace of egg white should be left on the yolk. I do this by cracking the egg and then use my shells to pour the yolk into the other shell until all my egg whites have dropped into the bowl. Or you can use a egg yolk and white separator.
- When you whisk your meringue be sure to add vinegar. This really helps to ensure stiff peaks.
- I highly recommend an electric whisk to beat your egg whites.
- Do not over beat the egg whites. Just whisk until you get stiff peaks. This can cause deflated pancakes.
- Once you whisk your meringue, take a dollop of it to wet the batter. This loosens that batter up so it's easier and takes less time to fold in your meringue.
- Do not over mix the batter. Just mix until it's combined. Overstimulation will cause deflated pancakes.
- Immediately cook the pancakes after mixing the batter. The more time passes, the more deflated the batter will be causing for deflated pancakes.
FAQ
Do soufflé pancakes taste eggy?
Yes, soufflé pancakes have a more eggy taste as the recipe calls for more eggs than flour.
Why did my Japanese soufflé pancake deflate?
Over beating the egg whites and batter or not cooking the soufflé pancake quickly or long enough will cause them to deflate.
Why is my soufflé batter so runny?
As time passes, the meringue will deflate causing for a runny batter. Therefore it's important to immediately cook the batter after mixing.
Other Recipes You May Like!
📖 Recipe
Fluffy Japanese Souffle Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 egg yolks
- 20 ml milk or oat milk for a dairy-free version
- 10 ml vegetable oil or any neutral oil
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 30 grams cake flour
Meringue
- 3 egg whites
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 40 grams white granulated sugar
Optional toppings
- maple syrup
- butter
Instructions
- Cleanly separate egg yolks from egg whites.
- In a mixing bowl, add egg yolks, milk, oil and vanilla extract. Whisk until foamy. Sift in cake flour and whisk until well combined but do not over mix. The batter should still be runny.
- In another large mixing bowl, add egg whites and white vinegar. With a hand mixer, start at a medium speed and then increase to high speed. Gradually add sugar in three portions. Beat egg whites just until you reach stiff peaks. Do not over beat or it can cause deflated pancakes.Tip: to test if egg whites are stiff enough, dip whisk into the meringue and lift it out of the bowl. If meringue does not drip, it is stiff enough. This is important to creating soft fluffy pancakes.
- Gently whisk meringue into the batter. Whisk mixture 5-6 times. Then softly fold with a spatula until combined. Do not over stimulate the batter.
- Quickly transfer batter to a piping bag rested in a tall glass. This helps you create tall fluffy pancakes.
- In a non-stick griddle set on low heat, lightly grease with vegetable oil.
- Once the pan is hot, squeeze enough batter into the pan forming a 3-4 inch wide pancake. Add a second layer to make the pancake taller.
- Spoon 1 teaspoon of water in empty surrounding spaces of the pan. Cover with a lid.
- Cook pancakes for 5-6 minutes on each side until golden brown and cooked on the inside. If they're still mushy inside, cook for another 2-3 minutes. If the pancake is undercooked, it can also cause for deflated pancakes.
- Serve with maple syrup and butter. Enjoy!
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Katerina
These souffle pancakes look absolutely amazing, Christie! And I love that you're using local eggs, always the best. Thanks so much for sharing! - Katerina
Christie
Thank you kindly Katerina! The souffle pancakes were honestly so good and I highly recommend making them. Have a great day!
Helene
My partner made it for me , we had to substitute the coconut cream but it was still so delicious and fluffy ! 🙂
christieathome
Thanks so much Helene! So glad you enjoyed it even with the substitution of coconut cream! Happy it came out fluffy and delicious for you!
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
Great tips for whisking, this really makes all the difference when trying to create fluffy pancakes. And I simply adore your heavenly coconut cream topping!