Japanese Pancakes
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These Japanese Pancakes are soft, fluffy and thick, perfect for your weekend breakfast served with some great maple syrup and your favorite berries. Check out the video with all my tips and tricks on how to make them.
Fluffy Japanese Pancakes
I’m sure by now you’re probably familiar with these sky high, fluffy Japanese pancakes. I know I’ve been curious to make them ever since I laid eyes on them.
But let me tell you, it’s been an experience learning to make them because I wanted to get them just right. Finally on the 7th try, I believe I got them to where I was happy with them, so here I am now, sharing the recipe with you along with my trials and tribulations.
I hope you give them a try because not only are they incredibly impressive, because trust me when I say that you will impress your family or friends, but they are so good and quite the experience to enjoy! While for me, pancakes must be served with maple syrup because I am Canadian, you can serve these with your favorite pancake toppings.
Japanese Pancake Highlights
- Incredibly Impressive. Yes, that’s right. If you want to impress your significant other, this is the way to do it. They’re perfect for your weekend breakfast or brunch.
- Completely Customizable. Top these babies with your favorite pancake toppings. Not a fan of maple syrup? No problem, dust them with some powdered sugar, a pat of butter, your favorite berries, a dollop of whipped cream, caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, you choose.
- An Experience To Enjoy! Serving these Japanese pancakes is not only the best conversation starter, but they are seriously satisfying to consume.
- Eggs – You’ll need 2 large eggs separated. If you’re wondering why my pancakes are so yellow is because I get my eggs from a local farmer and they have really dark and beautiful yellow/orange yolks.
- Flour – I used all-purpose flour but you can also you cake flour for a lighter and fluffier texture. The difference is that all-purpose flour has more protein than cake flour.
- Baking powder – We need baking powder as our leavening agent to give our pancakes a nice lift and make them nice and tall.
- Sugar – You’ll need granulated sugar to provide a little sweetness to our pancakes.
- Milk – Any kind of milk will work, I’ve used 0%, 2% and even lactose free milk, and they all work great.
- Vanilla extract – A little bit of vanilla extract to brighten the flavor of our pancakes.
- Salt – A key ingredient, just like vanilla extract, to bring out all the flavors of the other ingredients.
- Combine the dry ingredients. In a bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt.
- Make the egg yolk mixture. In a large bowl whisk the egg yolks and sugar until incorporated. Whisk in the milk and vanilla. Add the flour mixture to the egg yolks and whisk until well incorporated. Do not overmix.
- Whisk the egg whites. In another bowl start whisking the egg whites using a hand mixer until stiff peaks form.
- Fold in the egg whites. Gently fold in the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture, until the ingredients are thoroughly combined.
- Cook the pancakes. Heat a non stick skillet over low heat and gently spray with cooking oil. Spray 3 3-inch round molds with cooking spray and place them into the skillet. Fill each mold with about 3 tablespoons of the pancake batter. Do not overfill them, you want the molds to be filled ½ – ⅔ way through, no more. Cover the skillet with a lid and cook for about 8 to 10 minutes over low heat. Gently flip the pancakes over with a spatula while they still have the molds on. Cover the skillet with a lid again and cook for another 5 minutes. Carefully remove the molds using tongs. Transfer pancakes to a plate and repeat with remaining batter.
- Serve. Serve with maple syrup or your favorite pancake toppings.
What Are Japanese Pancakes?
These Japanese soufflé pancakes are pancakes where the egg whites are folded into the pancake batter, resulting in fluffy, soft and sky high pancakes. They have a soufflé like consistency and are typically cooked in a round mold to hold their shape and height.
Why Did My Japanese Pancakes Deflate?
I’ve been there, the first 2 times I made them, they completely deflated on me immediately after I removed them from the skillet. The problem could be a couple reasons. For one, the egg whites were probably over-beaten or under-beaten and over-mixed into the pancake batter. You want the final batter have lots of air bubbles to give structure to the pancakes.
Another reason could be because you cooked them over higher heat than necessary. You want the heat on low, to give the pancakes a chance to cook inside, otherwise the inside will still be raw and immediately deflate as you remove them from the skillet.
Can I Make These Pancakes Without A Mold?
You sure can. The secret is in how you pile on the batter. Start with a couple tablespoonfuls for each pancake, then come back to the first one and add another tablespoon of batter on top and repeat with the other pancakes. Cover them with the lid and 5 minutes into the cooking process come back and add another tablespoon on top of the pancakes. You want to pile on the batter vertically to get the same height as if cooking with molds.
Expert Tips
- Use pancake molds or cake rings for best results. You want the rings to be at least 1.5-inches in height.
- Do not overfill the molds. I really recommend only going as high as halfway through the mold, otherwise they might spill over as they cook, making a big mess.
- Mix the pancake batter gently especially when folding in the egg whites. You want the air to stay in the batter.
- Preheating the pan is crucial for your pancakes to cook all the way through, but make sure to use the lowest heat.
- You want to make sure you cook these pancakes slowly on low heat over a longer time. This will ensure the pancakes cook inside. If you’re using a higher heat, the inside will be raw. Patience is key.
Storing Leftover Japanese Pancakes
If you have any leftover pancakes, you can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Reheating
I recommend reheating them in the oven for best results. Place them on a baking sheet and reheat them in the oven at 200°F for about 5 to 10 minutes or until heated through.
Freezing
I don’t recommend freezing these pancakes as the texture won’t thaw very well.
More Delicious Pancake Recipes To Try
- Sheet Pan Pancakes
- The Best Buttermilk Pancakes
- Lemon Blueberry and Ricotta Pancakes
- Dutch Baby Pancake
- Healthy Whole Wheat and Oats Pumpkin Pancakes
- Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes
- Pancake Muffins
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Japanese Pancakes
Video
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs (separated)
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoons salt
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Combine the dry ingredients. In a bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt.
- Make the egg yolk mixture. In a large bowl whisk the egg yolks and sugar until incorporated. Whisk in the milk and vanilla. Add the flour mixture to the egg yolks and whisk until well incorporated. Do not overmix.
- Whisk the egg whites. In another bowl start whisking the egg whites using a hand mixer until stiff peaks form.
- Fold in the egg whites. Gently fold in the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture, until the ingredients are thoroughly combined.
- Cook the pancakes. Heat a non stick skillet over low heat and gently spray with cooking oil. Spray 3 3-inch round molds with cooking spray and place them into the skillet. Fill each mold with about 3 tablespoons of the pancake batter. Do not overfill them, you want the molds to be filled ½ – ⅔ way through, no more. Cover the skillet with a lid and cook for about 8 to 10 minutes over low heat. Gently flip the pancakes over with a spatula while they still have the molds on. Cover the skillet with a lid again and cook for another 5 minutes. Carefully remove the molds using tongs. Transfer pancakes to a plate and repeat with remaining batter.
- Serve. Serve with maple syrup or your favorite pancake toppings.
Notes
- Recipe yields 6 pancakes.
- Use pancake molds or cake rings for best results. You want the rings to be at least 1.5-inches in height.
- Do not overfill the molds. I really recommend only going as high as halfway through the mold, otherwise they might spill over as they cook, making a big mess.
- Mix the pancake batter gently especially when folding in the egg whites. You want the air to stay in the batter.
- Preheating the pan is crucial for your pancakes to cook all the way through, but make sure to use the lowest heat.
- You want to make sure you cook these pancakes slowly on low heat over a longer time. This will ensure the pancakes cook inside. If you’re using a higher heat, the inside will be raw. Patience is key.
- If you have any leftover pancakes, you can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
- I recommend reheating them in the oven for best results. Place them on a baking sheet and reheat them in the oven at 200°F for about 5 to 10 minutes or until heated through.
- I don’t recommend freezing these pancakes as the texture won’t thaw very well.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
