Fluffy Japanese Soufflé Pancakes

Japanese soufflé pancakes are tall, wobbly and so light they almost dissolve. They get their height from a meringue folded into a small amount of yolk batter, and they’re cooked very slowly in a covered pan with a little water, so they steam as much as they fry. They aren’t difficult, but they’re more precise than ordinary pancakes, and timing matters.

This recipe makes 3 large or 4 medium pancakes, enough for 2 people. Prep takes about 15 minutes and cooking about 15 minutes.

How these pancakes work

An ordinary pancake batter relies on baking powder and has plenty of flour. A soufflé pancake turns the proportions around: a lot of whipped egg white, very little flour, and just a pinch of baking powder for insurance. The meringue holds air bubbles, and as the pancake heats, those bubbles expand and the egg proteins set around them. The lid and the water create steam, which cooks the thick centre before the bottom burns. Low heat is essential. Too hot and the outside sets and browns before the middle has risen and cooked through.

Ingredients

Yolk batter

• 2 large egg yolks (about 36 g)
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) whole milk
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 30 g (¼ cup) cake flour, or plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted
• ½ tsp baking powder

Meringue

• 3 large egg whites (about 100 g), cold
• ¼ tsp cream of tartar, or ½ tsp lemon juice
• 35 g (3 tbsp) caster or superfine sugar

For cooking

• ½ tsp neutral oil
• 3–4 tbsp (45–60 ml) water, used a tablespoon at a time

To serve

• Lightly sweetened whipped cream
• Fresh berries
• Maple syrup or honey
• Icing sugar, for dusting

Notes on the ingredients and equipment

Eggs separate most cleanly when cold, and cold whites make a slightly finer, more stable meringue, though it takes a little longer to whip. Make sure there’s no trace of yolk in the whites, and that the bowl and whisk are completely clean and dry. Any fat stops whites foaming properly.

Cake flour has less protein than plain flour, so the pancakes are more tender. Plain flour works well too. If you want to approximate cake flour, replace 1 teaspoon of the plain flour with cornflour.

Sugar stabilises the meringue. Caster sugar dissolves quickly. Don’t cut it much, or the foam will be weaker and collapse more readily.

The pan should be a large non-stick frying pan or griddle with a lid. An electric hand mixer or stand mixer makes the meringue far easier. Ring moulds, about 9 cm (3 ½ in) wide and 5 cm (2 in) tall and lined with a strip of baking paper, give perfectly straight sides, but they’re optional.

Method

1. Make the yolk batter. In a medium bowl, whisk the yolks, milk and vanilla until smooth. Sift in the flour and baking powder and whisk just until there are no lumps. The batter will be thick.
2. Heat the pan. Set the pan over the lowest heat on your smallest burner. Wipe it with the oil using a paper towel, leaving only a thin film.
3. Whip the meringue. In a clean bowl, beat the whites and cream of tartar on medium speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Add the sugar in three additions while beating, then increase to high speed and beat for 2–4 minutes, until the meringue is glossy and holds firm peaks that curl over slightly at the tip. It should not be dry or lumpy.
4. Fold. Stir about a third of the meringue into the yolk batter to loosen it. Add the rest and fold gently with a spatula, cutting down through the middle and sweeping up the side, turning the bowl as you go, just until no white streaks remain. Stop as soon as it’s even.
5. Build the pancakes. Using a large spoon or an ice cream scoop, pile a tall mound of batter, about 2 heaped tablespoons, in 3 or 4 spots in the pan, spaced well apart. Add 1 tablespoon of water to the empty parts of the pan and cover with the lid.
6. Cook the first side. After 2 minutes, lift the lid and add another heaped spoonful of batter on top of each mound to make them taller, using up the batter. Add another tablespoon of water if the pan is dry, cover and cook for 4–5 minutes more, until the bottoms are golden and set and the sides look less shiny.
7. Flip. Using a thin, wide spatula, and a second spatula or spoon to steady the top, turn each pancake gently. Don’t flick them over; tip them over sideways, close to the pan.
8. Cook the second side. Add another tablespoon of water, cover and cook for 4–5 minutes, until golden underneath and a skewer pushed into the middle comes out clean or with only a few moist crumbs. The pancakes should spring back when pressed lightly.
9. Serve at once with whipped cream, berries and syrup. They begin to sink within a few minutes.

Using ring moulds

Moulds give tall, neat, cylindrical pancakes, like the ones served in cafés. Grease the inside of each ring, line it with a strip of baking paper that stands about 2 cm (¾ in) above the rim, and set the rings in the warm pan. Fill each about three-quarters full, add water to the pan around them, cover and cook as above, allowing 1–2 extra minutes per side. To flip, turn the ring and the pancake together with a spatula, then lift the ring off and peel away the paper just before serving.

Making more

The recipe doubles well, but don’t double the batch of meringue and then cook it in several rounds. The meringue in the waiting batter slowly deflates. It’s better to make one batch, cook it, serve it, and then make a second batch while people eat the first. If you have two lidded pans, you can cook a double batch at the same time.

Why soufflé pancakes fail

• Flat pancakes: the meringue was under-whipped, or the batter was over-folded and lost its air. Whip to firm peaks and fold only until even.
• Burnt bottoms, raw middles: the heat was too high. Every hob is different, so use the lowest setting and test one small pancake first.
• Collapse after cooking: they’re slightly underdone inside. Cook a minute or two longer on the second side.
• Grainy meringue: it was over-whipped until it turned dry and lumpy. It can’t be rescued; start a fresh batch of whites.
• Batter spreading: it was left too long before cooking. Have the pan ready before you whip the whites and cook immediately.

Variations

• Matcha: replace 1 tsp of the flour with 1 tsp sifted matcha powder.
• Lemon: add the finely grated zest of half a lemon to the yolk batter and serve with lemon curd.
• Chocolate: replace 1 tbsp of the flour with cocoa powder.
• Dairy-free: use oat or soy milk and serve with coconut whipped cream.

Can you make them ahead?

Not really. These are best eaten within a few minutes of cooking, as they deflate as they cool. You can measure out the ingredients the night before, and you can make the whipped cream and prepare the fruit an hour ahead and keep them in the fridge. Leftover pancakes can be refrigerated for a day and warmed briefly in the microwave, but they’ll be denser, more like a soft sponge cake.

Serving ideas

The classic café presentation is a stack of two or three pancakes with a big spoonful of whipped cream, fresh strawberries and a jug of syrup. Fruit compote, custard or a dollop of thick yogurt are good too. For a weekend brunch table with more baking, add our homemade brioche cinnamon rolls, which can be made the night before, or a few slices of our one-bowl vegan banana bread.

Background

Soufflé pancakes are a café creation rather than a traditional dish. Thick, fluffy hotcakes have been popular in Japanese kissaten (coffee shops) for decades, but the extra-tall, wobbly soufflé style became a craze in Tokyo and Osaka cafés during the 2010s. It then spread across Asia and to cafés around the world, helped a great deal by social media. They’re sometimes called “fuwa fuwa” pancakes, after the Japanese word for fluffy.

Japanese Soufflé Pancakes

Extra-tall, airy pancakes made by folding a firm meringue into a small yolk batter, then cooking them very slowly in a covered non-stick pan with a little water so they steam through. Served with whipped cream, berries and syrup.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Breakfast

Cuisine Japanese

Servings 2 (3 large or 4 medium pancakes)

Ingredients

  

Yolk batter

• 2 large egg yolks (about 36 g)
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) whole milk
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 30 g (¼ cup) cake flour or plain flour, sifted
• ½ tsp baking powder

Meringue

• 3 large egg whites (about 100 g), cold
• ¼ tsp cream of tartar, or ½ tsp lemon juice
• 35 g (3 tbsp) caster or superfine sugar

For cooking

• ½ tsp neutral oil
• 3–4 tbsp (45–60 ml) water

To serve

• whipped cream
• fresh berries
• maple syrup or honey
• icing sugar

Instructions

 

• Whisk the yolks, milk and vanilla, then whisk in the sifted flour and baking powder until smooth.
• Heat a lidded non-stick pan over the lowest heat and wipe with a thin film of oil.
• Beat the whites and cream of tartar until foamy, add the sugar in three additions and beat to glossy, firm peaks that curl slightly at the tip.
• Stir a third of the meringue into the batter, then gently fold in the rest until no streaks remain.
• Pile 3–4 tall mounds of batter in the pan, add 1 tbsp water to the pan, cover and cook 2 minutes.
• Top each mound with the remaining batter, add more water if dry, cover and cook 4–5 minutes until golden underneath.
• Flip gently, add 1 tbsp water, cover and cook 4–5 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.
• Serve immediately with cream, berries and syrup.

Notes

• Use the lowest heat; test one small pancake first.
• Flat pancakes usually mean under-whipped meringue or over-folding.
• Pancakes that collapse are slightly underdone; cook a little longer on the second side.
• With ring moulds, fill three-quarters full and allow 1–2 extra minutes per side.
• Best eaten immediately; they don’t keep well.

Keyword fluffy pancakes, fuwa fuwa pancakes, Japanese pancakes, Japanese souffle pancakes, meringue pancakes, souffle pancakes

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