The Japanese soufflé pancakes are the novelty pancakes people would patiently wait in line for in the East Village. Their claim to fame is the fluffy texture. Light and lofty as a lot of the Japanese pastry or street food are known for. The easy part is the use of common ingredients as the American pancakes: flour, egg, milk and sugar. The addition of the extra egg whites beaten to stiff peaks and folded into the batter give the Japanese soufflé pancakes the towering height. But cooking the batter and giving it height can be challenging.
The New York Times recipe calls for using metal rings. This is how it’s supposed to go. Put batter in a 3-inch greased ring in a hot pan. Cover and let it cook until a few small bubbles start to form on the top (3 to 4 minutes). Then flip the pancake in the ring and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. That is easily said than done. Given I have only one ring and it’s super important to grease the skillet and the pastry ring each time, the process is extremely tedious and fuzzy. On top of that, repeat it for 7 more pancakes. Surely, not something I’d like to do on a holiday weekend.
Flipping the pancake in a pastry ring is not easy to do.
What saves the day and all the pancake batter is a steam oven. If you don’t have one, a steamer may do the trick. I grease 6 to 8 ramekins and fill them with the batter three quarters of the way to the rim. Place them in the convection/steam oven and bake at 250°F/70% humidity. After 15-20 minutes, I am able to flip the pancakes out of the dishes and enjoy my fluffy soufflé pancakes, while skipping the stovetop skillet process all together.
Ramekins turned upside down after baking
Bake in a convection/steam oven
Drizzle maple syrup on top and serve with fresh berries. These are far lighter and loftier than the everyday pancakes. I got it! The method of whipping up egg whites, make a meringue and fold that into the pancake mixture works wonder. The whipped pancake batter is a delightful addition to my repertoire of pancake recipes.
Comparison to a basic pancake recipe
Japanese Soufflé Pancakes | The New York Times
Soufflé pancakes are trending on social media. Take a test spin and see whether you can get the texture and structure that's all the rave.
Ingredients
- 4 egg whites and 2 egg yolks from 4 large eggs, separated and chilled
- 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 6 tablespoons cake flour
- ¼ cup milk, chilled
- ½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Unsalted butter, for greasing and serving
- Maple syrup, for serving
- Confectioners’ sugar, whipped cream and fresh berries, for serving (optional)
Instructions
Place egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer or a medium bowl; set aside. Place egg yolks in a large bowl. Add 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, the vanilla and baking powder to egg yolks and whisk until blended. Add flour and milk; whisk until fully combined.
Add lemon juice and salt to egg whites. Using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or a hand mixer, whip mixture on medium speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Continue to whip over medium while gradually sprinkling with remaining 5 tablespoons granulated sugar. Turn speed to high and whip until stiff, glossy peaks form and mixture doubles in size, about 1 minute. Take care not to overbeat meringue.
Heat a lidded nonstick skillet over the lowest heat setting and set the lid aside.
Using a rubber spatula, scoop about 1/3 of meringue into egg yolk mixture and gently fold almost combined. Repeat with half the remaining meringue until almost combined, then fold in the remaining meringue just until no streaks remain.
Carefully grease the warm skillet and the inside of four 3-inch-wide pastry rings (they should be at least 1 1/2 inches tall) using the butter. Check the heat of the pan by sprinkling a bit of water in it: Droplets should steam off the surface, but not dance or sputter. Place the greased pastry rings in the warm pan and ladle a scant 1/2 cup batter into each ring. Place lid on top of skillet and cook pancakes on very low heat until they start to rise and a few small bubbles start to form on top, 3 to 4 minutes.
Remove lid, carefully slide a flat spatula underneath each pancake and position another spatula on top, then gently flip pancakes in their rings. Immediately replace lid and cook until pancakes are cooked through and spring back to the touch, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer cooked pancakes to a platter, grease the skillet and pastry rings and repeat to make 4 additional pancakes.
Top pancakes with a pat of butter and drizzle with maple syrup; serve immediately. Serve with any combination of confectioners’ sugar, whipped cream and berries, if desired.
Notes
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020120-japanese-souffle-pancakes
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