Lighter than air fluffy souffle pancakes!

ABOUT SOUFFLE PANCAKES

Souffle pancakes are super fluffy, it feels like you’re eating a cloud. You’ve probably seen beautiful souffle pancakes in pictures or videos on social media. Souffle pancakes originated from Japan and quickly became popular worldwide. These fluffy and jiggly pancakes are made with the same ingredients used to make regular pancakes, but what sets them apart is in the preparation of the eggs. The egg yolks and whites are separated, and the egg whites are whipped to a stiff meringue. The air in the meringue gives the pancakes more rise, making the pancake fluffy like a souffle.

These days, you can find souffle pancakes across the globe, but depending on where you live, you might have a harder time finding a place. This is why I want to help you learn to make it so you can enjoy it at home! When I was perfecting this recipe, I made these souffle pancakes daily. I never got tired of eating it every day, though, because the fluffy texture and sweet taste are irresistible! These souffle pancakes seem too fancy for an everyday meal and require some effort, but they’re an amazing treat to have every once in a while.

SOUFFLE PANCAKE TOPPINGS

You can top souffle pancakes with anything you like! Your toppings will flavor the overall dish so you can enjoy it in a variety of ways. Here are a few ideas to give you some inspiration:

☆ Fresh fruit
- Fresh berries and bananas are great with souffle pancakes to add a bright taste.
☆ Whipped cream
- You can use plain vanilla whipped cream or flavor it with cocoa powder, matcha, jam (strawberry jam makes a cute and delicious pink whipped cream!), crushed cookies, etc.
☆ Fruit sauces
- Cook down fruits such as berries, mangos, peaches, etc. to make a sweet and fresh sauce for these pancakes. You can also make coconut sauce like I did here to make coconut pancakes. Top it off with fresh fruit for more fruit flavor!
☆ Butter and maple syrup
- Enjoy souffle pancakes like regular pancakes! It tastes great with a little salted butter and syrup! You can also top it with nuts, chocolate, jam, nut butter, etc.

MATERIALS

☆ Piping bag or scoop
- Piping the batter onto the pan makes it easier to control the size of the pancake. A cookie dough/ice cream scoop also makes it easier. These methods allow you more control over the diameter and height of your pancake. However, if you don’t have these, a regular ladle, spoon, or measuring cup work as well!

INGREDIENTS (+ SUBSTITUTIONS)

This is a basic list and explanation of the key ingredients. For full list and measurements, please scroll down to the recipe below!

☆ Eggs
- The egg yolks and whites are separated, and the egg whites are whipped into a stiff meringue which is what gives these pancakes their fluffy texture.
☆ Milk
- I used whole milk, but any percentage of milk works! You may also use plant milks.
☆ Vanilla
- Vanilla adds flavor to the pancakes and combats that eggy flavor from the meringue. You can omit it if you like. On the other hand, you can add more if the pancake still tastes eggy to you. Be mindful of the moisture, though, as the evaporation process of the liquids in the batter creates steam which contributes to the rise of the souffle.
☆ All-purpose flour
- I used all-purpose flour because it has a higher protein content which results in a firmer pancake that’s still light and jiggly. In my experience, this helped the pancakes maintain their shape after cooking, but you can use cake flour instead for an even lighter and more delicate pancake. You can also use 52.5g all-purpose flour and 7.5g cornstarch to replace 60g of cake flour if you’d like to use cake flour instead but don’t have any.
☆ Sugar
- Sugar adds sweetness and structure to the meringue. I don’t recommend making adjustments to the meringue’s sugar content as it will change the stability and structure of the meringue.

TIPS FOR MAKING SOUFFLE PANCAKES

☆ Make sure your bowl is clean and free of any oils before adding the egg white. You can use vinegar to clean the bowl before you begin to eliminate any oils. Additionally, you can add an acid such as lemon juice or cream of tartar to the egg whites to aid in the whipping process. Using cold egg whites helps the meringue stabilize as well. Be careful not to break the yolk when separating the eggs as well as the yolks contain fat which makes it hard to whip the egg whites into a meringue.

☆ Whip the egg whites just until stiff. Under whipping the egg whites won’t incorporate enough air into the meringue, resulting in pretty flat pancakes. Likewise, you also don’t want to over whip the egg whites. Over whipped egg whites have already reached their capacity to expand and thus won’t expand during cooking. The meringue will burst as the air expands, causing the pancakes to deflate.

☆ First add a small portion of the meringue, about ⅓, to the egg yolk mixture to loosen it then carefully fold the rest in increments. It’s okay to be bit rough when loosening the egg yolks at first, but you want to very carefully fold the rest in as not to break the meringue.

☆ You want a tight-fitting lid to cover your pan! This will trap in the heat and steam, allowing the pancakes to cook through without burning. This also helps the pancakes maintain their height. I used a Bruno compact hot plate which was convenient because of the non-stick hot plate and lid. If you don’t have a lid that fits, you can use anything that will create a tight seal over your pancakes.

☆ When flipping the pancakes, you want to do more of a rolling over motion instead of lifting and flipping like you would with regular pancakes. Flipping the pancakes can make them deflate due to the impact, so gently rolling them to cook the other side prevents the souffle pancakes from deflating.

☆ Souffle pancakes tend to deflate fast, but the deflation should not be instant. This is why it’s best to serve them immediately. Some things that can contribute to the deflation are the egg white whipping method, moisture of the batter, and temperature shock. I explained the egg whites above, so please refer to that. To combat the moisture of the batter, you may need to cook the pancakes a little longer so that the liquids evaporate. Cooking the souffle pancakes low and slow can help with this and the issue of temperature shock. When the warm pancakes hit cold air immediately, it can cause them to deflate. By cooking at a lower temperature, the temperature drop won’t be as intense. Unfortunately, this requires trial and error, so just keep at it!

MORE BREAKFAST IDEA RECIPES! ♡

If you recreate this Souffle Pancakes recipe, please let me know by tagging me or leaving a comment on Instagram @maruryouri or TikTok @atsuryouri. I’d love to see your creations and hear your feedback!