Souffle Pancakes

Welcome to the ultimate guide to making fluffy Japanese souffle pancakes at home using simple ingredients and tools! I'm sharing detailed instructions with essential keys and troubleshooting tips so you can make it successful at home, even if this is your first time trying it.

📌 What Is Japanese Souffle Pancakes?

Japanese Souffle pancake is all about the fluffiness. It contains lots of whipped egg whites (meringue) to create a dreamy pillowy-soft texture. The batter is made with the soufflé technique by folding lots of meringue with other ingredients, just like when making soufflé or chiffon cake. 

In Japan, fluffy desserts are the thing. Modern Japanese desserts are known for valuing lightness and fluffiness with just the right amount of sweetness. Classic cheesecake, shortcake, and roll cake transformed into souffle cheesecake, fluffy strawberry shortcake, and Dojima roll cake, just to name some of the examples. And there is no wonder why they eventually found the pursuit of the fluffiest pancakes as well - Since more than a decade ago, Japanese cafes all over the country have been competing to make the best soufflé pancake.

Although I'm also a huge fan of classic American pancakes, these pancakes caught my heart. The fluffy-like-a-cloud, cottony pancakes taste nothing like I've had before.

You no longer need to have trips to those fancy cafes to enjoy them after learning how to make them at home in this guide. Make them for special occasions, such as anniversaries, birthday breakfasts, Valentine's Day, or as special pancakes to excite your family and kids on the weekend. 

What makes this souffle pancake recipe so unique?

Every souffle pancake recipe I encounter mixes egg yolks, liquids, and flour first and then adds meringue to its mixture. With this method, more gluten gets formed by mixing liquids and flour in advance, creating a bouncy, silky-fine, and slightly chewy texture, just like a classic chiffon cake. 

After multiple trials and errors, I cultivated my own way by folding flour and liquids separately into the meringue. With this biscuit method, the pancakes feel less chewy and bouncy, giving it more cakey fluffiness. I personally love the texture better. I also find the pancakes deflate slightly less with the new method due to the slightly less amount of glutens formed.

If you've had souffle pancakes before and were not a big fan of them due to the texture, I'd like you to try this one. It feels like just in the middle of chiffon cake and sponge cake. 

The post provides step-by-step instructions and helpful visuals to guide you through making it at home. Follow them along to make it successful!

📌 Tips For The Ingredients

For 4 pancakes

• Egg white: Separate eggs to whip egg whites. Ensure no liquids, oil, or any residue is mixed in the tools and ingredients since they prevent egg whites from whipping properly. Yolks contain natural oil, so ensure that even a tiny amount is not mixed in.
• Lemon juice: The acid of lemon juice helps to stabilize the meringue. 
• Granulated sugar: Sugar has many effects, such as moistening the pancakes, creating a finer texture, stabilizing the meringue, etc. 
• Cornstarch: Blending it with meringue helps absorb some of its moisture and stabilize it.
• Egg yolk: Set aside egg yolks to add later. It adds richness to the pancakes.
• Cake flour: I highly recommend using cake flour instead of all-purpose flour for a lighter and fluffier texture.
• Salt: It adds depth in flavor. The pancakes taste so much better with the addition!
• Milk: The liquid helps to create moister pancakes.
• Oil for a pan: Use any regular oil, such as canola oil, vegetable oil, or olive oil. You can also use melted butter but note that the surface gets darker with it.

The pro secret: Cream of tar tar 

You may wonder why the pancakes from those Japanese souffle pancake shops look so perfect with the height. One of the secrets is cream of tartar - Many shops use it as a stabilizer. The concentrated acid helps hold the air bubbles' structure in the meringue. Well, I don't know about you, but I rarely have it at home, nor use it for other purposes. As an alternative, I used lemon juice which is more accessible at any grocery store.

📌 Tips For The Tools You'll Need

• Large non-stick frying pan with a lid
• Hand mixer or stand mixer with a whisk attachment
• Fine mesh sieve
• Medium size bowl
• Rubber spatula
• Piping bag or ice cream scoop
• Cooking spatula (to flip the pancakes)

The pro secret: Electric griddle 

Just like the oven plays a HUGE role in making amazing cakes or cookies, the pan makes a drastic difference in making the perfect souffle pancakes. I'm actually in the phase of feeling the pain after finding out the oven in our new house bakes them wrong!

You may see workers at souffle pancake shops cooking pancakes with huge commercial griddles. They are like a Rolls-Royce for cooking pancakes. They control and maintain the temperature perfectly, unlike regular frying pans with the stove. Regular electric griddles at home size also do a great job. Use it if you already have it at home.

But even if you don't have it like me, you can still make amazing fluffy souffle pancakes with the simple non-stick pan. You'll just need to pay closer attention to the temperature. (I'll cover all about it in the post!)

📌 9 Tips To Make Souffle Pancakes Successfully

Here are my 9 tips to make souffle pancakes successful at home, even with your first attempt!

1. Prepare everything ahead.

My first tip goes to the preparation. Once you start whipping egg whites, everything has to move fast and smoothly. That is why we want to prepare everything ahead - scaling all the ingredients, setting the tools, sifting flours, setting plates, drinks, and toppings on a counter, and finally, calling your family in so that they can eat the warm souffle pancakes on the best moment!

2. Preheat the pan beforehand.

This was probably the most blind-sided key for me. My pancakes came out flatter many times in the past by not preheating the pan enough. The pan must be heated at low heat for a long time before pouring the pancake batter so that it can start cooking it right away before it spreads too much.

When you should turn on the heat depends on the stove. With my current oven, I turn it on right before whipping egg whites after preparing all the other ingredients. Do not preheat the pan with high heat since this can easily burn the surface of the pancakes.

3. The consistency of the meringue

The meringue plays a main role in these pancakes. Make stiff and fluffy meringue to make a thick batter for thick pancakes. The tip of the meringue should stand straight when lifting the whisk.

Looser meringue leads to flatter pancakes. And the pancakes collapse later with over-whipped meringue - the texture won't feel as silky as it should be.

4. Avoid over-mixing the batter and use it right away.

Overmixing the pancake batter or waiting too long before pouring it into the pan leads to loose batter. (hence flat pancakes!) Fold the batter just until the milk is incorporated, and use it immediately.

5. Stack the batter high on a pan.

Don't be afraid of stacking the batter high vertically, as it spreads more as it's cooked. In this recipe, we pour some batter first and add the rest on top of it after the first batter cooks slightly - I find we can create more volume this way, even with a regular pan. 

6. Cook them at low heat.

It is extremely important to continue cooking the pancakes at low heat so that the heat delivers slowly to the center. With medium to high heat, the pancakes rise greatly but collapse more at the end. 

7. Cook them with the steam.

Adding a bit of water to steam-cook the pancakes helps hugely to cook through the center evenly. This is so effective, especially when you don't have an electric griddle.

The steam technique is often used as a water bath when baking desserts, such as creme brulee, creme caramel, cheesecake, etc.

8. Flip them when the sides close to the bottom feel dry. 

If the pancakes look nice and tall right before flipping, congratulate yourself; you've gone through the hardest part! But don't get too excited yet - they can get squashed if you flip them too early. Touch the sides close to the bottom and see if they feel dry. (Be careful not to touch the pan!) It is a sign that the batter is cooked enough to flip. The shiny surface also turns slightly more matted by this time.

9. Take them out of the pan when the sides feel dry.

Almost there to the finale! Now, we need patience to wait for the pancakes to cook through completely. They collapse a lot when taken out of the heat too early. To check it, touch the sides - it should feel dry and bouncy. 

📌 Step-By-Step Instructions To Make Souffle Pancakes

Making the pancake batter

1. As preparations, scale all the ingredients and set all the tools ready.
   • Sift cake flour and salt together.
   • Apply a little oil to a non-stick pan and spread it to the surface with kitchen paper.
   • Start heating the pan at low heat with your timing so that the pan is preheated enough when pouring the batter. 
2. Add lemon juice to the egg whites and whip until they get bubbly like soap. Add half of the sugar and whip until the tip folds over when lifting a whisk. Add the remaining sugar and continue whipping it until it gets fluffy and stiff - the tip should stand straight when lifting a whisk. 

3. Add cornstarch and mix well until it doesn't look lumpy.
4. Add yolks and stir roughly until about 50% is blended. Take off a whisk. 

5. Add the sifted flour and salt and fold with a rubber spatula until you don't see any flour.
6. Add milk and fold until evenly blended. Pour it into a piping bag right away. (You can also use an ice cream scoop.)

Cooking the pancake batter

7. Pipe a little over half of the pancake batter into the preheated pan to make 4 pancakes. Stack the batter high vertically to make the pancakes thick. Add a small amount of water to a pan (about ½ tbsp), close the lid, and cook for about 3 minutes. Do not open the lid during the process. 
8. Add the rest of the batter on top of each, stacking vertically again. Add a few more drops of water, close the lid, and cook for another 4 minutes. (The cooking time can vary depending on the stove, pan, etc. Adjust accordingly. Judge with eyes to be most accurate.)

9. Flip them gently once the sides near the bottom of the pancakes feel dry. (Applying a little oil on a cooking spatula makes it easier to flip them without hurting the bottom of your pancake.) The surface should look a nice golden brown. Add about ½ tablespoon of water, close the lid, and cook for about 4 minutes. 
10. Take them out gently when the sides feel dry and bouncy. Enjoy with your favorite topping while they are warm!

📌 Troubleshooting Tips

My pancakes look flat.

Cause 1: Meringue was loose.

One of the biggest causes is the meringue not being whipped enough. Looser meringue leads to looser pancake batter (and flatter pancakes). Whip it well until the tip stands straight when lifting a whisk.

Cause 2: Over-mixing the batter.

Even if the meringue looks perfect, the batter gets loose by over-mixing the batter. Stop right after the milk is incorporated. And use it right away. 

Cause 3: Not preheating the pan enough.

The batter gets looser and spreads more when the pan is not preheated enough. Heat the pan at low heat for a long time beforehand to start cooking the pancakes quickly.

Cause 4: Flipping the pancakes too early.

The pancakes get squished if you flip them too early. Wait until the edges near the bottom feel dry when touching them.

My pancakes deflated.

Just like classic chiffon cake or other types of sponge cakes, it is normal for the pancakes to deflate a bit as they cool down,  but they should still hold a nice thickness. See the possible causes below if they deflated too much. 

Cause 1: The heat was too strong.

The pancakes rise well when cooked on medium to high heat but collapse later. Cooking them with a steady, lower heat is the key to success.

Cause 2: It was not cooked through yet.

The pancakes deflate if the center is not fully cooked through. Be sure to touch the sides of the pancakes to check - it is done when they feel dry and bouncy.

Cause 3: Meringue was too stiff.

The pancakes rise well with over-whipped meringue, but they also collapse more later. Whip it just until the tip stands when lifting a whisk. It should still look smooth and shiny.

The pancake batter is loose.

Cause 1: Meringue

Loose meringue is the biggest cause for the loose batter. Whip it just until the tip stands when lifting a whisk.

Cause 2: Over-mixing the batter

The air bubbles in meringue get eliminated more by over-mixing the batter, which leads to a loose batter. Fold just until after milk is incorporated. 

The egg whites didn't whip well.

Cause 1: Oil or liquids are mixed in egg whites.

When the egg whites don't whip well until very fluffy, that usually means something else is mixed in them - normally oil, liquids, or any residue, such as soap. They all prevent egg whites from whipping properly. Always use clean tools and ingredients for the best result.

Cause 2: All the sugar was added in the beginning. 

Sugar is an important ingredient in stabilizing the meringue, but it also prevents egg whites from whipping well when added in the beginning stage before whipping them enough.

The amount of sugar is not that much compared to egg whites, so it shouldn't be a problem when using a stand mixer, but you'll experience that it takes more time and effort to whip them well, especially when whipping them by hand with a whisk.

📌 The Topping Ideas For Souffle Pancakes

Enjoy the fluffy pancakes with various toppings and make your own cafe plate! It tastes amazing as is, but enjoying it with various toppings is exceptional. My favorite toppings are slices of butter, honey, whipped cream, strawberry jam, and fresh berries. YUM!

• Honey
• Maple syrup
• Fresh fruits
• Whipped cream
• Strawberry jam or jam of your choice
• Powdered sugar
• Mint
• Chocolate sauce
• Chocolate chips

📌 VIDEO: Watch How To Make It!

To learn how to make fluffy Japanese soufflé pancakes visually and have a deeper understanding of each step, watch the video!

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📌 More Fluffy Cake Recipes

If you like this Japanese soufflé pancake recipe, also try my other fluffy cakes!

• Genoise Sponge Cake
• Chocolate Sponge Cake
• Vanilla Roll Cake
• Buche De Noel

📌 More Breakfast Dessert Recipes

Here are more breakfast dessert ideas you may want to try:

• Banana Pancakes
• Peanut Butter Muffins
• Crepes

📌 Printable Recipe

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