Souffle Pancakes.
It’s hard to ignore – as the cafe displays a picture-perfect poster of the pancakes in their storefront.
Every time we walk by… we both have the “we gotta visit there soon" look.
Last week, we finally stepped inside.
After the first bite, we could now understand the hype over soufflé pancakes.
Soft, airy, fluffy – and most importantly, not heavy on the stomach!
It was not long before we tried to replicate the recipe at home. And boy, it was not easy!
We started by trying some of the top-ranked Youtube video recipes. But the results were not as advertised - heh!
The pancake batter would be too airy for stacking – spilling over. Or the pancakes would completely deflate when you took it out of the frying pan. Or the pancake would come out burnt based on the suggested cooking time.
After a half-day of trial and error, we settled on Cooking See’s version of Pancakes. We followed her recipes and made some slight modifications for our pancakes!
I’ll list below the key areas on which you should double-check
COOKING TIPS:
The first potential area for mistake is with the meringue.
Double-check that your meringue has stiff peaks – meaning the meringue’s tips don’t fall over when you pull out the whisks.
If they do fall over, whip-it for longer (~10-30 seconds). Stiff peaks indicate that the batter is strong enough to hold weight – and not deflate.
The second is when you fold the meringue into the batter. You want to carefully mix the batter in an upward motion from the bottom…with a spatula. This way the air-filled shape of the meringue is still there.
Note: Also make sure that you fold it up enough times so that the yellow & white colors mix through evenly. You want an even-colored mixture – not spots of white!
The third area to watch out for is the cooking heat. Warm-up the frying pan on a low heat. Once the pan gets relatively hot, lower the heat to its lowest heat you can get it too (reference video).
Also use oil in the frying pan – not butter. We will use water to steam the pancakes and the oil creates a better reaction.
Pro-tip: If you want the pancakes to stack easy and get very big, use an ice-cream scoop with a thumb lever. You can use one scoop for the base. And scoop on another!
Overall, this Souffle pancake recipe tastes great as-is! Don’t hassle too much about the size of the pancake.
Enjoy, enjoy and enjoy 🥰
Ingredients
- 2 Egg Yolks
- 1 Tablespoon Milk
- 1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 3 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon of Cake Flour (30 grams)
Meringue
- 3 Egg Whites
- 4 Tablespoons Sugar (50 grams)
Instructions
Make Egg Yolk Base
- Take out two mixing bowls. Crack three eggs. Place 2 egg yolks in one bowl - we will not use the 3rd yolk. Then place 3 egg whites into another bowl (set this bowl aside - we'll use it later for the meringue)
- To the bowl with 2 egg yolks... Add in Milk (1 Tablespoon) and Vegetable Oil (1 Tablespoon). Then give it a whisk. Next add in the Vanilla Extract (1 teaspoon). Give it another thorough mix!
- Next, measure out the cake flour (3 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon). Place the flour through a sift and gently tap it through - onto the egg yolk mixture. Use a whisk and give it a through mix - until it turns smooth with no lumps
Make Meringue
- Measure out 4 Tablespoons of Sugar (50 grams).
- Then, take out an electric hand mixer and let's whisk-up the egg whites!
- 1) First, turn on a high speed and whip the egg whites until you see foam.
- 2) Once you see foam, add-in ⅓ of the Sugar. Whisk on high-speed for about 20 seconds.
- 3) Afterwards, add in another ⅓ of the Sugar. Whisk on high-speed for another 20 seconds.
- 4) Now, add in the remaining ⅓ of the sugar. Whisk on high-speed for 30 seconds. (After 30 seconds, check if your meringue has STIFF mountain peaks - the peaks should NOT fall over! If they do, please whisk your meringue for 10-20 more seconds)
- 5) Finally, place the mixer on a low-speed and whisk everything for 10 seconds. (This step removes any trapped air bubbles in the meringue. )
Make Foamy Butter
- Add in ¼ of the whipped meringue into the egg yolk mixture. Give it a very thorough mix and make sure that the mixture turns smooth and creamy - no lumps!
- Add in the rest of the whipped meringue. Use a baking spatula to combine the meringue into the egg yolk mixture. With the spatula, you want to carefully fold the batter up - in an upward motion (reference video)! This is to maintain the meringue's shape and volume. However, make sure that the mixture is evenly and thoroughly mixed through - there should be no white patches or clumps in the batter.
Make Pancakes
- Place a non-stick frying pan on low heat. Give it a few minutes to warm-up. Once its hot, add in oil - not butter! Use a paper towel and wipe around to distribute the oil evenly onto the surface.
- Then reduce the heat on your stove to its lowest setting. THIS IS IMPORTANT!
- Now, use a spoon and carefully place 3 piles of batter onto the frying pan. Add an additional layer of batter on top of each of them - total of 2 scoops. This will form the base for our pancake. (Tip: If you have an ice cream scoop with a thumb release lever, use it to place-on ONE big scoop instead).
- Place the lid on and set a timer for 1 minute.
- After 1 minute, open the lid. Scoop-on an additional 1-2 layers of batter onto each of the pancakes. (Again, if you're using an ice cream scoop, place-on ONE big scoop). Afterwards, add a few droplets of water into the frying pan (reference video). This water will react violently with the oil and create hot steam. Close the lid and let it cook in this steam for 3 minutes.
- After 3 minutes, carefully flip the pancakes over (be gentle!) Add in a few droplets of water again. Close the lid and let it cook for 2-3 minutes. (We ended up only needing 2 minutes - but time may vary depending on our stovetop!) Give it a quick check at 2 minutes to see if its ready!
- Plate quickly. Serve with fresh strawberries, blueberries or other fruits. Drizzle some maple syrup over all of it. Add powdered sugar if it's your birthday! And most importantly, enjoy!!
Marion says
Hi! Thanks for all your tips!
I followed the measurements with a scale but my egg yolks/flour mixture was really thick, not runny, so it was very difficult to mix it with the egg whites. I managed eventually and the rest of the recipe went fine, except that they deflated the minute I put them on my plate Help!
Kevin Counts says
Looks good but you may want try try whipping only egg whites and flower together. Then mix that with beaten egg yolks with a small amount of milk (I’d also add vanilla and a mall amount of sugar to the yolk mixture). Fold the whites into the yolk and cook. Here’s a great video that shows it being done professionally.
https://youtu.be/c0xMhLmOXx8
Tiffany says
Your videos are hilarious! Very practical to-do videos, really appreciate it. Def easiest souffle recipe to follow--so thorough which is SUPER helpful for non-cooks like me!
Dan-yul says
Yes, this one is definitely not a "beginner" level recipe. But as long as you're not looking for perfection - very fun to do! Bon Appetit Tiffany~~
Gabriel says
Hi there!
Will I need to use weight to measure the flour and sugar to get the best results?
Great recipe, thanks!
Dan-yul says
Hi Gabriel! Yes, you should use a weight scale for this recipe. Baking turns into drama without one heh.
Elise says
Hello!
Thank you for this recipe 😀
I tried it out and my first attempt at cooking the pancakes was a desastrous X) (That Probably due to the pan I used and the fact that I used induction plate.)
I then switched to a much smaller pan (about half as big as the one you used) and for the minimum heat, I used 4 on an induction plate with an overall longer cooking time (1min//3min30//2min30).
I ended up with very beautiful and small fluffy pancakes and they tasted amazing!!! 😀
Thanks again! 🙂
Gabriel says
Hi there!
Will I need to use weight to measure the flour and sugar to get the best results?
Great recipe, thanks!
Gabriel says
(whoops, accidentally posted this twice)