I first had these Japanese pancakes at a little restaurant in the beach area not too far from my house and it was love at first bite! They were so light and fluffy that I couldn’t resist. Back home I wondered how hard they were to make so I searched the web for “fluffy pancake recipe” and came up with quite a few online. Settling on one from a popular magazine that I can usually rely on I set about to try and make them for dessert that night.
As this pancake recipe calls for using 4 round metal food rings approx. 3″ x 1 1/4″ high, first I had to find them. Searching food supply stores in my town I came across many but none were the right size. Finally after an exhaustive search, both online and on foot I found some that were almost the right size so I handed over my credit card and went home to try out this new trendy pancake recipe. Little did I know that I could have actually used cardboard cut to the right size, stapled it to form a circle, and then lined it with parchment paper. I should have known that there is always a hack! But alas, now I had the proper equipment and I started cooking.
I didn’t get too far into the recipe before I recognized that something was wrong. The original recipe called for whisking 1/4 cup of a flour mixture with 2 large egg yolks and then adding only 2 tbsps of milk. Well, my egg yolk/flour mixture turned into a clump of dough resembling that of tight spaetzle dough. Then the recipe called for folding in 2 beaten egg whites. Clearly, there was no way the egg whites were going to “FOLD” into that dough so I increased the milk ratio until I got the mixture to a consistency I thought I could fold the egg whites into. To make a long story short there were a few problems with the recipe (which is why I’m not crediting the source). My first batch ended up like flat hard pucks so I made some adjustments until I came up with something that worked and gave me the fluffy, tender pancakes that I was looking for and that I knew I’d feel comfortable passing onto you. So after much trial and error here is my favorite fluffy pancake recipe.
What Ingredients Do I Need To Make This
- Olive or vegetable oil or spray
- Large eggs – Separated
- 2% Milk – You can also use homogenized.
- Vanilla extract – I recommend using pure extract for the best flavor.
- All-purpose flour
- Cornstarch
- Baking Powder
- Cream of Tartar
- Sugar – Regular granulated sugar is fine.
- Icing sugar – For serving.
- Whipped cream – For garnishing.
- Berries – For garnishing.
How many servings will this Japanese Pancakes recipe make?
It will make a total of 4 pancakes serving approximately 2 people depending on how hungry you are. You can also easily double the recipe to make more.
How long will it take?
It takes approximately 15 minutes of preparation time and about 8 minutes to cook the pancakes.
What will I need?
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You will need 4 – 3″ x 1 1/4″ metal food rings like these.
Alternatively, you can cut thin cardboard like that from a cereal box into a 1 1/4″ high strip about 3 1/4″ long and staple it together in a circle to form a 3″ ring. Then cut a strip of parchment paper to the same measurements and staple this ring inside the cardboard ring being careful not to use too many staples that the batter might stick to. Be sure to grease the inside of either style ring well before you add them to the pan or you will have a problem releasing the pancake from the mold. To cook the pancakes you’ll also need a deep nonstick pan or a regular-sized nonstick frypan with a domed lid.
These pancakes can be served for breakfast but they also make a delicious dessert with a drizzle of chocolate.
Fluffy Japanese Style Pancakes
Ingredients
- Olive or vegetable oil or spray
- 2 Large eggs, separated
- 6-7 tbsp (90-103 ml) 2% Milk
- 1/4 tsp (4 ml) Vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup (32 g) All-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tbsp (19 g) Cornstarch
- 3/4 tsp (3 g) Baking Powder
- 1/4 tsp (1 g) Salt
- Pinch Cream of Tartar
- 2 tbsp (25.5 g) Sugar
- Icing sugar, whipped cream and berries for garnishing
Instructions
To Make Batter:
- Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites placing them each into separate medium-sized bowls and place the egg whites bowl into the freezer.
- Whisk the egg yolks until they are creamy. Add the milk and vanilla and beat with the whisk until everything is combined.
- In another bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt, then use fine sieve to sift
dry ingredients into egg mixture. Whisk until batter is uniform. Set aside. - Remove the egg whites from the freezer. Add the cream of tartar to the egg whites and beat with an electric mixer until foamy. Slowly add the sugar a little at a time. Beat until the egg whites are thick and shiny and just to the point where they start to hold peaks.
- Gently fold the egg whites mixture into the batter a third at a time, being careful not to deflate the whites.
To Cook Pancakes:
- Preheat your nonstick pan over low heat.
- Grease your food rings well and place them in the pan. Pour about 1/4 of the batter into each ring until each is about half full.
- Cover the pan and cook for 5 minutes on low heat. You want the pancakes to slowly cook without browning too much.
- Using tongs and a flexible spatula, flip the pancakes. Let them cook, covered, for another minute and then run the blade of a thin knife around the inside of each molds and remove the molds.
- Cover the pan and cook the pancakes approximately 2 to 3 minutes longer, or until they are nicely browned on the bottom and just cooked through.
- Transfer the pancakes to serving plates. Dust lightly with icing sugar and add whipped cream and fruit and serve. Alternatively, you can serve the pancakes with maple syrup.
Leave A Comment & Rate This Recipe
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If you’re looking for more breakfast recipes check out my Easy Olive Oil Crepes or my Crispy Air Fryer Bacon.
I absolutely love good pancakes and these fluffy ones look incredible! I so have to pin and try this recipe so thank you for sharing! Looks scrumptious!
They look fluffy indeed and I bet they are delicious. I would love to have those pancakes for breakfast today!
I’ve never seen Japanese pancakes before. They are very thick compared to the traditional pancakes in the US.
I seem to always make some dense pancakes. These sound so wonderful and light!
Oooh, I’m craving these Japanese pancakes right now. I’ll have to make it soon.
I really love how these fluffy Japanese style pancakes look and really would like to give it a shot myself!
There are a lot of protein recipes on the internet, but these sound easy to prepare.
These sounds divine. I didn’t know that there were different recipes for pancakes. I would have to try making them for my kids.
Mmmmm….. I would like to wake up with these pancakes! They look divine!
I love pancakes but I didnot know that theres a different recipe for this one, I am pinning it!
These pancakes look so good. Can I make them with almond milk?
Yes you can Tara. Let me know how you like them.
Oh my goodness, I’ve never had Japanese Style Pancakes and these look amazing! Doesn’t seem too hard to make either. Thanks!
I love fluffy Japanese pancake. This is perfect for kids! Love this. Thank you for sharing this.
Yes your kids will love these! Enjoy!
What a delicious yummy-looking breakfast! I’ve never heard of this type of pancake before, and your pictures are so beautiful they are making my mouth water!
Thank you Heather! They really are delicious & once you get the hang of it they’re quite easy to make!
These pancakes looks so fluffy and delicious. One can’t just deny this.
So true Lathiya! Thanks!
I love pancakes and the japanese pan cakes look wonderful. Worth a try.
They are delicious. I highly recommend you try them!
How fascinating. It seems as if they are almost baked rather than the traditional frying them. I am always on the lookout for new breakfast yummies so I will give these a go.
They are cooked with the lid on the pan so yes I guess you could say they are sort of baked. Please let me know what you think if you try them Gillian.
Yum! This sounds so good, and I am dying to try. I just checked and I have all the ingredients in the house right now. I’ll be making these for sure!
Yay! Please let me know what you think Christy!
This Japanese style pancake looks absolutely irresistible and my kids are definitely going to love it. Thanks for the recipe.
Thank you Pavani! I hope your kids enjoy them!
I’ve seen these, but never tried to make them. That has to change, immediately!
They are actually quite easy Kylee and if you don’t have the metal rings you can make them out of cardboard or even empty tuna cans. If you try it let me know how it turns out!
Japanese pancakes “hot cakes” were never my go-to because I grew up eating my dad’s American style pancakes. But as an adult, I’d love to try these! They look beautiful! Gotta figure out how to make them gluten-free…
I wonder if you could use almond flour? Please let me know how it turns out if you try it!
Never even heard of these… they sound scrumptious! Gonna have to give ’em a try 🙂
They are so good & if you dont have the steel rings you can makevthem out of cardboard or even empty tuna cans. Let me know how they turned out.