Have you heard? Soufflé pancakes are getting all the rage today. Even if they weren't, I have found myself lately stuck on YouTube watching Japanese and Korean street cuisine and it's absolutely torture. Where I live, there aren't many oriental cafes which is such a bummer because I love trying foods from different cultures. If you aren't sure what a Soufflé pancake is, all it takes is a quick web search to fall in love with these fluffy, delicious, pancakes!
After watching enough videos to stir up my own appetite - and on my day off with Dimitar - I found a recipe on YouTube and gathered up all of my baking ingredients. Now, I've mentioned before how baking in a small kitchen is the hardest thing to do and unfortunately, my kitchen hasn't grown since then. It's still small and it's still a pain to cook and bake in. It is a kitchen though after all and I do need my Soufflé pancakes.
Also, this is my second attempt trying to make Soufflé pancakes. The first time I made them, I only made two pancakes (recipe was for 3 really, but 1 pancake didn't make it *sad face*) and I didn't record myself making them either. The first recipe I used was great too but I didn't save it or remember it *sad face again* so I decided to try a new one.
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| My Ingredients |
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| Separate yolks from eggs whites |
The first step is to gather up two eggs and separate the yolks from the egg whites. I put each into their own bowls and then put the egg whites into the fridge to stay chilled. Since we're going to be making merengue, it's important to keep the egg whites as chilled as possible so the merengue will form better. The first time I made Soufflé pancakes, my eggs were room temperature which left me with regular, but tasty pancakes.
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| Add milk to egg yolks |
With cold milk, I added a few tablespoons of it to my egg yolks and stirred. Many people use regular milk for the fat content, but since I don't drink regular milk, all I had was Almond milk. It's still very tasty to me though since it has vanilla in it, but I would love to try making Soufflé pancakes with regular milk to see if there is a difference in taste or looks. Let me know if there is!
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| Add in flour |
Soufflé pancakes are unique because they require very little flour for them to rise - this is why the merengue is so important. While merengue is hard to perfect, it's the key step to getting big, fluffy pancakes. To get the best pancakes, it's also important to measure out your flour the correct way which is usually done with a scale. I don't have one though but I definitely plan on getting one soon.
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| Add vanilla |
This part is optional but I find that adding vanilla extract compliments the faint eggy taste of these pancakes. Plus, whenever I am baking, I always add vanilla just out of habit. You can leave it out if you don't like vanilla or add in other flavors like matcha green tea powder or even cocoa powder. Once I get the hang of making regular Soufflé pancakes though, I plan on experimenting. Put this mixture to the side until we're ready for it later. This is also a good time to start heating your stovetop on the lowest setting possible; if you have an electric stove top or even a griddle with a lid, your pancakes should come out nicely.
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| Preparing the merengue |
Now for the scary part - making the merengue. You'll need an electric mixer for this part or you can expect a serious arm work out. Taking the egg whites out of the fridge, we're going to add only 1/3 of our sugar to our egg whites. It takes about five minutes for the mixture to get white and frothy and when it does, add 1/3 of the sugar again. Keep mixing until the mixture starts to thicken in consistency before adding in the remaining sugar. You're going to want to mix until the mixture resembles frosting in a sense where it doesn't move if you were to tip the bowl over. You'll also know when it's ready if stiff peaks form on the end of your mixing blades. If they don't - keep mixing. If they do, we can safely move onto the next round.
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Merengue is starting to thicken up
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| Stiff peaks |
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| Add merengue to egg yolk mixture |
My bowl was a mess at this point, but I was doing my best to work fast; merengue works best if used ASAP. At this point, I started heating my frying pan on the lowest heat setting possible. Since I have a stove with burners, I waited until the last minute to start heating my pan up. I also wiped oil onto it to prevent sticking - you really don't need a lot either!
I add only a 1/3 of the merengue into my egg yolk mixture and mix it gently. Once mixed, I then add the remaining merengue to it, and fold it into the egg yolks. If you mix too fast, you can break the merengue, so really be gentle here and treat it like it's your baby. Mix only until incorporated.
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| Using a 1/4 scoop |
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| Create circle for a nice shape |
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| Cover with lid - or anything you have that's heat proof :) |
Since I don't have a big scooper, I decided to use one of my measure cups - the 1/4 scoop. Scooping a good amount, I plopped as much as I could onto the pan, being sure to create a circle with the back of my measuring cup. I then added a dash of water to the pan which will prevent our pancakes from cracking and drying out on us. Cover your pancake with a lid and let cook for 3-4 minutes; I don't have a lid for my pan so I used one of my Pyrex bowls instead and it worked like a charm.
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| Add more batter on top for taller pancakes |
To get the height that Soufflé pancakes are known for, you're going to have to add more batter on top. After waiting only a few minutes, uncover the pancake and add more batter on top. Add more water to your pan and then cover with lid; wait only a few more minutes before gently flipping over. If you flip these pancakes like regular pancakes - smacking them onto the pan - you'll end up flattening your baby. Instead, gently turn them over while using the side of the pancake to guide it.
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| My baby Soufflé pancake |
And there you go! It's not as big as most Soufflés pancakes are, but I think if I had a bigger scoop, I could achieve just that. After this point, you just rinse and repeat the steps until you use up all of your batter. Since Soufflé pancakes are tall because of the heat being held within them, it's a good idea to consume these right away - as if that's an issue for me!
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| First pancake |
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| My tower of Soufflé Pancakes |
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| So delicious and worth perfecting! |
I hope you give these pancakes a try. It may take much more effort than your usual pancakes but they're totally worth it. They're fluffy, sweet, and such a nice treat if you want something new. Eating them made me feel like I was in Japan - without actually being there. How cool is that?
Have you tried making Soufflé pancakes before? How many attempts did it take you?
Until next time! xoxo - Sarah
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