Japanese soufflé pancakes
| Servings | 4 |
|---|---|
| Prep time | 10 minutes (plus some chilling time beforehand) |
| Cooking time | 10 minutes |
We had these fluffy soufflé-style pancakes while visiting Japan. If you don't have buttermilk, you can substitute regular whole milk soured with a tablespoon of lemon juice.
Equipment
- 4 large food rings about 8–10cm across
- baking paper
- large frying pan with lid
Ingredients
- 200g plain flour
- 4 eggs
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 0.5 tsp vanilla paste
- 0.5 tbsp baking powder
- 200ml buttermilk
Directions
- Before getting started, separate the egg yolks and whites and chill the whites in the fridge for at least an hour. We only need two of the egg yolks – you can retain the other two for another recipe.
- Whisk together the remaining two egg yolks, sugar, vanilla extract and buttermilk.
- Combine flour and baking powder, then sift into the wet ingredients while continuing to whisk until smooth. Set aside.
- Place the egg whites into a bowl and the beat until they form stiff peaks
- Carefully fold the beaten egg whites into the batter – take a quarter of the egg whites at a time and slowly fold into the batter. Don't over-mix! You're looking to create a smooth and foamy batter.
- Prepare the cooking rings. Cut 4 strips of parchment paper so that they can be used to line the inside of the rings, then lightly oil/grease each one with butter and place inside. Make sure there isn't any extra paper hanging over the top – you'll need to flip the rings later.
- Heat a frying pan large enough to contain the rings over a medium heat, and grease lightly with butter or a neutral oil. Place the lined rings into the pan.
- Fill each ring about 2/3 full of batter, then cover the pan with the lid. Leave to cook for about 4 minutes, until the pancake has risen to the top of the ring. Keep an eye on the heat - better to cook too slowly than too quickly.
- Carefully flip each ring over. The easiest way to do this is to get a spatula underneath and hold the ring with an oven glove, then perform the flip in one smooth movement. This will be messy if it goes wrong.
- Cover and cook for another 4 minutes. Again, keep an eye on the pancakes – you want them to be cooked through, but not burned.
- Remove the cooked pancakes from the frying pan and gently remove from the rings. Serve immediately.