Japanese Souffle Pancake Recipe
Japanese souffle pancakes are super tall and fluffy pancakes made using whipped egg whites. This recipe uses whole eggs, so you don’t have leftover yolks, and does not require any rings or molds. While making Japanese pancakes seems intimidating, if you follow my step-by-step instructions, even beginners can have success!
What are Japanese Souffle Pancakes?
Japanese souffle pancakes differ from typical American pancakes in that they are very tall and have a fluffy and airy texture, almost like a mini sponge cake. They are usually about 3-4 inches in diameter, and at least 1-2 inches in height. They are not a “traditional” Japanese food in that they don’t have a long history in Japan. When I stayed in Kyoto for a summer in college, I don’t think these existed yet! But I’ve noticed they have become super popular on social media in the past 6-7 years, and it doesn’t look like that trend is stopping anytime soon.
You can find souffle pancakes at specialty cafes in Japan, where they are not just served for breakfast. They are so decadent, they can be served as a dessert! You’ll see pancake cafes open all day… like a fancy…artisan… IHOP. What a dream.
How are Japanese Pancakes Made?
Japanese pancakes are made by whipping egg whites into stiff peaks and folding them into the rest of the batter. It’s similar in technique to a souffle (hence the name) or chiffon cake. You then pile tall towers of batter into a griddle or pan and cook for a long time over low heat. In order to get those super tall, fluffy pancakes to cook all the way through, you’ll need either some special tools or techniques. Because this recipe is meant to be for home cooks, I tried not to use any special tools and adjusted the technique to be more user-friendly.
Do I Need a Mold to Make Japanese Pancakes?
Some recipes call for a metal ring in order to cook tall pancakes that would otherwise flop over. While they look amazing, I didn’t feel like buying a tool just for this one recipe, and I’m betting you all probably don’t want to either. So this recipe does NOT use a mold!
What Special Tools Do I Need for Japanese Pancakes?
I’ve read some bloggers who say that you can ONLY use nonstick pans for souffle pancakes. Others say that they could only use an electric griddle. I’ve even read some that say you can’t use a gas stove!
Everyone has different cooking materials and appliances, so I’m not going to recommend one specific tool that will guarantee success.
The important part to know is that you need something that the pancakes will not stick to and something that can cook evenly on low heat for a long time. You’ll also need something with deep sides, as you will be cooking very tall pancakes and need to cover them with a lid.
For me, my Lodge cast iron skillet worked great! It has deep sides, heats very evenly on my gas stove, and is so well seasoned that nothing sticks to it. I used a clear lid that goes with one of my stainless steel skillets when covering it, so that I could keep an eye on the pancakes inside.
The only other tool to think about is what you’ll use to scoop the batter. Some recipes recommend using a piping bag to pipe the batter into a tall mound. Other recipes just use a spoon, ice cream scoop, or cookie scoop. I figured the scooping method would be easier for most people, so I used my 2 tbsp cookie scoop. I love using my cookie scoop because I know every scoop has the same amount of batter, and my pancakes turned out uniform. And, obviously, it is versatile in that you can use it for cookies (or even temari sushi) as well! But if you don’t have a cookie scoop, you can definitely use a regular spoon too.
Tips for Making Japanese Pancakes
Be Familiar With Beating Egg Whites
The number one place where I suspect mistakes can happen in this recipe is with beating egg whites. If you are not familiar with making meringues or beating egg whites to stiff peaks, please go watch a few youtube videos so you know what to look for.
There are a lot of old wives tales about how to get perfect stiff peaks, but I find as long as you have clean kitchen tools, you’ll be fine. I personally like to wait until the egg whites look a little frothy before adding in my sugar, but other home bakers have said that’s unnecessary. When I see the beaters starting to leave ripples in the egg whites that don’t dissolve, sort of like whipped cream, that’s when I start testing for doneness. You can dip a finger in the meringue to see if the sugar has completely dissolved. You can also hold your beater or whisk upside down to see if the meringue holds in a little mountain shape on top instead of flopping down.
Cook Low and Slow
I know, it’s so tempting to turn up the heat. But DON’T. The pancake batter will be piled so high, it will take much longer to cook the insides than a typical pancake. You don’t want to burn the bottom of your pancake while the insides are still raw! If you feel like your pancake has cooked through and the bottom still isn’t brown enough, THEN you can increase the heat slightly. I took about 15 minutes per batch of pancakes in my skillet. Patience pays off!
Add Water to the Pancake Pan and Cover
You’ll notice in the recipe that I call for adding a tablespoon of water to the hot skillet and quickly covering the pan. Do not skip this step! The water that you put into the skillet turns quickly into steam. Steam is hotter than dry air. So adding the steam increases the temperature around the pancake batter. This will help the sides and top of your pancake to cook quicker while the bottom is browning (Side note: This is the same method that bakers use to get a crispier crust when baking bread in the oven). If you try flipping the pancakes before the sides are set, you’ll end up with a giant splat of batter. Make life easier on yourself, and add the water!
More Fluffy Dessert Recipes
Are you addicted to soft and fluffy Asian desserts? Then check out these other recipes!
Japanese Souffle Pancakes
Ingredients
- 4 eggs, separated
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup cake flour, can sub ap flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 3 tbsp whole milk, can sub other milks
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 tbsp water, for cooking
- butter, for cooking
Equipment
- 12 inch skillet with deep sides, either nonstick or cast iron
- lid that can fit 12 inch skillet
- 2 tbsp cookie scoop optional
- electric hand mixer or stand mixer
Instructions
- Whisk the egg yolks, milk, and vanilla in a bowl.
- Add flour, baking powder, and salt to the egg yolk mixture. Mix well and set aside.
- With your electric hand mixer or stand mixer with whisk attachment, beat egg whites until frothy. Add sugar and continue to beat egg whites to stiff peaks.
- Set your skillet on low heat and add a small pat of butter, letting it melt while you prepare the batter.
- While skillet is warming up, mix your batter by combining about 1/3 of the stiff egg whites to your egg yolk mixture. Use a rubber spatula to fold it in. When batter is homogenous, add the rest of the egg whites and gently fold to combine, taking care not to overmix.
- By this time, your skillet should be warm enough to begin cooking your pancakes. Use your cookie scoop to place 4-5 scoops spaced out in your skillet (alternatively you could use a piping bag or spoon). Add a second round of scoops on top of your original 4 or 5. Carefully pour 1 tbsp of water into your skillet, avoiding the pancake batter. Quickly cover your skillet with a lid and set a timer for two minutes.
- After two minutes, remove lid and add an additional scoop of batter onto each pancake. Replace lid and continue cooking on low-medium heat for another 5-6 minutes.
- Uncover your skillet. By this time, the bottom of your pancakes should be a golden brown. If they are not, increase your heat and cook for another minute, watching your pancakes carefully so they don't burn. When they are golden brown on the bottom, carefully flip over your pancakes. Sprinkle another tbsp of water into the skillet and cover.
- Cook for another 4 minutes or until the bottom of the pancake is golden brown and the sides have cooked and are dry to the touch. Repeat the cooking process for the remaining batter (may take 1-2 more batches).
- Serve pancakes immediately with toppings to your liking. Leftovers can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature.
I saw this item somewhere on my social media feed and thought it would be easier to find a recipe than a restaurant that served it! I followed all the recipe exactly as written, and they were wonderful! I think there is a little trick to getting the pan the right temperature on a little trial and error fixed that. I’m not sure I would necessarily make these again only because they tasted a little bit more like a dessert item than a meal item, or I would serve them with something a little heavier and savory. But they puffed up, exactly as pictured, and we enjoyed them very much!
Hi Jamie, thanks so much for trying my recipe! You’re completely right – this dish is actually also served as a dessert or sweet snack in Japan. I think it tastes like cake myself!
These pancakes are SO fluffy and amazing and taste like dessert for breakfast, they are perfect if you use a cast iron pan and add vanilla to the batter! They are also delicious served with raspberries, bananas, strawberries and maple syrup! 10/10!
Initial mixture of egg yolks was too dry to mix with the egg-white mixture as followed by the recipe, mixed batter ended up chunky
It was awesome!!!!! Worked out great and tasted excellent!!!
Wonderful recipe, wokred great for the most part, but after the second batch whenever I lifted the lid to flip them they deflated(not that bad but a little sad). Any tips on how to avoid deflating in the future?
Hi, it’s curious it only deflated on the second batch. It could be that the pan was hot but the insides weren’t cooked enough to hold its shape as soon as the cool air rushed in. Perhaps lower heat and a little bit longer next time on the second batch?
This was so good and fluffy!
These were so sweet and delicious! They melt in your mouth!
As soon as I flipped them they deflated which was unfortunate but oh well. The issue was that they had such an off taste, like I accidentally added sugar to my scrambled eggs. By the time everything was prepped and cooked this took almost an hour to make for something we had to cover in whipped cream and syrup to eat. Would not waste the time making this again.
Hi Dee, sounds like you shouldn’t have chosen a recipe titled Japanese soufflé pancake. Japanese eggs DO have sugar added; it’s how it’s supposed to taste. And soufflé is mostly egg, so that probably explains why you experienced a sweet egg flavor. Maybe you can try a regular American pancake recipe next time.
I loved it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PERIOD.
This was a great recipe! I love trying new international foods. I need to perfect my egg beating skills, so I bet they’ll be even better next time! Thanks for the lovely breakfast 🙂
Thanks for letting me know; glad it turned out! Yes, egg white beating is an important base skill for a lot of Asian recipes, since fluffy, spongy textures are really popular in Asia.
I haven’t made these yet .. but the only deep non-stick skillet we have is an electric skillet. Any thoughts on temp setting, or different steps to take? Thx.
Hi, George. Hm, I haven’t used an electric skillet before, so I can’t say for sure. I’d say generally what you’re looking for is to cook the pancakes through before flipping, which takes a while because it’s so tall and fluffy. So if you find the bottom is browning before it’s cooked, you’ll need a lower setting and vice versa. It’s always safer to start lower and crank it up higher if cooking is taking too long.
Thx .. I might use a back burner on my gas stove because the front burners run somewhere between raging conflagration and blazing hellfire inferno. Even on the lowest heat setting .. things still cook way too fast because too much heat.
If/when we make these, and if we use the electric skillet, I’ll post again with feedback.
@MochiMommy …
I made the recipe stove top … using only very low heat .. and the cakes deflated somewhat. I used Cake Flour (Swan’s Down) and did not over mix when folding in the egg whites. Taste was fine – reminded me a bit of tamago – but texture was a bit dense. I’m thinking cooking was too fast / heat was too much in spite of being on low, or maybe not enough water for steam? Will make again, trying the electric skillet on a very low temp .. maybe around 275 or 300.
I think the density probably came from the pancakes deflating – which I’m guessing is due to them being undercooked prior to flipping. You might need a combination or more steam and longer cooking time (covered) prior to flipping. I probably forgot to mention before, but when I see other people making souffle pancakes on griddles without being covered, they usually use molds to keep the pancakes’ height while cooking. I’m wondering if that’s a necessity when using a griddle.
Very good. I feel like there’s a learning curve to the timing of flipping them. Have a gas stove and I think it runs very hot. They ended up slightly singed. Plus I was using a cast iron skillet and because it’s very well seasoned when I added the water it actually started to splatter considerably. I’m going to try this with a non-stick pan. I will be making this again.
I tried this recipe and while the flavor is very nice, I did find that the batter spread a good bit once scooped into the skillet. The other recipes for Japanese soufflé pancakes that I have tried used less yokes and did not spread this way once dropped into the pan. But like I said, the flavor is very good.
I love the flavor these, but sadly they deflated as soon as they were plated. Any suggestions?
Hi, a little deflation as the pancake slowly cools is normal, as hot air will shrink as it cools down. If it completely collapses immediately upon leaving the stove, typically it’s due to either egg whites not beaten stiff enough or batter being undercooked. Souffle pancakes are essentially the same as chiffon cakes, just cooked stovetop, and chiffon cakes are typically cooled hanging upside down to prevent deflation. Obviously, this is not possible with pancakes, but as pancakes are meant to be served hot anyway, it shouldn’t be too much of an issue. In other words, if your batter is done correctly, just serve immediately!
Great recipe!! Requested (and made) two mornings in a row!! Now I have to find a lid large enough to fit my electric griddle to make more at once!
Hi Deana, thanks for your comment! Yes, I get so jealous when I see the Japanese cafes with their large griddles and lids that make cooking big batches so easy. Home cooking is a struggle sometimes!
Hi !! Thanks for the recipe ! I’ve already tried a few, and it’s the one that worked best 😀 The pancakes were really fluffy and tasted so good, plus they were pretty easy to make !
Great recipe! Everyone liked it except my dad, but he doesn’t like eggs much and I told him he wouldn’t like it lol. This recipe did take me longer, but probably because it was my first time making something like this. I also made them a little too big in the pan haha. Overall, the pancakes were light and fluffy and so so good! I will definitely make them again!
These taste super good and look pretty close to the images! Only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is because when I followed the instructions when cooking the pancakes I burnt them. It could’ve just been the pan I was using though.
These were delicious! The instructions were clear and easy to follow. I think I might add a little cream of tartar next time to help the egg whites keep their shape a little longer, but the recipe is great as is.
Thanks for the feedback and rating! I’m glad you liked it!
Love it!
Did not work
me and my family loved these so much they were soo good
Thanks so much for letting me know! So glad!
Exemplary recipe. I only made 1/2 of the recipe, and it worked PERFECTLY. I made 5 pancakes, which stacked nicely in my cast iron skillet. I tried them with a little maple syrup, but preferred them with just some butter. I might grate in a little lemon rind to the batter. This recipe was well thought out, and presented. The trick is TAKE IT SLOW! Thank you for posting this
I just made these for brunch and they were delicious. I rarely cook so it took me about 40 minutes from start to finish but it was worth it. I cooked them for the time stated in the recipe, over the lowest temperature, using avocado oil instead of butter and they were perfect. I cut the corner off a Ziploc and used that to pipe the batter into the pan so they would be a little taller. I think I can make them even taller next time. It’s a souffle so it has a strong egg flavor, but also tastes like pancakes. Perfect for the weekend. I wish I could post a picture, they were very pretty.
おいしい!! 😋😋 I’ve tried making souffle pancakes so many times before and this the first time it worked!!˵＞ᗜ＜˵ Only issue is the mixing of yolks and flour become too dry (I knew from other experience), but I able to resolve it by adding more milk and mixing it!! You could also fix this by adding less flour ^_^ ありがとうございます!! 🩷
Yay so glad it worked out for you!
Amazingly fluffy and delicious I would definitely recommend for pancake lovers and would definitely try again and I would give it ten stars but I can’t so I give the recipe 5 STARS!
Thank you so much for the review, Lisa! Glad you liked them!
bro i had to use 3 bowls a pan 2 different whisks and a mess to clean up just for some mid egg bro 😭
I thought the worst part was that I messed up cooking them, but then even the good looking ones came out tasting so eggy. Imo pancakes shouldn’t taste like eggs. No souffle pancakes I’ve had before tasted like egg. Also the way the ingredients are listed caused me to add the sugar to the egg yolks at first. Ingredients are usually listed in order of use in the recipe. But I’m glad other people had good experiences.
I plan on using this recipe in the future though I was just wondering, would making the pancake larger affect the final outcome? Like if I were to make 2-3 servings into one. Im afriad making it larger would mean it could deflate somehow.
Hi, I think it’s possible in theory, but it would be much more difficult to achieve a good result – you’d have to cook it for much longer at a lower temperature to have the insides cook before the outsides burned, and it may lead to a very dry pancake. It likely wouldn’t be able to hold its height well without a mold too. Feel free to experiment if you have the time and don’t mind potentially using up a lot of eggs, but I wouldn’t risk trying it right before breakfast.
I’m currently making these pancakes for the second time and I do not eat pancakes like at all I do not eat bread and pancakes are too ready for me so I don’t eat them, these are the only pancakes that I will eat. They are absolutely phenomenal. Every time I make them I mess them up in one way or another but they always turn out phenomenal and they are so good please make these at some point in your life they’re just delicious.
was good and fluffy , but not that sweet, looking forward to flavoring it with matchs or chocolate!
Love these they are worth the extra time.
Didn’t end up with the right consistency at all held absolutely no shape and yes I did get stuff peaks when I whipped the egg whites and sugar, the egg gold mix was not the right consistency I followed everything to the tee and it looked more like dough and then when I added the egg white mix it turned to semi fluffy soup but didn’t hold shape turned into flat mess
Amazing recipe
Loved it
😉😉😁😁👌👌
Amazing recipe
Loved it
😉😉😁😁👌👌
I love making these! They are just so fun and turn out amazing!
My pancakes were thick and fluffy untill I took them out and places them on a plate and it immediately fell flat .I really wanted it to work..
Amazing food
This did not work tried 3 different ways even asked friends and it still didn’t work I’m disappointed ☹️
Batter was not thick enough
EEEEEP i cant stop making these!! Such a cute lil pancake!
Best souflee pancakes I’ve EVERR made so delicious and perfectly thick, never runny. My only complaint is the cooking times are completely wrong. It burns the pancakes to cook them for 3+ minutes after adding the second scoop.
Good recipe. It wasn’t too hard to follow. Worked perfectly!
We made this in my Culinary 2 class, and I had to scour the interwebs for the recipe because I wanted to make it again. These are literally AMAZING! My friends liked them too (I shared).
U lied, my culinary teacher made fun of me
It’s amazing!! Yummy pancake
this recipe is good
Amazing recipe 😋💖
Yum
Great recipe. Concise, easy to follow and turned out perfect. Final result was somewhere in between a good pancake and French toast. Would definitely be great as a savory option even with no tweaks to recipe. Thanks for sharing it!!!
Wasn’t enough batter for 5 pancakes but overall very good
Wonderfully delicious fluffy pancakes for a special treat. We made these for my daughter’s birthday breakfast. They were great! The reason I have it a 4 star instead of a 5 star is because some bites tasted too eggy and they are very sugary.
Intruguing recipe. Instructions are very clear. My only difficulty was finding the right burner and heat for my Lodge skillet. Might try the griddle and a cloche next time. I love the technique of adding drops of water to create a steamy oven on the stove. Good point to check the sides of the cakes for moisture before flipping.
The texture is different from American pancakes, but that’s the whole point. I’d like to try again with lemon zest +/- lemon oil or almond extract in the batter, or topping with plain fruit or fruit compote. Not sure they would have the same texture without any sugar to stabilize the meringue, but using less sugar and fine cornmeal in place of wheat flour, a là a Southern spoon bread, might be a fun twist.
I can’t wait to try these on my teenager. We can watch Spirited Away for the 20th time while we dine!
Thanks for the detailed feedback Martha! Yes, every kitchen and stove is different, so it’s a good reminder to try a few times to find a way that works best. Spirited Away family time sounds so wonderful. I hope I will be able to do that with my children when they’re teens.
I’m making these now, this is my first time. They are turning out great. Reading through some of the comments, I feel like some people are forgetting that these are pancakes. Just cook them low and slow and watch for the bubbles. Then flip. Great recipe