Pancakes used to be my favorite type of breakfast when I was a kid, especially those classic buttermilk pancakes. As I’m older, I become more of a french toast person. Japan, one of my favorite countries in the world, is known for their creativity, including food. Pancakes are quite popular in Japan. Since the Americans can make “cronuts” (aka croissant + donut), why can’t the Japanese put soufflé and pancake together? It maintains the versatility of pancakes, but also has the airiness of soufflé. Definitely perfect for brunch, afternoon tea, or tea.
I’ve never heard of “soufflé pancakes” until last year, when the famous Uzna Omom Pancake opened in Taipei, Taiwan. It caused a huge rave that it opened few more stores soon after. Though I’ve never been to the cafe, but I’ve seen quite a lot of videos online. Therefore, I thought, why not make it myself?
To make the mold, all you need is aluminum foil and a stapler! If you already have a circular cookie mold or anything similar that’s fine. I like to use the aluminum foil just because it’s easier to remove it afterwards.
The width of the mold is around 2.5 cm, and 9 cm for diameter.
There are the ingredients that you need. Instead of making my own pancake mix, I used Bob’s Red Mill buckwheat pancake & waffle mix. Their blend is quite good. You can also swap blueberries for other berries or fruits that you prefer.
First, beat the egg yolk and half of the sugar together until pale in color.
Sift in the pancake mix, and mix well.
Beat the egg white in a separate clean bowl until you get the stiff peak. If you don’t have an electric mixer, it might take around 15 minutes! I take that as a good workout. No pain, no gain. Right?
Use a spatula to gently fold the mixture into the meringue.
The entire process took a bit longer than I expected, because beating the egg whites took a while. To finish off, I topped with a scoop of greek yogurt, a fig, some blueberries, and drizzled some maple syrup!
- Aluminum foil
- Stapler
- 1 Egg White
- 1 Egg Yolk
- 1 Tablespoon pancake mix
- ¼ Teaspoon honey
- ¼ Teaspoon sugar
- ½ Tablespoon oilve oil
- ½ Tablespoon soy milk (or any milk would do)
- Fold a piece of aluminium foil into a long string of 2.5cm wide
- Staple the ends together to form a 9 cm ring
- Separate the egg yolk and egg white
- Beat egg yolk and honey together till mixture is pale in color
- Sift in pancake mix and mix to combine
- Add in milk, and olive oil, and mix well
- In a separate bowl (clean and dry), whisk egg whites till bubbles form on top
- Gradually add in sugar and beat until it forms stiff peaks
- Scoop ⅓ of the meringue (egg whites) into the egg yolk mixture
- Mix till well incorporated
- Pour mixture back into the bowl with meringue and, gently fold in meringue by using a spatula
- Grease a frying pan and the ring mould with some olive oil to prevent sticking
- Place pan over medium-low heat
- When the pan is hot, place ring mould on top and pour in your batter all the way up
- Put a lid on your pan and let the pancakes cook for 3 minutes
- Flip pancakes over with a spatula, place lid back on and continue to cook for another 3 minutes
- Turn off the stove and carefully cut off the foil ring moulds when the pancakes are done
- Place the pancake on a plate, and get creative!
The cooking time depends only our stove and pan, so adjust accordingly
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Look how fluffy it is! Ahh, I love this idea so much! It reminds me a little bit of a dutch baby, but so much easier.
Thanks for stopping by Alexandra! I think dutch baby is easier? 😛 but they are both equally tasty!
This looks really interesting! I’m a little confused about the directions though – when do you add the milk?
Thanks for stopping by and pointing out about the milk! I must have forgotten while writing it up. I’ve edited the recipe 🙂
What a cool idea! Gotta love that Japanese culinary innovation eh? Plus nobody does buckwheat better, in my opinion! The fruits is a wonderful added touch. It seems so homey and simple, yet elevated and elegant. Love it.
Yes! Japanese cuisine is definitely one of my favorites. Thank you for your kind words!!! 🙂
I love Japanese desserts. And this is definitely going into my to-do list. I hardly ever buy pancake mix anymore though and since this only needs a tablespoon, any good substitute?
Any pancake recipes would work 🙂 It’s just the matter of whipping the egg white!
Oh yum! I love fluffy pancakes and this is insanely fluffy! I’m sure it’s worth the time and effort.
Haha yes! A nice arm workout before the indulgence 😉
Yummy! These are so inventive — and props for DIYing your mold. Have a great weekend, Eva!
Thanks Justine! And have a nice weekend too 🙂