Quick and easy recipe for Soufflé Pancakes

[AdrianLunsong]

For those who have been following me (stalkers!), you might have guessed by now that I’m back in the UK. I was in Malaysia from mid-July last year until mid-January this year. I’m here in Manchester for a few months and then I’ll be heading back to Malaysia again hopefully with a job to go to! Eek!

Anyway, whilst I was in Malaysia, I realised that there were several things in the UK that I took for granted and their absence in Malaysia was a bit of a wake up call! So now that I’m in the UK, I’m just trying to make sure I get to do all the stuff that I enjoy whilst I still can.

This post is all about my latest craze: soufflé pancakes! What is it?! Well, it’s a very light and fluffy version of a regular pancake because it incorporates meringue (egg whites and sugar beat into a firm foam like texture) into the pancake batter which gives it lots of tiny bubbles (fluffiness) and height (structure). From what I could find online, soufflé pancakes originated in Japan! Arigato gozaimasu!

I had my first taste in a cafe in Kuching (Malaysia) called Coffee Code! And it was LOVE at first bite! Strangely enough I have not written a review yet (I will need to fix that soon!) but here’s a quick collage to show you the place/food/drink.

Since then, I’ve been obsessed with wanting to make them and as I didn’t have suitable kitchen tools/equipment in Malaysia, I had to wait until I got back to the UK. Now that I’m back, I did a quick research online for a suitable recipe and decided to go with this one:

Souffle Pancake With One Egg

The original recipe (see the description in the video on YouTube):

• 1 large egg (room temperature)
• 2 tbsp plain flour / all purpose flour
• 1 tbsp milk
• 1.5 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 - 4 drops of lemon juice / vinegar (for egg stabilization - omittable)

I modified the recipe to suit the quantity that I wanted to make plus based on the ingredients that I had:

• 2 large egg (room temperature)
• 4 tbsp self-raising flour (this means it has baking powder mixed with the flour already which will help it to rise better)
• 2 tbsp milk
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Do note that I don’t bake and I would say that my general cooking skills are a bit low. So I would get easily confused with the simplest of instructions! I had to Google search a lot to get my head around things! But watch the video above to see what you need to do: it’s far better than me trying to explain the cooking process!

My first attempt:

• I poured too much batter into the cooking rings not realising that they would expand and rise so much! Note the overflow and the mess it made
• It was light and fluffy but looked dry and hard . I served them with agave syrup (maple flavour) and a teeny wedge of butter.
• Nom nom level = 3/10

My second attempt the next day:

• Better understanding of quantities and how the batter would expand made this batch come out pretty well! Very pleased with them. Also served with agave syrup and butter.
• Nom nom level = 7/10

My third attempt (several days later):

• Typical me, I couldn’t leave things alone so I messed around with the recipe and modified it to include ‘stuffings’ in the soufflé pancakes.
• One set of soufflé pancakes had ham and cheese. Another set had kaya jam (a coconut, egg, caramel, pinescrew/pandan jam/custard… it’s lovely!!) with strawberries/cherries/cranberries on top. And I randomly threw in some poppy seeds too in some of them.
• Plus, rather than cook/steam them in a pan like before. I put them in a baking tray and used the oven instead.
• All the extra ingredients caused the batter to not inflate well. And the higher heat in the oven made the batter rise quickly but then deflate when cool
• Nom nom level = 5/10 (tasty with the extra ingredients but it looks like a very, very sad deflated balloon)

My fourth attempt (latest experimentation):

• I missed out on a #StateChallenge quiz because I didn’t give myself enough time whilst trying this out!
• I love meringue so I decided to make an extra amount of meringue (two extra eggs) and put the usual amount in the pancake batter and folded it in but I also had tons more to put on top of the pancake. I’m too greedy!!
• Added currants that’s been soaked in amaretto (almond based alcohol), and I also had poppy seeds mixed into the batter. Used the oven again instead of the pan.
• The pancakes rose but deflated (as expected) and the meringue, though nice, they didn’t add anything extra to the pancake.
• Nom nom level = 5/10

I would say that my second attempt was the best. It was the closest in following the original recipe and that probably says a lot. It is true that when it comes to baking/cooking, you should follow the recipe and not deviate too much unless you know what you’re doing!

Some lessons learned:

• the extra ingredients were fun to add and taste nice but don’t place them on top as it would not help your soufflé pancake to rise. You should make a fruit compote separately or just place fresh fruits next to a cooked pancake.
• use a lower temperature to stop the batter from rising too quickly and then deflating when cool. Using the pan probably gave the best control compared to the oven
• if you’re adding meringue at the top, it’s probably best to flatten it out a bit so that they cook evenly throughout
• watch your sugar level! As sugar is already added to the egg whites to form the meringue, the final pancake itself doesn’t need more sugar. I only added the syrup so that I can capture some nice videos/photos of it.

My family back home thought I was crazy to make so many pancakes but I really enjoyed making and eating them. I think in my next batch I’m going to try to make them without using the cooking rings. It might be a complete failure but hey, it might quite fun too!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this bit of fun and if you haven’t given soufflé pancakes a try, you really must! It is AMAZING!!! And quite easy to make too! Let me know in the comments your thoughts/feedback about soufflé pancakes and if you’ve ever experienced the joys of its fluffiness (it’s like eating a cloud!! Mmmm)

Lastly, I have been searching Connect for recipes to make quick and simple meals/dishes/drinks/cakes/desserts (anything really). My criteria is that:

• the list of ingredients should be simple and short (ideally they would be easy to buy anywhere in the world)
• it should take no more than 30 minutes to make from start to finish!

Oh, Connect community, can you please help me out here and share your quick and simple recipes please!? Please include photos and instructions too! I will pick the ones that I think I can make I’ll give them a go and let you know!

Tagging a few Local Guides who’s past food posts have intrigued me: @indahnuria @gandrabur_chik @Rohan10 @YuliiaZa @RosyKohli @Lusianaa @Velvel . I’ve seen your recent posts to make various food stuff and I’ve already bookmarked them but just wondering if you have anything else that is quick and easy! Massive thanks!

[TravelerProdipta]

Thanks @AdrianLunsong for the yummilicious post. I would also appreciate alluring photos of Soufflé Pancakes.

Stay safe.

Happy Guiding

[Rohan10]

Hello @AdrianLunsong What a wonderful post with detailed of your experience of every attempt. It’s mind blowing. Dish looking so yummy. Your modification about dish are awesome. That’s really cool. Thanks for taking efforts for making such a yummy post for us buddy. I will try to make this dish soon

[BeatrizAguilar]

Hi @AdrianLunsong , I really enjoyed reading your post. I’ve never eaten a souffle pancake, it seems to me that the degree of preparation is difficult, it’s a challenge for them to go up and stay.

[Lusianaa]

Wow @AdrianLunsong ! Thanks for tagging me. Actually, @Velvel and I recently talked about soufflé pancake recipe, so this post is really helpful. Since we don’t have an oven yet, glad to know that it can be done just by using a pan haha I’m particularly love to try no-oven recipes

How about churros? Do you like it, or probably have you tried to make it at home? Please let me know if you are interested, I’ll give you the details

[TsekoV]

Hey @AdrianLunsong ,

Your Soufflé pancakes look just amazing! My heart just melted.

[Velvel]

This is @AdrianLunsong that I really familiar with. Never give up in everything. Love your spirit!!!

Thanks for making me hungry with the souffle pancakes. This food is popular in Indonesia nowradays. I haven’t tried it yet.

The one with boba as the filling is popular as well.

Do you like avocado?

Avocado Toast is one of the simple food that you could try at home. Simple ingredients and recipe. It contains good nutritions as well.

Just roast the bread, spread it with a little butter and the avocado, add olive oil (optional), and then the topping, such as sunny side up egg.

A simple breakfast to start your day

[YuliiaZa]

@AdrianLunsong , souffle pancakes look yummy. I need to try and cook them, only I don’t have rings. And I understand your desire to experiment so well - I tend to add something personal to everything I do (not only cooking). Your story of a series of variations was captivating and amusing.

As for recipes, I need to speculate. I often just cook of what’s available at home without paying much attention to measures.

[KlaudiyaG]

All your attempts looks delicious and successful in my opinion, @AdrianLunsong . Thank you for the recipe, and for the wonderful post. I really enjoyed reading every bit of it.

Weekends are all about pancake breakfast in my house. Usually I prepare crêpes, which are the ultra-thin pancakes, very common in France. They are simple to make, and everyone loves them, especially with Nutella. I remember that a couple of years ago I was scrolling through Pinterest when I found a short video with recipes of pancakes from around the world. They all looked so appetizing, especially the Japanese Soufflé Pancakes so I decided to pin it, but never looked back since then. Your post really inspired me to roll up my sleeves and give the recipe a try. I have waited long enough, and since the weekend is so close, what better time to face the challenge. Wish me luck. I’ll definitely tell you all about how mine turned out.

P.S.: I almost forgot, I wanted to tag here one of my favorite master chefs, @AngieYC . She has some amazing recipes under her sleeves, so Angie please amaze us with your cooking abilities and teach us how you do them.

[KlaudiyaG]

Ah, @Velvel , your avocado toast looks amazing, and I completely agree with you, this is a very simple yet absolutely delicious meal. I can have it for breakfast, lunch, snack and/or dinner. And the great part is that it’s also on the healthy side. I personally love mine with a softer yolk. Sometime if I have free time I’ll even do a poached egg. To top my toast I usually add some sea salt, black and red peppers on top, and if I feel pretty fancy, I’ll squeeze a little bit of lemon juice.

[AngieYC]

Aww thanks @KlaudiyaG , that might be an inspiration for my next post here on Connect and @AdrianLunsong you did well, the Soufflé Pancakes looks amazing. Practice makes perfect!

[Velvel]

Thanks for the kind words @KlaudiyaG

You know what, several weeks ago I bought 1 kg of avocado and finished them in three days all by myself!

So, I made avocado toast during this three days. I became an “avocado girl” that time

As you said, avocado toast should come up with poached egg or half cooked sunny side up, but since the pandemic, I try my best to reduce eating raw food, so that I made the “well done” version.

And during this three days, I did experience with avocado toast as well. Mixing avocado toast with maple syrup is so great!

This may sound weird, but the taste is so good

Let us know if you made Japanese Souffle Pancake

[Amiran]

Oh Thank you @AdrianLunsong

I really really need this delicious recipe. I’ll try it in next weekend and will share the photos with you.

[OmerAli]

omg what have you done @AdrianLunsong , I’m craving for them. I spent almost 2 minutes staring at yhe post thumbnail, I thought it was my greedy tummy that gave me the illusion of that GIF.

I won’t be able to sleep now, after looking at those pancakes

[ShipraMitra]

Hi @AdrianLunsong

Loved your post. I love cooking and experimenting too. During covid, I got into baking breads, and morphing them to use sourdough starter instead of instant yeast.

My current experiment is with 100 pct whole wheat bread. The original recipe is from King Arthur’s https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/classic-100-whole-wheat-bread-recipe

The ingredients are simple:

1. Whole wheat flour
2. Lukewarm Water
3. Honey
4. Salt
5. Oil
6. Yeast

I have ignored the milk powder from the original recipe, without any issues. I have also substituted the instant yeast with sourdough starter.

First one without “goodies” was fluffier than the next one. I loaded with raisins, pomegranate seeds, flax, chia and braided it. The taste was good, but the bread was dense

[AdrianLunsong]

@TravelerProdipta @Rohan10 Thanks very much for your comments! I’m glad you enjoyed the post and the yummy photos!

@BeatrizAguilar It’s actually not too difficult to make (yes, it is more work compared to a regular pancake but the extra fluffiness is nice to have). I only had one failed attempt when I switched to a different type of sugar and I couldn’t get a proper meringue so I ended up with just regular pancakes instead! Do give it a try though!

[AdrianLunsong]

@Lusianaa @Velvel I’m actually pretty bad at using an oven. I don’t know why when it should be quite straightforward. It’s more like a mental block because I like to prod my food as I cook them to see if they are okay. For an oven, I have to trust that it’s correct and leave the food to fully cook. But yes, this soufflé pancake can be made on a normal pan but you will need to be able to cover your pancakes to help the steam cook it properly.

I have never tried to make churros so would be keen to give it a go. I don’t have a piping kit though. Is it possible to make up one? I have strong sandwich bags that I can repurpose as a piping bag but I don’t have any piping tips. Oh darn it, I just realised that to make churros I will need to deep fry it! I don’t have a fryer and the thought deep frying frightens me (when the oil pops and jumps).

[AdrianLunsong]

@TsekoV Thanks very much! I made another batch of pancakes yesterday during a #StateChallenge quiz with @Denise_Barlock and a ton of other quiz participants! I got my timings wrong (again!) and thought I could finish cooking before the quiz!

I am going to make something different next time though. I am going to attempt making @KlaudiyaG 's chocolate fondant one day and I am currently waiting for my bananas to get very ripe before I attempt a banana bread thingy. Everything will be a first time try and I’m just mentally preparing myself!

@Velvel Thanks for the avocado toast idea/recipe! I bought two medium size avocados after reading your comment. I’m going to teach myself how to slice them up nicely like I see in cafés and then smash them up after! I was thinking of adding lime juice and chili flakes: I’m trying to remember how cafés usually serve them!

[AdrianLunsong]

@YuliiaZa I’m like you… I cook “dishes” based on what I can find in the fridge/kitchen! I normally call my cooking a science experiment! And I usually struggle to repeat a same dish twice because I never remember what I did differently the first time!

As for the soufflé pancakes, you don’t need the rings apparently (see the YouTube video in the post). I used them because my pancake batter seems to be more runny compared to the video. And in the video, the person made a ‘base’ first and then put more batter on top at a later stage. I just put mine all in one go into the ring. I’m soooooo lazy!

[AdrianLunsong]

@KlaudiyaG as I love pancakes, I’ve also considered making crepes in the past but I don’t have a very good non-stick pan and I always feel that the thinness of the crepe would be hard for me to replicate properly without burning everything! When I’m in America, I do order pancakes whenever I get the chance (that or French toasts!) but at the European Christmas markets here in Manchester I always make a bee-line for the Dutch Mini Pancakes stall (so much love and joy in tiny bite size pancakes) and the French crepe stall (nutella and banana slices!!).

@AngieYC I am at the stage where I just want to cook/bake but I don’t necessarily want to eat the food I’m making! It’s more like passing the time and just seeing if I can actually do it and the food taste nice! It’s not uncommon to lose appetite during cooking apparently! Is there anything Indonesian that is easy to make?! Oooooh… I just remembered @Lusianaa 's post on 8 Types of Indonesian Sambal … I’ll have to Google the recipes and see which ones to try!