Big in Japan, souffle pancakes are a light and fluffy breakfast treat

Trust the Japanese to turn a simple breakfast into something special. Don’t make this for a crowd – the batter deflates quickly. If you’re cooking for more than two or three, prepare each batch separately and cook immedi­ately, or the pancakes won’t be as light.

Sour cream souffle pancakes

Souffle pancakes differ from other types of pancake because of the way they are mixed. Instead of just whisking all the ingredients together, the eggs are separated and the whites are whipped before being folded in gently, so when cooked, the pancakes puff up.

The batter is not difficult to make, but it can be tricky to cook. Many recipes require an electric griddle, which gives an even, controlled heat, without hotspots. Because I don’t have an electric griddle (although one is on my wish list), I use a heavy, black, cast-iron pan (not the enamelled type). Actually, make that two cast-iron pans (you can use other types of skillet).

The first time I made these, the batter visibly deflated between cooking the first three pancakes and the next three, so now I use two pans and cook them all at the same time. You’ll need to move the pans around over the flame, to even out the heat.

You can cook the pancakes free-form or use ring moulds, which makes them neater. I use ring moulds that are 8.5cm in diameter and 3cm high. You can make them smaller, but they should not be much larger or the outside will burn before the inside is cooked.

This recipe calls for an unusual step: using chilled egg whites. Most of the time, you beat egg whites that are at room tem­per­ature, because they whip up faster. But so many of the recipes I checked online called for chilled egg whites, saying they are more stable, that I decided to try it. They were right. Cold egg whites take longer to whip, but they keep their volume for a little longer.

3 large eggs, chilled
60 grams cake flour
45 grams sour cream
25 grams unsalted butter
The finely grated zest of one lemon
¼ tsp fine sea salt
½ tsp fresh lemon juice
45 grams granulated sugar

To serve:
Salted butter, slightly softened (optional)
Maple syrup
Fresh fruit