Easy Japanese Skillet Souffle Pancake recipe with a real Wow Factor! If you love fluffy pancakes, you’ll also love this Skillet Souffle Pancake. Perfect for breakfast, brunch, or afternoon tea. Make it for your family and friends, they will also love it.
Japanese Skillet Souffle Pancake
Have you ever heard of or tried Japanese Soufflé pancakes?
Japanese Souffle pancakes are also known as Castella Pancakes (Kasutera pancakes, カステラパンケーキ). They are fluffy, soft, and very light, so incredibly popular in Japan as well as around the world.
This Skillet Souffle Pancake is a variation of the Japanese Souffle Pancakes. It is made using soufflé techniques very akin to souffle pancakes but baked in a cast-iron skillet.
Make Sure Your Camera is Ready to Go!
In the oven, a souffle pancake nicely puffs up. When you take it out of the oven, it will slowly start to deflate. This occurs little by little within a minute or so.
But, it won’t much affect the taste and texture. It affects a little your presentation if you want to serve a souffle pancake with that WOW factor.
So, here is the secret! Get the souffle pancake to the table as quickly as possible. Immediately take a picture. Serve it right away!
Ingredients
- Eggs: Use room-temperature eggs.
- Sugar: Use superfine sugar. If you only have coarse sugar, grind it in a grinder or food processor until it’s finer.
- Honey: Honey adds sweetness as well as flavor. You can substitute it with the same amount of sugar.
- Milk: Use full-fat milk.
- Oil (optional): Use flavorless oil. I used a tablespoon of rice oil to get a sponge-like texture.
- Flour: It helps the pancakes hold their shape. Using cake flour is preferable, otherwise, use all-purpose flour.
- Salt: A pinch of salt adds a nice flavor.
- Baking powder (Optional): Baking powder is what makes the pancakes rise tall and fluffy. Some people use baking powder and some people don’t.
- Cream of tartar: For this recipe, you just need a tiny bit of Cream of tartar. It is a stabilizer that will help the egg whites whip up to their potential. Substitute it with lemon juice.
What Type of skillet to use?
I used a 15 cm (6-inch) cast-iron skillet. But, you can double the recipe for making it in a 20 cm (or 8-inch) cast-iron pan. You can experiment with other pans but make sure to use oven-proof pans. You will need to adjust the recipe based on the size of your pan. Adjust the baking time appropriately.
What is the Soufflé Technique?
First, egg whites and yolks are separated into two bowls. The egg yolks are mixed with most of the other ingredients. The egg whites are whipped with sugar until soft-stiff peaks form. Then the whipped egg whites are folded into the egg yolk mixture to make the final batter. This creates the airy tops that soufflés are famous for.
Tips for Making the Perfect
Whipped Egg Whites (Meringue)
- Use a dry and very clean mixing bowl & whisk without any fat residue.
- Use a stainless steel or glass bowl and don’t use silicone or plastic bowls or utensils.
- Use large egg whites at room temperature as it will help the eggs to whip up to their fullest.
- Keep your whites free of yolk. If you break your yolks as you’re separating the eggs the whites won’t whip up.
- Cold eggs are easier to separate. Separate the eggs immediately after they’re out of the fridge and then let them come to room temperature.
- Make sure you have 2 small bowls. Break each egg separately into small bowls before adding the whites to the mixing bowl. This ensures that no shell or yolk gets in.
- Beat at a medium speed and finish up at a low speed. Beating the whites at high speed will result in larger air bubbles. This will also cause the batter to deflate more easily when mixing the batter.
- Beating at a medium speed for a longer time will create smaller and more evenly sized bubbles throughout the meringue. This in turn makes the meringue more stable.
- Beat at a low speed during the last 30 seconds to remove all the bigger air bubbles.
- Beat the egg whites until the mixture is glossy and holds its shape. You should be able to hold the bowl upside-down without the egg whites falling.
- Don’t over-beat the egg white. When your meringue has the right consistency, it is pretty easy to fold it into the egg yolk mixture. This will prevent the over-mixing of the batter.
- Do not let the meringue sit too long. Fold the meringue into the egg yolk mixture right away after whipping.
Tips to Make Perfect Souffle Pancake
To successfully make fluffy skillet souffle pancakes, there are two important things to consider.
- Beat egg whites until a soft-stiff peak forms to get a stable fluffy meringue.
- Do not over-mix when folding the whipped egg whites into the egg yolk mixture.
How to prevent over-mixing the batter?
The whipped egg whites are folded into the egg yolk mixture in three batches. This will ensure the fluffiest souffle pancakes in the end!
- First, one-third of the egg whites are folded to lighten the mixture. It helps to fold the rest of the egg whites smoothly.
- Next, the second part is folded gently as much as possible. Be careful not to break the air bubbles in the egg whites.
- Last, the third part is also folded gently as much as possible. Be careful not to break the air bubbles in the egg whites.
Serving Suggestions
I love to serve it topped with salted butter and maple syrup. You can also top it with honey, fruit, whipped cream, syrups… or even ice cream.
More Recipes to Try!
Japanese Souffle Cheesecake or Japanese Cotton Cheesecake
Japanese Souffle Pancake in a Skillet
(Step-by-Step Guide)
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 18 mins
Total Time: 28 mins
Serving: 15 cm pancake
Ingredients
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon rice oil
A few drops of vanilla essence or extract
40 g cake or plain flour
A pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 egg whites
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar*
30 g superfine sugar
Butter, for greasing the pan and topping
Powder sugar & maple syrup for serving
*OR use 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice with a pinch of salt
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Separate egg yolk and egg white into two mixing bowls.
Grease a 15 cm cast iron skillet with a thin layer of butter and set it aside. Very lightly brush with oil and use a paper towel to rub it around. You want a very light film.
Make the Batter
Add honey, milk, oil, and vanilla to the egg yolks and beat until pale and frothy.
First, sift the flour, salt, and baking powder together using a sifter or sieve. Nest, add the sifted flour to the egg yolk mixture. Whisk until well combined but do not over-mix. Set it aside.
Beat the egg whites with cream of tartar (or lemon juice) with an electric mixer on medium speed. Mix until foamy.
Add sugar in 4 to 6 additions while beating and continue until soft peaks form.
Continue to whip the egg whites
Meringue is ready when the egg whites hold their shape and are stiff and glossy. When you lift the whisk attachment, the egg whites should stand right up with stiff peaks slightly bending over.
The whipped egg whites are added to the egg yolk mixture in three batches. Take about one-third of the egg whites. Gently fold them into the egg yolk mixture with a spatula or balloon whisk. Continue until completely incorporated.
Now, gently fold half of the remaining egg whites into the mixture. Make sure not to break the air bubbles in the egg whites. Again, carefully fold the remaining egg whites into the mixture without breaking the air bubbles in the egg whites.
Baking
Pour the mixture into the prepared skillet. In a preheated oven, bake for about 6 minutes at 180 degrees. Quickly remove the skillet. Cut a big “x” on the surface of the pancake. Return the skillet to the oven. Bake again for another 18 to 20 minutes at 170 degrees. Keep baking until the top becomes light brown. Make sure the middle part puffs up and sets.
Bake soufflé until the top becomes light brown and the middle part puffs up and sets.
Top the pancake with salted butter or your choice of toppings and enjoy right away!
MORE JAPANESE RECIPES
- Coffee Jelly with Gelatin
- Coffee Jelly with Agar
- Homemade Curry Rice (Karē Raisu)
- Homemade Curry Roux
- Spicy Mackerel Fried Gyoza
- EASY Coffee Jelly
- Sweet Potato Cake (Suito Poteto)
- Candied Sweet Potato Fries (Imo Kenpi)
- Potato Salad (Potesara)
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If you make any of my recipes, I’d love to see pics of your creations
#joyofeatingtheworld or @joyofeatingtheworld
Easy! Japanese Skillet Souffle Pancake
Equipment
- 1 Cast-Iron Skillet 15 cm (6-inch)
Ingredients
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 tablespoon rice oil
- A few drops of vanilla essence or extract
- 40 g bread flour
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 egg whites
- 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar or 1/2 tsp lemon juice + a pinch salt
- 3 tablespoons 45 g superfine sugar
- Butter for greasing the pan and topping
- Powder sugar & maple syrup for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C)
- Separate egg yolk and egg white into two mixing bowls.Separate eggs, placing egg whites in a large bowl and egg yolks in a medium bowl.
- Sift the flour, a pinch of salt, and baking powder together.
- Grease a 15 cm cast iron skillet with a thin layer of butter and set it aside. Very lightly brush with oil and use a paper towel to rub it around. You want a very light film.
- Add honey, milk, oil and vanilla to the egg yolks and beat until pale and frothy.
- Sift the flour mixture (using a sifter or sieve) into the egg yolk mixture. Whisk until well combined but do not over-mix. Set it aside.
- Beat the egg whites with cream of tartar (or lemon juice) with an electric mixer on medium speed until foamy.
- Add sugar in 4 to 6 additions while beating and continue until soft peaks form.
- Meringue is ready when the egg whites hold their shape and are stiff and glossy.
- Take about one-third of the egg whites and gently fold them into the egg yolk mixture with a spatula or balloon whisk until completely incorporated.
- Then add half of the remaining egg whites to the egg yolk mixture and gently fold. Make sure not to break the air bubbles in the egg whites.
- Nest, transfer the egg yolk mixture into the remaining egg whites, and carefully fold the two mixtures together without breaking the air bubbles.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared skillet. In a preheated oven, bake for about 6 minutes at 180 degrees, and then quickly remove the skillet and cut a big “x” on the surface of the pancake. Return the skillet to the oven and bake again for another 18 to 20 minutes at 170 degrees until the top becomes light brown and the middle part puffs up and set.
- Top the souffle pancake with salted butter or your choice of toppings and enjoy right away!
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