Three months ago, Lina saw some video on his tablet of these ridiculously tall, wobbly pancakes and wouldn't shut up about them. "Mom, they're like eating clouds!" he kept saying, bouncing around the kitchen like he'd had five cups of coffee. I thought it was just another weird internet thing that would die out in a week, but this kid doesn't give up. After two weeks of him drawing "cloud pancakes" with his crayons and sticking them on the fridge, I caved and tried making Japanese pancakes. Worst decision ever - now I'm stuck making jiggly pancakes every Saturday morning because apparently I'm "the pancake mom" at his school.
Why You'll Love This Japanese Pancake
Because they're actually pretty hard to mess up once you know the one weird trick, and kids go absolutely nuts for them. I ruined about six batches trying to figure out what I was doing wrong, but now Lina can almost make them by himself (though I learned the hard way to supervise after finding flour on the light fixtures).
They make you look like some kind of breakfast genius when really you just whipped some egg whites and didn't overthink it. My neighbor saw me carrying these over to share and asked if I was starting some fancy brunch business. Plus they're way more filling than regular pancakes, so you don't have to stand at the stove for an hour making batch after batch.
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love This Japanese Pancake
- Ingredients for Japanese Pancakes
- How To Make Japanese Pancakes Step By Step
- Smart Swaps for Japanese Pancakes
- Japanese Pancake Variations
- Equipment For Japanese Pancake
- Storing Your Japanese Pancakes
- Top Tip
- Why This Recipe Works
- FAQ
- Time to Get Fluffy!
- Related
- Pairing
- Japanese Pancake
Ingredients for Japanese Pancakes
The Main Players:
- Egg whites
- Egg yolks
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Whole milk
- Vanilla extract
- Sugar
- Butter for cooking
What You'll Need:
- Electric mixer
- Large mixing bowls
- Rubber spatula
- Non-stick pan with a lid
- Measuring cups
The Secret Weapon:
- Ring molds or empty tuna cans with tops and bottoms cut out
See recipe card for quantities.
How To Make Japanese Pancakes Step By Step
Get Everything Ready:
- Crack eggs and separate them
- Let stuff sit out so it's not freezing cold
- Set up your ring things in the pan
- Measure everything beforehand
The Whipping:
- Beat those egg whites until they look like shaving cream
- Stop before they turn chunky and gross
- Don't touch them after this
Mix the Batter:
- Whisk egg yolks with milk, vanilla, and sugar
- Dump in flour and baking powder
- Stir it just enough (lumps don't matter)
- Fold in some of the fluffy whites super gently
Cook Them:
- Lowest heat your stove has
- Tiny bit of butter in each ring
- Fill rings maybe halfway
- Cover with a lid and wait 3-4 minutes
- Flip them (scary but doable)
- Cover again for 3-4 more minutes
Normal Stuff That Freaked Me Out:
- Your first batch looks terrible
- They look almost white
- They shake like jello
Smart Swaps for Japanese Pancakes
Egg Switches:
- Regular eggs → Duck eggs (fluffier but cost a fortune)
- Large → Medium eggs (just use one more)
- Fresh → Liquid egg whites from a carton (lazy but works)
- Whole eggs → Pasteurized egg whites (saves time separating)
Flour Changes:
- All-purpose → Cake flour (makes them even lighter)
- Regular → Self-rising flour (skip the baking powder then)
- White → Don't even try whole wheat, trust me
Milk Swaps:
- Whole milk → 2% (thinner but fine)
- Dairy → Oat milk (tastes good, weird texture)
- Regular → Buttermilk (tangier but still puffy)
- Fresh → Powdered milk with water (when desperate)
Missing Equipment:
- No lid → Cover with foil
- No vanilla → Skip it, they're still good
- No rings → Make weird flat ones (still tasty)
- No mixer → Hand whisk and pray your arm doesn't fall off
Japanese Pancake Variations
His Current Obsessions:
- Chocolate chips mixed in the batter (gets everywhere but whatever)
- Strawberries piled on top with whipped cream
- Drowning them in maple syrup and butter
- Powdered sugar dust cloud over everything
Things That Didn't Suck:
- Vanilla pudding squished between layers (his genius idea)
- Blueberries cooked right in the pancake
- Cream cheese and strawberry jam stuffed inside
- Cinnamon sugar sprinkled on before flipping
Holiday Disasters:
- Christmas: Green and red sprinkles (looked like a craft explosion)
- Easter: Pink food coloring (Instagram bait)
- Halloween: Orange batter with mini chocolate chips
- His birthday: Funfetti mix instead of flour (actually worked)
Epic Fails:
- Peanut butter mixed in (turned into hockey pucks)
- Cheese version because "why not" (because gross, that's why)
- Too much vanilla extract (tasted like soap)
- Gummy bears inside (melted into colored goo)
Equipment For Japanese Pancake
- Electric mixer (hand mixer is fine, stand mixer is overkill)
- Non-stick pan with a lid that fits
- Ring molds or empty cans with ends cut off
- Two mixing bowls (one for whites, one for everything else)
- Rubber spatula for folding
Storing Your Japanese Pancakes
Same Day:
- Leave them sitting on the counter uncovered
- Don't pile them up or they'll get flat
- Pop them in the toaster on low heat to warm up
- They lose the wobble but still taste decent
Next Day:
- Wrap each one in plastic wrap
- Toss in the fridge
- Toast them before eating
- They're basically thick regular pancakes by then
Don't Even Try:
- Freezing them (they turn into pancake-shaped erasers)
- Leaving them out all night (hard as rocks by morning)
- Microwaving them (makes them bouncy and gross)
- Stacking them while they're warm (pancake mush)
Sunday Prep Trick:
- Same amount of work but less mess
- Make all the separate parts ahead
- Keep egg whites in the fridge
- Whip them fresh when you want pancakes
Top Tip
- The secret to Japanese pancakes that actually work is keeping your pan barely warm. I'm talking so low you wonder if the stove is even on. You should be able to touch the pan for a couple seconds without burning yourself. Crank up the heat and you'll get flat, chewy pancakes that taste like rubber. Also, keep that lid on the whole time - no peeking. The trapped steam cooks the top while the bottom sets, which creates that bouncy texture.
- The other trick that changed everything was adding a tiny pinch of cornstarch to the egg whites before whipping them. My neighbor's kid taught me this after watching some Japanese cooking show. It helps the foam stay stable longer so your pancakes don't deflate right away. Sounds random but it totally works. Sometimes the best cooking tips come from twelve-year-olds who watch way too much Food Network.
Why This Recipe Works
Most people screw up Japanese pancakes by either not beating the egg whites enough or smashing all the air out when they mix everything together. The whole thing depends on creating this foam structure that doesn't collapse while they cook. You need those egg whites whipped until they look like shaving cream - stiff but not chunky - then fold them in like you're trying not to pop a balloon.
The other thing nobody gets right is the heat. These aren't normal pancakes where you can blast the burner. Low and slow is literally the only way they don't turn into flat rubber circles. The lid traps steam and cooks the top while the bottom sets, which is why they get that bouncy texture that makes kids go nuts.
FAQ
What is a Japanese Pancake called?
They call them "hotcakes" or "soufflé pancakes" over in Japan. Basically regular pancake stuff with a bunch of whipped egg whites mixed in to make them ridiculously tall and fluffy. The wobbling happens because of all the air bubbles trapped in there from beating the egg whites to death.
What is okonomiyaki batter made of?
That's a completely different thing - okonomiyaki is like a savory cabbage pancake that's nothing like these fluffy ones. It's flour, water, eggs, and tons of shredded cabbage, plus whatever random stuff you want to throw in like bacon. Way thicker and more like actual food than these cloud pancakes.
What are Japanese pancakes made of?
Same stuff as regular japanese pancakes - flour, milk, eggs, sugar, baking powder, vanilla. The difference is you separate the eggs and beat the whites until they're fluffy as hell, then fold them in super carefully so you don't knock all the air out. That's what makes them tall and jiggly.
What is Moroccan Japanese Pancake called?
Those are called "beghrir" and they're thin with a bunch of little holes on top. Nothing like these thick Japanese ones at all. Different country, totally different pancake situation. These Japanese ones are more like eating flavored air than actual breakfast food.
Time to Get Fluffy!
Now you know how to make Japanese pancakes that'll turn your kitchen into the neighborhood hangout spot. From beating egg whites properly to my neighbor's cornstarch hack, you're basically a pancake expert now. Don't blame me when you become the weekend breakfast slave though.
Want more stuff that impresses people? Try our Best Peach Bruschetta Recipe that's great for summer parties. Need something healthy that doesn't taste like health food? Our Easy Chia Seed Pudding Recipe is weirdly good. For special occasions, our The Best Eggs Benedict Casserole Recipe feeds everyone without the stress of poaching individual eggs!
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Related
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Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with Japanese Pancake
Japanese Pancake
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Separate eggs and prepare tools and molds for cooking
- Beat egg whites with cornstarch until stiff peaks form
- Combine yolk mixture with flour and gently fold in egg whites
- fill molds and steam-cook gently over very low heat
- Remove molds and serve with your favorite toppings
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