My friend brought these crazy fluffy Japanese pancake cloud cakes to our book club last spring, and everyone just stopped talking after the first bite. They couldn't believe something could be that light and wobbly. When I asked where she got the recipe, she told me she'd seen them at some fancy marketplace downtown, spent like $15 on three tiny pancakes, then got mad enough to figure it out at home.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
From making these maybe 40 times since my friend showed me her trick, here's what happens: people take one bite and just stare at their fork. The texture is weird in the best way - kind of like a marshmallow had a baby with the fluffiest eggs you've ever eaten. They're sweet but not too sweet, and when you cut into them they jiggle on the plate, which makes everyone stop what they're doing to watch.
Takes about 30 minutes from start to finish, uses regular kitchen stuff you already have, and costs way less than those marketplace ones my friend got ripped off on. I've thrown these together on crazy Sunday mornings when I'm half asleep and they still work. Once you figure out the folding part (which I'll walk you through), they're actually pretty forgiving.
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Ingredients for Japanese pancake
- How To Make Japanese Pancake Step By Step
- Smart Swaps for Japanese Pancake
- Fun Twists on Japanese Pancake
- Equipement for Japanese Pancake
- Storing Japanese Pancake
- What to Serve with Japanese
- Top Tip
- My Cousin's Hidden Gem
- FAQ
- Fluffy Success on Your Table!
- Related
- Pairing
- Japanese pancake
Ingredients for Japanese pancake
The Base:
- Eggs
- All-purpose flour
- Whole milk
- Granulated sugar
- Baking powder
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
For Cooking:
- Butter
- A little water
Toppings:
- Powdered sugar
- Fresh berries
- Maple syrup
- Whipped cream
Basic Tools:
- Electric mixer
- Non-stick pan with a lid
- Two mixing bowls
- Rubber spatula
See recipe card for quantities.
How To Make Japanese Pancake Step By Step
Separate and Prep:
- Crack eggs, put whites in one bowl, yolks in another
- Let egg whites sit at room temp for 10 minutes
- Mix flour and baking powder together
- Have everything measured and ready
Whip the Whites:
- Beat egg whites on medium speed
- When they get foamy, add sugar slowly
- Keep beating until stiff peaks form
- They should stand up straight when you lift the beater
Make the Batter:
- Whisk egg yolks with milk and vanilla
- Fold in the flour mixture gently
- Take a big scoop of egg whites, fold it in
- Add rest of whites, fold super carefully don't stir, just fold
Cook Them:
- Heat non-stick pan on lowest heat
- Butter the pan lightly
- Scoop batter into 3-4 tall mounds
- Add 1 tablespoon water to pan, cover immediately
- Cook 4-5 minutes, flip gently, cook 3-4 more minutes covered
Smart Swaps for Japanese Pancake
Dairy Switches:
- Whole milk → 2% milk (they're slightly less fluffy but still good)
- Whole milk → Almond milk (works fine, just add a tiny splash of cream)
- Butter → Coconut oil for cooking
Flour Options:
- All-purpose → Cake flour (makes them even lighter)
- All-purpose → Gluten-free blend (use the 1-to-1 kind)
Sugar Swaps:
- Granulated → Caster sugar (dissolves faster, actually better)
- Regular sugar → Coconut sugar (changes the color to tan but tastes great)
Egg Notes:
- Can't really swap these - the eggs are the whole thing
- If someone's allergic, this recipe won't work
Fun Twists on Japanese Pancake
Matcha Green Tea:
- Add 1 tablespoon matcha powder to the flour
- Top with white chocolate shavings
- Drizzle with condensed milk
- My friend's favorite
Chocolate Chip:
- Fold mini chocolate chips into final batter
- Don't use regular chips - they're too heavy
- Top with chocolate syrup
- Max requests this one constantly
Lemon Blueberry:
- Add lemon zest to the egg yolk mixture
- Fold fresh blueberries in at the end
- Dust with powdered sugar
- Serve with lemon curd
Strawberry Cream:
- Keep pancakes plain
- Top with sliced strawberries
- Add whipped cream between layers
- Drizzle with strawberry sauce
Equipement for Japanese Pancake
- Electric hand mixer (or stand mixer)
- Non-stick pan with a lid that fits
- Two mixing bowls
- Rubber spatula
- Ice cream scoop or large spoon
Storing Japanese Pancake
Right Away (Best Option):
- Eat them fresh off the pan
- They start deflating after about 10 minutes
- Still taste good but lose that wow factor
Short Term (Same Day):
- Keep at room temp for up to 2 hours
- Cover loosely with a towel
- They'll be flatter but still fluffy inside
- Reheat in a pan on low for 1 minute per side
Fridge (Not Great):
- They get rubbery and dense
- Only do this if you have leftovers
- Reheat in a pan, not microwave
- Won't be the same
Freezer:
- Honestly, don't bother
- They turn into hockey pucks
What to Serve with Japanese
These Japanese pancake work best as the star of breakfast or brunch, so keep the sides simple. Fresh fruit is your best bet - sliced strawberries, blueberries, or banana pieces add color and cut through the sweetness without weighing things down. A small bowl of plain Greek yogurt on the side gives people something tangy to balance all that fluff. If you're serving a crowd, crispy bacon or breakfast sausage links add some savory contrast, and honestly, the salty-sweet combo is pretty great.
For drinks, stick with coffee or tea since these pancakes are already sweet. Max always wants orange juice with his, which actually works - the acidity wakes up your taste buds between bites. Some people at our brunches like to add a drizzle of warm maple syrup or honey, but go easy because the pancakes themselves have sugar in them. My friend who introduced me to these serves them with just powdered sugar and fresh berries, no syrup at all, and nobody complains. The pancakes are rich enough that a little fruit is all you really need.
Top Tip
- My friend figured out her secret after batch number 23 (she actually kept count in a notebook). She noticed that every time she beat the egg whites in her cold metal bowl, they deflated faster when she folded them into the batter. So she started warming her mixing bowl - just runs it under hot water for a minute, dries it completely, then whips the whites in that.
- The difference was crazy. The egg whites stayed fluffier way longer, which gave her more time to fold them in without rushing. She also started adding the sugar to the whites in three parts instead of all at once - lets each addition dissolve before adding more. Says it makes the meringue more stable.
- Now when I make these Japanese pancake, I do the warm bowl trick every time. Takes an extra 30 seconds but my pancakes stay tall and don't collapse as much. Sometimes the smallest changes make the biggest difference - my friend was ready to give up before she figured that out.
My Cousin's Hidden Gem
My cousin lives in Tokyo and comes to visit every couple years. Last time she stayed with us, she made these Japanese pancake for breakfast one morning and Max wouldn't stop talking about them for weeks. She said back home, people line up for an hour at certain cafes just to get a plate of these things. When I asked if they were hard to make, she just shrugged and said "not really, you just need patience."
She showed me her trick for keeping the batter fluffy - she folds in the egg whites in two stages instead of all at once. First batch gets folded in completely, second batch just barely mixed through with some white streaks still showing. Says those streaks create pockets of extra fluff when they cook. She also taught me to rest the batter for exactly 2 minutes before cooking - gives the flour time to hydrate so the pancakes don't taste gummy. The game-changer though? She uses a round cookie cutter as a mold in the pan.
FAQ
What makes Japanese pancakes so fluffy?
The secret is whipped egg whites folded into the batter. When you beat egg whites to stiff peaks, they trap tons of air bubbles. Folding them gently into the batter keeps those bubbles intact, and when the pancakes cook, the heat expands the air making them puff up like clouds.
Why do my Japanese pancakes deflate?
Usually it's overmixing the batter after adding the egg whites. When you stir instead of fold, you pop all those air bubbles. Also, cooking on heat that's too high makes the outside cook faster than the inside, so they collapse. Keep your heat low and fold gently.
Can you make Japanese pancakes without a mixer?
Technically yes, but your arm will fall off. You need to whip egg whites to stiff peaks, which takes several minutes of constant beating. A hand mixer costs like $15 and saves you from that workout. I tried it once by hand and gave up after two minutes.
What's the difference between Japanese pancakes and regular pancakes?
Regular pancakes use baking powder for rise and have a dense, cake-like texture. Japanese pancake cloud cakes use whipped egg whites for rise and have an airy, souffle-like texture. They're also way thicker - like 2-3 inches tall versus half an inch for regular ones.
Fluffy Success on Your Table!
You've got everything now to make these Japanese pancake from the warm bowl trick to why the folding matters so much. My friend was right about one thing: once you nail these, regular pancakes feel kind of boring.
Want more breakfast and brunch favorites? Try our Delicious Belgian Waffle Recipe that's crispy outside and fluffy inside - perfect for weekend mornings. Craving something savory? Our The Best Sloppy Joe Recipe is comfort food at its finest. Or switch it up with our Healthy Chicken Marsala Recipe that's fancy enough for company but easy enough for Tuesday night!
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Pairing
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Japanese pancake
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Separate eggs and prepare all your ingredients
- Beat egg whites and slowly add sugar until stiff
- Mix yolks with milk and fold in dry ingredients
- Gently fold whipped egg whites into the batter
- Cook pancakes slowly in covered pan with steam
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