I’ve always been intrigued by the super fluffy, almost soufflé like pancakes that grace my social media pages and have been on a quest to try and replicate something similar in my home kitchen, albeit in a much simpler fashion.
This fluffy pancake recipe isn’t quite as complicated to make as some, but the result is a wonderfully light, almost melt in your mouth pancake, perfect for some delicious golden syrup or some fresh fruit and cream.
I have used lime juice here for some acidity, but you can use lemon juice if you prefer. You also need a frying pan with a lid, but you can fashion a lid with a baking tray instead.
4 eggs – separated.
4 heaped tbsp caster sugar
1tsp lime juice
140g plain flour (I used 00 flour)
1 flat tsp of baking powder
120ml milk
20g butter - melted
Pinch salt
In a large bowl, mix together egg yolks, salt, flour, baking powder, milk and butter until really well combined (no lumps).
With a mixer, beat the egg whites until they start to get really frothy. Add the lime juice and keep whisking. Gradually pour in the caster sugar whilst the egg whites are whisking until all the sugar has all been incorporated. Keep whisking until the meringue mixture has soft peaks and more or less holds its shape.
Carefully begin to fold into the mixture in your bowl a third of the egg white mixture. Stir carefully to keep as much air as possible. Repeat twice with the remaining 2 thirds until all the egg white mixture has been stirred in.
Heat your frying pan over a medium heat. Spray a little oil on the bottom of the pan and wait for it to start to bubble on the surface. It is worth waiting here until your pan is ready but it doesn’t want to be so hot it scorches the mixture before cooking the middle. Using a ladle or deep spoon, spoon your pancake mixture into the frying pan. I have a large frying pan so I made 3 pancakes at a time, but just adjust that number to your size pan.
Drip a few drops of water onto the remaining pan surface and pop a lid onto the frying pan. This water creates steam which helps to cook the top whilst the bottom browns. Wait for at least 2 minutes.
Carefully lift the lid and check gently with a spatula that the bottom of the pancakes are not stuck (they will naturally loosen when ready to flip). Before turning the pancakes over, pour a tablespoon of the mixture onto the top of the pancake. Flip over the pancakes, replace the lid and cook for a further 1-2 minutes until both side of the pancake are brown.
Repeat this process for the remaining pancake mixture. Makes 10 large pancakes.
