{"id":342008,"date":"2026-02-17T16:01:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T16:01:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/342008\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T16:01:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T16:01:15","slug":"i-tried-making-viral-japanese-souffle-pancakes-and-boy-was-it-worth-it-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/342008\/","title":{"rendered":"I tried making viral Japanese souffl\u00e9 pancakes and boy was it worth it \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Maura Laverty<\/a>\u2019s seminal 1960 cookery book Full and Plenty, she describes men coming home quickly from the fields on Pancake Tuesday, knowing \u201cthere will be pancakes for supper \u2013 real pancakes, none of your paper-thin rolled foolishness\u201d. <\/p>\n

What would the Tolka Row author make of the internet\u2019s obsession with fat stacks of fluffy Japanese souffl\u00e9 pancakes?<\/p>\n

They are certainly a long way from paper-thin rolled foolishness, but pancakes are a broad church, and many dishes bear the name. <\/p>\n

In this delightfully varied pancake world I decided to take on the Japanese souffl\u00e9 pancake, a popular recipe on social media, via Canadian-American cookbook author Kat Lieu<\/a>. I was, admittedly, quite sceptical. <\/p>\n

My concern was twofold. Firstly, I am naturally distrustful of any \u201cviral\u201d food trends that are designed to look a certain way for clicks rather than taste delicious. <\/p>\n

Secondly, I believe any kind of extra faff in the kitchen \u2013 unnecessary steps, getting more dishes dirty, non-shortcut-friendly recipes \u2013 to be pointless.<\/p>\n

Given that Lieu\u2019s recipe involved separating the egg white and yolk to whisk separately, and tiny but specific measurements \u2013 I was predisposed to saying this popular dish is overrated. <\/p>\n

Boy was I wrong. I had to eat my own delicious words. <\/p>\n

Clouds of pancakes \u2013 airy, fluffy, light in texture, yet decadent in taste, were the perfect vehicle for toppings. <\/p>\n

How hard could it be to make Japanese souffl\u00e9 pancakes? Very hard, as it turns out. Niamh Browne puts her baking skills to the test. Video: Niamh Browne <\/p>\n

Not only that, but the first bite instantly reminded me of my grandmother\u2019s egg cloud omelette, although her recipe is less complex. The good news, though, is that I substituted all the ridiculously small measurements for pinches, splashes and dashes, and it seemed to work out fine. <\/p>\n

Another tip for tiny measurements is to use the spoon that comes with cough syrups to help measure out liquid to the half millilitre. <\/p>\n

Other shortcuts included skipping piping the batter into the pan; I used a ladle to pile on the batter. This trick also meant less air got into my mix than if I had put it through a piping bag, and air is what will make your fluffy pancakes collapse. <\/p>\n

While you might not get picture-perfect pancakes, as long as your egg whites are stiff, the end result should have the coveted souffl\u00e9-like texture. <\/p>\n

The recipe I followed was Lieu\u2019s souffl\u00e9 pancakes which can be found in her cookbook Modern Asian Baking at Home. <\/p>\n

Kat Lieu\u2019s souffl\u00e9 pancakes recipe (makes three) <\/p>\n