Sunday Stories 1: A Vegan Take on Japanese Soufflé Pancakes
As I finally experience a suburban lockdown (read: a full-sized, fully-equipped American kitchen), I’ve been compelled to get back to the ~~experimental cooking I used to do in high school. Sweets were always my go-to because, well, I was a sleep-deprived teenager. And while my mom is a wonderful cook, the precision required for baking causes her more stress than anything else. So, in an attempt to make the most of this time at home, I’m spending each Sunday with a brand-new (to me) recipe and review. Just for you!
I’ve been watching a lot of Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories on Netflix, and while I won’t be making fish-sausage American dogs (similar to corn dogs), I was thrilled to see a different Japanese, American-esque recipe on my YouTube recommended page: soufflé pancakes スフレパンケーキ! We’re easing into the Sunday stories with this recipe, as pancakes (and their many varieties) are a typical weekend morning treat for many of us.
This Sunday (January 17th, 2020) was the perfect morning for this recipe as snow covered the Chicagoland area overnight, leaving me with no choice but to stay inside and indulge. The classic version of this recipe involves the whipping of a few egg whites (and yolks, separately), which are what make the actual soufflé. Of course, the vegan recipe doesn’t involve any eggs which makes for a different, cakier, but still fluffy texture. If you eat eggs, the classic recipe is definitely the one you should go for for the sake of authenticity. But I’d recommend the vegan recipe when you want to make these on a whim—they’re easier to make and so so tasty. This vegan recipe from Okonomi Kitchen seems to get even closer to the original, with the addition of pastry flour and potato starch.
Mary will explain much better than I can, but I really liked making the molds for these (it took aluminum foil, a stapler, and two minutes!) and even got ~~crafty~~ by turning one into a heart shape. If that’s not your thing, the molds are optional and you can just pile the batter (which looks like biscuit dough to me!) onto the pan. This might even make them look more like the traditional, non-vegan pancakes. You essentially “bake” them on the stove, flip once, and you’re done!
What’s nice is that the only “weird” ingredient you need is apple cider vinegar, which can be replaced for lemon juice and (I think…) any other vinegar you have in your pantry. That, mixed with the baking powder and baking soda is what gives these, and any other vegan cake, their extreme fluffiness—in lieu of eggs.
This little carousel shows the process, the texture, and the heart-shaped cake of which I’m especially proud. I made the bottoms a tad bit too crispy, but they tasted great to me (and my parents). We had them with maple syrup, bananas, berries, and a bit of crème de marrons. Make these the next time you want an extra special breakfast (or dessert). Till next time!
Images via Mary’s Test Kitchen, Okonomi Kitchen, and the author.
