I was recently commissioned to do a video recipe demo for About.com on the topic of "folding." Of course, this culinary technique is most commonly preformed when introducing egg whites into some type of batter. I was going to show "folding" using some sort of soufflé recipe, but since I already had a cheese soufflé recipe clip on the blog, I decided to use it on something much more common, the humble pancake. Every homemade pancake recipe, and almost every store-bought mix, calls for eggs. In almost every case the eggs are simply mixed into the batter and the recipe relies on the baking powder to
make the pancakes rise. This is usually fine, but if you use the little extra step of separating the eggs and beating the egg whites, you will create "soufflé" pancakes that will rise to a whole other level...literally. By "folding" in the stiff egg whites, you are introducing millions of tiny air bubbles that expand when the pancake is flipped. As you will see in the video, the site of the pancake rising in the pan is pure magic. Well, actually it's pure physics, but people like magic better than physics.So, I'm not sure if this is a "folding" video with a bonus pancake recipe, or a pancake demo with a bonus cooking technique included. But, who cares, you're making soufflé pancakes! By the way, this trick will work for any pancake mix that calls for eggs. Enjoy!
80 comments:
Would you use a berry syrup or a lemon curd on these pancakes?
Yes! Let's use both. ;) Anything works.
Oh my gosh!!! I am a pancake freak and I have never seen folded egg whites into the batter. It looks incredible. This is my dinner tonite with a side of bacon!! thank you for shareing!!
yowza! is that rise after the flip in real time, or did you speed it up?
great demo. many thanks!
Oh my GOD!!!! Zee pancake, eet's ALIVE!!!
I really ought to stop watching these at work.. I mean, now I'm craving these things, but I can't do anything about it!
The about.com clips have to be 3 minutes, so I did speed it up, but only by a few seconds so I could show it twice. So, it is practically real time. You will see when you make it, it really rises quickly!
I was just wishing for a pancake demo from FoodWishes this morning literally. My wish has come true. You read my mind. Thank you!
Love the demo chef, I'm gonna try it out.
I also love your theme song. Could you tell me what song it is and who it is by?
Thanks.
P
ty, its a free clip that comes with iMovie called "buddy" not sure where they get them.
mmm...delicious!!!
This doesn't have a lot to do with this clip, although it's great and I love all your other stuff too--I've been watching for awhile now.
Aaanyway, I figured I would just mention it, the title "Free Video Recipe Catagories" is misspelled, it should be Categories. No biggie, I just noticed it now for the first time. I love all your ideas, they really are great. Thanks!
OH WOW!!!
My jaw literally dropped open when I saw that pancake lift off.
It looks soo delicious! I am definitely trying this. Thanks for your recipes!
My pancake did not rise the way yours did as shown in the video. How do you prep the pan, what heat do you cook the pancake in and how soon after you pour in the batter before you flip it over? Thanks.
Yes, the pan needs to be hot. Not smoking hot, but hot. You flip it when you seen "holes" appearing on the top surface and the edges start to look dry. Then I peek underneath to make sure I have a golden brown flip, and stand back.
I hope you try again, sounds like a simple case of a too cool pan. Best burn a few small ones first to get a feel for the perfect temp.
Do you oil or butter the pan first? I did wait for lots of holes to show up (though not as moist as your pancake seems in the video) before I flipped my pancake. I definately will try again with the hot pan and just wait for a few holes instead of lots before I flip my pancake. Thanks Chef!
a little oil.
omg!!!! :0 you're a member of video jug!!!!! I recently discovered the website "videojug". And I decided to check out what they had in "Classics". Then i decided to check out the "whats hot". When I came to like page 6 or 4, i was this logo of your old videos!!!. I clicked on it and whala it was you...well george that is. :* Maybe you should change it to your new pix? mAYBE.....
Hey, Chef... just wanted to mention that you didn't mention the lemon juice in the ingredient list. Might want to add it, so everyone gets the perfect pancake. :)
ty
Another great recipe! I love your videos. Keep up the good work.
I made them this morning and used some pumpkin instead of lemon, they tasted fantastic!
Another great video!
Oh, chef.
You have no idea what you have just done.
I have been trying to understand what on earth folding is for years.
Other videos show them too fast, and I just couldn't differentiate it from normal stirring, except it looks gentler.
Bless your soul.
Hi Chef, can you please specify the type of flour? Should I use cake or all purpose flour? Thanks!
AP is fine.
Thanks Chef!
I made the pancake this morning. They turned out GREAT! They were light and fluffy. Thanks for the excellent recipe.
Hey Chef,
Thanks for the videos! Curious, how many servings will this recipe make? Can you use skim milk or does it need to be whole?
makes about 8 cakes. skim milk should be OK. Enjoy.
What ingredients can we reduce if we just wanna make 4 pancakes? Or do we just divide all the proportions into half?
yes divide in half
Good Lord, that was so tempting! Thanks so much for showing in slow motion how folding is done. lemon juice in pancake sounds delicious. Nico will love this and he's definitely going to have a laugh once I show him the rising part! Btw, thanks for dropping by my old blog. Here's the new one I made recently www.hapag-kainan.blogspot.com. Check it out for Filipino dishes. God bless you!
Thank you!!
you are so good chef in the world!
awesom recipe, now i can avoid convenience cake, delicious flavour and let me say, an adventure watchin that cake blowin up!
Question, why you add veg. oil, sounds curious to me, which function is the oil supposed to?
greetings, Louis from Germany.
thanks! the oil keeps the pancake moist.
do i have to add baking soda and baking powder because i don't have any at home.
yes u do
Thank you for all that detail. May God bless you richly. Such a difference between reading about soft peaks and seeing the demo! And the folding! I am truly grateful.
Hello Chef, I'm in Ireland - could you tell me please how many grams and millimetres are in an American cup measure? Thank you... can't wait to try this recipe!
here u go... http://www.worldwidemetric.com/metcal.htm
Hey Chef! I was really excited about this recipe! i hate the pancake mixes, i always end up burning pancakes as well. I made them this morning and they turned out perfect, golden brown and light, but towards the middle they weren't all the way cooked. I dont know why this happened... how long should I leave it on each side? is there any way to know its ready. oh and how do you flip the cake so perfect, mine splatters everywhere! (but wait maybe thats the problem?!)
can't give you a time, but it sounds like you needed more time on the first side. Keep practicing!
hey chef, i was the one that said that my pancakes turn out raw in the inside. so i guess the truth was to have it on the first side for longer. they turned out perfect and i saw how it raised! it was amazing! thank you so much for teaching me!
my pleasure!
Thanks so much for the folding demo! For the first time, I did not deflate the beaten egg whites while folding into the batter! The pancakes were so fluffy and light...absolutely delicious! Thanks again, Chef John!
Tried these the other day, they turned out great, thought they were missing something... buttermilk? I'd like to try some of that in it next time, but how would I go about substituting that for the milk? Is it a straight swap? Should I use half milk/ half buttermilk, or...? Thanks!
I'm a novice in these matters so I don't even understand what the purpose of folding is. Why not just dump all of the stiff egg whites into the batter and stir?
if you dont fold u knock all the air out of the whites, and it doesnt rise
hi chef John,
thanks for sharing how to make souffle pancakes. that looks really fluffy and delish.
well, i actually wanted to tell you something.
i first found this technic on marc bittman's blog nytimes just recently. he made whole wheat pancakes using stiff white eggs, which was nice, and i thought what a great idea. then i watched your video today and thought hummm...
well i do not have right to say who copied who or anything but hummm i found some (many) of his recipes similar to other food bloggers...and it seems like he does not have decent technic to make maximize flavors...i should not be harsh to him because he is just one of many people who are trying promote home cooking...but just a thought.
sorry maybe this is not the right place to say this kind of stuff.
I got a little yolk in my whites, but whisked the hell out of them and got a decent enough result.
Is it bad to get the yolk in the whites?
Came out awesome anyway, and the missus loved 'em, you're the man Chef John. Cheers from Dublin!
Absolutely incredible!!
I've only discovered your videos on youtube a week ago and already have a full list of recipes I want to try, this being the first.
Hey chef john,
i made these todays with all the same ingredients but i added in 2 extra egg whites (because i had made your choc mousse and i thought what the heck?) so i made them but they didnt rise like they did in your video. any advice?
yes, follow the recipe ;-)
but wouldnt adding extra egg whites make sure that it DOES rise?
Made them today, didn't quite turn out the way I wanted them to. They rose and looked great, but tasted really bland. Well, bland with a side of lemon.
Could that have been caused by not enough folding, or something else?
Stirring or folding something would never really affect the flavor. Most pancakes are pretty bland (hence the syrup, etc.) Did you add salt? Maybe you juts don't like this recipe... it happens. ;-)
The problem was letting the batter rest for half an hour only. Tasted much batter (tee hee) the next morning. Thanks for all the videos btw ;p
Just poking for fun, you used the wrong word.
"As you will see in the video, the site of the pancake rising in the pan is pure magic." - should be the "sight" of the pancake rising.
Anyways!! Great clip, gonna try this and show off to my hubby! :D
Can you please re-post the video for this recipe? Pleeeeze :) It sounds delicious, and I'd really like to try it!! Thanks so much for all of the delicious recipes and cooking tips!
What kind of milk would be the best to use? :)
any milk works, reg, 2% etc.
Would buttermilk work?
sure!
Chef John, I love your video recipes! These pancakes look really good and I want to try them out. The only problem is that I'm not entirely sure what baking soda is or if we even have it here in Norway. Could I just replace it with an extra 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder?
Sorry, not sure!
Chef John the lemon souffle pancake video doesn't work anymore! Would you mind remaking it? The recipe is genius!
hello Chef John. I love your videos, they are funny, delightful, informative and most of all simple to follow. Easy to watch and not make a mistake. my question is, what is the purpose of the baking soda? Is it something you have to add and do you need to use these extra flour additives when you use self-rising flour?
Thanks so much
@Anonymous from Norway, you will probably find baking soda under the name sodium bicarbonate. Hope that helps!
@Chef John, this video doesn't seem to work anymore. I would love to see the folding technique. Can you re-post?
Chef John,
This video can't be viewed anymore. What happened? I was able to view it a couple of years ago...Had wanted to see the technique of making souffle pancakes again. Would you be able to fix the problem?
Mildred
Search videos.about.com for this recipe. Thanks!
Dear Chef John,
I am a lemon lover,so had to try these right away! Been following your blogs a long while,since you made Roasted Chicken Stock Soup, which is awesome. Then made your No kneed Ciabatta Bread and I a,m an official foodie fan now. I wish I has slow motion properties on my web cam-these Lemon Souffle cakes are beautiful and do come alive! I eat them plain but when serving for company would like your best suggestion, what to serve these with. So far I've used a raspberry syrup and raspberries and orange marmalade syrup and preserves any lighter ideas? Thank you! Maria
It's not lighter, but some serve with creme fraiche. Thanks!!
I always read the ingredients before I watch the demo. My first thought was, how do you make pancakes without flour? Then I watched the demo and all was explained.
Tried these today. They were light and fluffy but couldn't taste any lemon at all. Disappointed. Also, should the pan cool in between cakes? Do you grease the pan? First one was perfect, others a little well done.
You can add more lemon zest if you like, but more juice would mess up the texture. No I don't let the pan cool. Maybe turn your heat down once it's up to temp.
Chef John! You were right! These were the best pancakes that I have ever made. So easy to make and so delicious. The lemon flavor was incredible! Thank you so much for the recipe.
I have really improved in the kitchen thanks to you!
Cheers!
Dave
I am going to make these today with the suggested lemon curd! After a long night with nothing satisfying my appetite I came across this and knew it would do the trick.
I also wanted to say how much I love your site, videos and recipes. You are my go to chef when I want to learn something new or improve my technique. It was your turkey recipe I came across/used when making my very first thanksgiving dinner, and it was a complete success! My stomach and family thank you!
what is the difference between baking soda and baking powder.. and would it make a difference if i substituted baking soda with baking powder? thank you"D
Great video! Im thinking of using this recipe for a brunch at my cafe. How early can the batter be made? Will it hold at room temp? Also, does the folding technique work with add water mixes? Any info would be helpful.
Its hard to believe that i´ve been making this recipe for 9 years now
Looks like the video is gone now :(
No video?
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