Why should regular fluffy pancakes have all the fun? Keto soufflé pancakes can be friends too!
If you’re doing keto January and are looking for a bit of food inspiration, these keto soufflé pancakes are here for you! Have you ever seen those giant, fluffy Japanese jiggly pancakes floating around the internet? They’re soft and sweet and incredibly jiggly. If you’ve had the pleasure of traveling to Japan maybe you cheated on keto and tasted them? They’re wonderful, I have to admit! Well, you can have them too, with just a couple of tweaks!
What are soufflé pancakes?
A soufflé pancake is a pancake made using soufflé techniques. They were popularized in Japan where you can find all sorts of jiggly, fluffy pancakes topped with just about anything. They’re made by whipping up egg whites with sugar into a glossy thick meringue then mixed with a batter made with the yolks. Soufflé pancakes are fluffy, jiggly, sweet, soft, and so, so delicious. They taste like you are eating a sweet pancake cloud, with butter and syrup!
How are these keto soufflé pancakes?
Regular soufflé pancakes have sugar, flour, and milk, all which are on the no-eat list for keto. We’ll do a couple of simple swaps to make these low carb and keto-friendly!
Instead of sugar, we’re going to use swerve, which is my favorite one-to-one sweetener. You can use whatever kind of sweetener you have on hand, but you’ll need to adjust the amount accordingly if it isn’t a one-to-one swap. As for the flour, there is such a tiny amount in regular keto soufflé pancakes, that swapping it out for fine almond flour works perfectly. The milk is simply switched out for cream with a bit of water.
How to make keto soufflé pancakes
- Mix. Mix the egg yolk and sweetener until frothy, then mix in the cream and water. Sift in the almond flour and baking powder, making a smooth batter. Set aside.
- Whip. Make the meringue by beating together sweetener, egg whites, and cream of tartar. When the egg whites hold their shape and are stiff and glossy, they’re ready.
- Incorporate. Fold the egg yolk batter into the whites, being careful not to deflate.
- Cook. Heat up a pan (or a crepe maker) on very, very low heat. Lightly oil the pan then scoop out a large dollop of batter, cover and cook for 4-5 minutes. Remove the lid then pile some more batter on and add a couple drops of water. Cover and cook. When the bottoms are golden, very carefully flip, add a couple more drops of water, then cover and cook. Remove from the pan and enjoy immediately with butter, keto-friendly syrup, and keto-friendly powdered sugar. The pancakes will deflate as they cool down.
Keto Pancake ingredient notes
- Eggs. Eggs make up the bulk of the pancakes. It’s best to use room temp eggs.
- Sweetener. Swerve is my go to sugar-free alternative and it adds just the right amount of sweetness.
- Cream. We’ll thin the cream out with a touch of water so it becomes the consistency of milk.
- Almond flour. You need just the tiniest amount of almond flour to help your pancakes hold their shape. Superfine almond flour will give you the best results!
- Baking powder. Baking powder is what makes the pancakes rise tall and fluffy.
- Cream of tartar. Cream of tartar is a stabilizer that will help your egg whites whip up to their potential. Stable fluffy egg whites are the key to successfully making soufflé pancakes. If you don’t have cream of tartar, you can sub in 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice.
Tips for successful keto soufflé pancakes
Make a proper meringue. Make sure your utensils are clean and there is absolutely no oil or fat residue on your whisk or bowl. Any possibility of oily residue will make it hard for your eggs to whip up properly. Whipping egg whites takes time, so don’t be surprised if it takes a while for them to whip up. Properly whipped whites are what make the keto pancakes fluffy, so be sure to take your time.
Be careful while incorporating the meringue and the rest of the batter. Over mixing can lead to deflating the pancakes, so do a gentle scoop and fold motion when mixing.
Cook on low! You’re almost steaming the pancakes. If you cook them on high, the outsides will burn and the insides will be raw. Patience is key.
Keto Soufflé Pancakes
Ingredients
Yolks
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tbsp Swerve
- 1 tbsp cream
- 1 tbsp water to mix with the cream
- 1 tbsp almond flour
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
Whites
- 2 large egg whites
- 1/8 tsp cream of tartar
- 1.5 tbsp Swerve
Special Equipment
- stand mixer
Instructions
- Whisk the egg yolk with 1 tablespoon of swerve until pale and frothy. Mix the milk (or cream mixed with water) in batches. Sprinkle the almond flour and baking powder over the yolk mixture and whisk well making sure everything is incorporated.
- Whip the egg whites with the cream of tartar until frothy and pale, adding in the swerve in bit at a time until the whites are whipped into a glossy thick meringue that holds a peak. Be careful not to over whip.
- Take 1/3 of the whipped egg whites and whisk it into the bowl with the yolks until completely incorporated. Add half of the remaining whites and whisk into the yolk batter, being careful not to deflate. Transfer the egg yolk mixture to the remaining egg whites, whisk and then use a spatula to fold together.
- Heat up a large non stick frying (with a lid) pan over low heat. Very lightly brush with oil and use a paper towel to rub it around. You want a very light film. Using an ice cream scoop or measuring cup, place scoops of pancake batter 2-3” apart on the pan (see notes). Cover and cook for 4-8 minutes.
- Lift the lid and use a spatula to gently peek under the pancake. The pancake should release easily – don’t force it. Gently flip. Cover and cook for 5-6 minutes. The pancakes will grow even taller and fluffier when they’re done.
- Once the pancakes are golden and cooked through, gently remove and serve on a plate with keto powdered sugar, butter, whipped cream, and keto maple syrup. Enjoy immediately!
I miss my Sunday morning pancakes – bad flour – but this version looks wonderful with almond flour and fluffy – yay!
Wow!!! It looks amazing!
These pancakes came out flavorful, light and moist. So many keto pancakes are dry. My boyfriend who is not keto loved them. I added cinnamon and vanilla extract. A winner, thank you!
These are divine! Best keto pancakes I’ve tried.