A warm, cotton-soft castella pancake baked in a skillet, topped with butter and a generous drizzle of maple syrup
What is a castella pancake?
If you've had a souffle pancake this is like it's the older sister. Bigger, fluffier, and like a warm comforting hug.
This pancake made its first appearance in an episode of a popular Japanese food-themed drama called Kodoku no Gourmet aka Solitary gourmet. The main character visited a cafe and was served this big, warm, and fluffy castella pancake directly in a skillet.
From there the pancake went viral. It's been a little while since that hype, but the pancake never left my mind, so here we are.
Trust me when I say this but this pancake will be one of the most comforting breakfasts you've had in a while. The warm and fluffy pancake paired with butter and maple syrup creates a sweet breakfast like no other.
Ingredients
- Egg yolks: Egg yolks give the pancake that rich egg flavor and a tender texture
- Honey: Honey gives the pancake a sweet, floral fragrance and flavor. If you aren't a fan of honey feel free to swap this out with maple or golden syrup.
- Sugar: Sugar is needed in two additions. One is to sweeten the pancake, and the other is to whip with the egg whites to form a meringue.
- Salt: Salt helps to balance out the flavor of the pancake.
- Whole milk: Milk adds moisture to the cake, as well as helping it achieve that tender texture.
- All-purpose flour: Flour helps to make up the structure of the cake. You can use cake flour for an extra tender pancake, but all-purpose flour works great in this case.
- Large egg whites: The egg whites are whipped up with sugar to form a meringue. This acts as the leavening agent, helping the pancake rise to that fluffy texture. Make sure you use large eggs as you need more egg whites for it to be fluffy.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does this last?
This pancake needs to be eaten fresh out of the oven. The longer the pancake is out of the oven the more it will deflate. Hence the name souffle pancake.
Once the pancake comes out of the oven bring it to the table immediately to serve!
If you have any leftovers you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge. When ready to eat just heat them up in a toaster oven until warm. Keep in mind that it won't have that super fluffy texture anymore, but it'll still be soft and delicious.
Can I make this ahead of time?
Unfortunately, this is one of the things that you can't make ahead of time. The way that this pancake is made causes it to deflate as it cools down, as a result, it won't be the same if you made it in advance.
However, this pancake isn't too hard to make, so you can prepare all the ingredients beforehand. Then when you're ready to pull it all together it shouldn't take more than 45 minutes.
Can I make this in different flavors?
Definitely! You can change up the flavor of the pancake itself by substituting 2 tablespoon of flour with cocoa powder or matcha powder instead.
If you want to switch it up even more I'd recommend playing around with different toppings. See below for a couple of suggestions.
How should I serve this?
There are so many different ways to serve this. The most basic method would be with maple syrup and butter, but feel free to try any of the below, or use your own imagination!
- With creams like ice cream or whipped cream
- With syrups like honey, maple syrup, chocolate, caramel, etc.
- Fresh fruits like strawberries, blueberries, mangoes, bananas, etc.
- Melted spreads like Nutella, biscoff, peanut butter, or even jam
Let's Get Baking!
If you want to switch up your boring breakfasts this is the pancake for you! Surprise your family with this delicious warm pancake and they'll love you forever.
If you liked this recipe make sure to leave me a comment and rating down below, I would love to know how you went.
Also, don't forget to tag me on Instagram @catherine.desserts and hashtag #cattycakes so I can see and share your desserts. Follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Youtube, and TikTok for more of my baking creations and updates! Until next time... happy caking!
Print📖 Recipe
Castella Skillet Pancake
A warm, cotton-soft castella pancake baked in a skillet, topped with butter and a generous drizzle of maple syrup
Ingredients
- 8 Large egg yolks
- 40g Honey (2 tbsp)
- 50g Granulated sugar (¼ cup), I
- Pinch of salt
- 200ml Whole milk (¾ cup 2 tbsp)
- 140g All-purpose flour (1 cup 2 tbsp)
- 8 Large egg whites
- 10g Granulated sugar (½ cup), II
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 150C/300F
- Prepare a 23cm/9 inch cast iron skillet
- Combine the egg yolks, honey, sugar (I), and salt in a medium sized mixing bowl and whisk to combine
- Add the milk and whisk until smooth
- Sift in the flour and whisk until just combined
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment or a large bowl with a hand whisk, whisk the egg whites until it reaches soft peaks
- Add the sugar (II) and continue to whisk until it reaches stiff peaks
- Add ⅓rd of the meringue into the egg yolk mixture and whisk until smooth and well combined
- Add the egg yolk mixture to the remaining meringue and gently fold it all together with a rubber spatula
- Pour the batter into the cast iron skillet and bake for 9 minutes
- Remove the skillet from the oven and use a very sharp knife to cut a cross down the centre and cross the pancake
- Return the skillet to the oven and bake for another 35-40 minutes, or until risen and golden brown
- Remove from the oven, top with a slab of butter, dust with icing sugar, and enjoy immediately.
Keywords: castella, cotton soft sponge cake, pancake, souffle, breakfast
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D
Do you have to use a cast-iron skillet?What if you only have an 8" or 10" skillet? Not easy to find a 9" skillet in the US.
Catherine Zhang
You can use a 10 inch skillet and there won't be any problems 🥰