Japanese hotcakes or pancakes are lighter and fluffier than their American counterparts. Often sold as a mix, it’s used in many desserts and baked goods.
Japanese Hotcakes (ホットケーキ) refers to Japanese-style pancakes and also the commercial package mix. They are similar to American-style pancakes or flapjacks but are sweeter, fluffier, and thicker in height. The fluffy texture is due to the cake flour, which is low in gluten.
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What Are Japanese Hotcakes
Japanese hotcakes are a popular breakfast and dessert dish in Japan and refer to the commercial mix. These pancakes are known for their incredibly light, airy, and fluffy texture. They are taller and thicker than traditional American pancakes and have a distinct melt-in-your-mouth quality.
How To Use
Use the mix to make Japanese pancakes and top with maple syrup and butter, whipped cream, sweet azuki bean paste, or black sugar syrup. You could also load it with fruits like bananas, strawberries, blueberries, and other fresh berries.
It’s also used in baked goods and snacks or as batter as it includes sugar, salt, and a leavening agent (baking powder or similar). The instructions are listed on the package. A tip is to cook on low heat to let the batter puff. You could use ring molds to keep the round shape and height as it cooks.
To make fluffy Japanese pancakes AKA Soufflé Pancakes puffed with meringue (that won’t require the hotcake mix), check out my recipe here.
Where To Buy
You can purchase the commercial mix at Japanese grocery stores or on Amazon. Morinaga and Showa are the two big Japanese brands.
Recipes Using Japanese Hotcakes
Substitutes
You could substitute with an American pancake mix, which usually contains all-purpose flour and will not turn out as fluffy.
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