The other day I found this amazing recipe in a spring issue of Fine Cooking magazine. I immediately fell for the idea of serving pancakes in muffin form, warm and fluffy drizzled with maple syrup and strawberries. In the photo the muffins had cool floppy tops and a light airy look. As expected, the recipe was absolutely awesome and the muffins actually looked somewhat like the ones in the magazine photo. They tasted exactly like pancakes, but were in muffin form. Unlike the normal bakery muffin these had a denser, springy texture, just like you would imagine a giant stack of pancakes would feel if you pushed down on them with your finger tip. Admittedly, the recipe is slightly involved since it does call for whipping and folding egg whites. But, I assure you, they are well worth it!
Pancake Souffle Muffins
adapted from Fine Cooking magazine
2-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cake flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
6 large eggs, separated and at room temperature
3/4 tsp. cream of tartar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3-1/3 cups buttermilk, at room temperature
Confectioners’ sugar, for sprinkling
Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 400°F. Liberally spray two 12-cup muffin pans with the cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, mix the all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
In a large, clean mixing bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar with an electric hand mixer on medium-high speed to firm (but not dry) peaks, 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside.
In another large bowl, beat the egg yolks with the mixer on medium-high speed until thick, ribbony, and lemon-yellow, about 6 minutes. Add the melted butter, sugar, and vanilla; mix on medium-low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Add one-third of the dry ingredients and mix on low speed. Add one-third of the buttermilk and mix to combine. Alternate adding the remaining dry ingredients and buttermilk, ending with the buttermilk and mixing until just combined.
With a large rubber spatula, gently fold the whites into the batter, leaving some streaks.
Scoop about 1/2 cup of the batter into each muffin cup—you can fill the cups to the rims. Bake, rotating the pans after 10 minutes, until browned on top and puffed, and a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out dry, 20 to 25 minutes total.