Japan is renowned throughout the world for its unique and exquisite cuisine. However, while many of know Japan for its sushi or Ramen, it also has some of my favorite desserts in the world. Whether it is traditional such as Mochi or not-traditional such as crepres, Japan never fails to astound me.

Japanese pancakes are no exception. These pancakes differ from the west in that they are much taller and creamy, it takes a lot of training and skill to make these. This is because, contrary to its namesake, Japanese pancakes are closer to souffles. Here egg yolk and whites are separated so air can be pumped into the egg whites to make an appetizing white foam.

This means that the secret ingredient in Japanese pancakes is actually air, in fact if these delicious pancakes are not eaten immediately, they have a tendency to deflate! Be warned however, these pancakes take a considerable amount of time to make when an order is placed, nonetheless, it is definitely worth it!

These differ dramatically from Japanese original pancakes which originated in the 16th century and were used commonly in tea ceremonies. These original pancakes were fried with miso as a sweet snack. Today these pancakes have been elevated to a new level and have become increasingly popular throughout Japan. Japanese pancakes are usually topped with fruit, cream or other seasonal ingredients to elevate the dish.

My personal favorite is simple, just whipped cream although the addition of lotus biscuits offers a welcome crunch (as seen in the video below). Much thought and effort is commonly used in the presentation of these pancakes to make them look presentable. These pancakes are both delicious and picturesque making them incredibly popular on social media sites such as instagram. There are numerous chains in Japan such as Flipper’s Gram cafe or Shiawase no pancake.

However these delicious snacks are not limited to these restaurants and are plentiful throughout Tokyo!