I’ve always been fascinated by fluffy American-style pancakes, perhaps because I didn’t grow up on them. In my childhood, pancakes, crêpes, really, were thin and delicate, the kind you’d fold into four with sugar and lemon or jam from my grand-mère’s wooden cabinet in the garage. The golden, towering stacks always felt like something from a storybook – indulgent, almost impossibly decadent.
I already have two favourite recipes. One is a buttermilk classic by the great Marion Cunningham, who knew her way around the simplicity of breakfast like no one else. Her recipe reads like a letter from a friend, gently nudging you towards the joy of the everyday. The other is a five-minute wonder, a batter I can whisk together with my eyes closed on mornings when hunger wins over patience.
And yet, when I stumbled upon Chez Ma Tante’s recipe one morning, I couldn’t resist. It felt like an invitation to try something new. The batter is looser than both of my regular recipes, and the results are ever so wonderful: a light and airy crumb with edges that cook to crisp, caramelised perfection.
The original recipe calls for a full cup of clarified butter for cooking, but I couldn’t quite commit. A couple of tablespoons did the trick, yielding pancakes that were delicate yet indulgent. I had mine plain, marvelling at the texture and buttery caramelisation, but I can only imagine how they’d taste with a drizzle of maple syrup and a pat of butter melting into every crevice.
Chez Ma Tante's pancakes
Notes
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 ½ tablespoons 35 g baking powder
- 2 tablespoons 25 g caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon 5 g flaky sea salt
- 300 ml whole milk
- 130 g plain flour
- 30 g salted butter melted
- 60 g cold salted butter for cooking
Instructions
- Pre-heat your cast-iron pan on medium-high heat for at least 5 minutes, then reduce to medium-low.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, sugar, salt, and baking powder.
- Gradually add the the milk and flour in alternating turns, whisking gently until a lumpy batter forms - do not overmix the batter. Finally, whisk in the 30g of melted butter.
- Stick the cold butter to the tines of a fork and use it to butter you pan - it should start foaming and sizzling. Pour about 100 ml of batter for each pancake, letting it spread naturally.
- Cook for about 1 1/2-2 minutes, or until golden brown with crisp edges, then flip and cook for another 1 minute or so on the other side.
- Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more butter to the pan as needed. Serve warm with extra butter and maple syrup.
2 Comments
Pete
January 27, 2025 at 7:39 PMFanny, these were literally inedible due to the amount of baking powder. I had to throw them away. Reading the comments below the NYT article, I’m not the only one; but I’m amazed at the number of positive comments for this recipe. Go figure.
Fanny
January 28, 2025 at 11:40 AMI’m so sorry they didn’t turn out as expected! When I first read the recipe, I thought the amount of baking powder must be a typo too, but I trusted the process and ended up loving the pancakes. Perhaps the type of baking powder made a difference – single-action or baking soda could create an overpowering flavour.
If you give these a go again, try reducing the baking powder slightly – it might make all the difference!