Cloudcakes

Pancakes may come in a wide variety of styles, but our clear-cut favorites are “cloudcakes,” which are light-as-air pancakes with a tangy kick. The airy texture comes from separating the eggs and beating the whites into a stiff foam, which is then folded into the batter. They sound easy enough, but most of the recipes we have tried haven’t delivered the airy texture or tangy flavor they promise. We wanted to figure out how to make perfect cloudcakes. Here’s what we discovered:

Test Kitchen Discoveries

• Beat the egg whites to soft peaks. If beaten to stiff peaks, the whites will deflate when mixed into the batter and the pancakes will be flat.
• Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the whites into the other ingredients carefully as to not deflate them. A few visible streaks of egg white should remain.
• Add extra egg whites for the lightest texture. We added two egg whites to two whole eggs for an extra bit of lift.
• Combine buttermilk and sour cream for the tangiest flavor and greatest rise. The acidic ingredients react with the baking soda to create a good deal of lift.