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Hottokēki (Japanese Hot Cake)

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Recipe for Hottokēki, Japanese Hot Cakes (ホットケーキ)- similar to American pancakes, but a bit more fluffy with a little more sweetness. Serve simply with butter and syrup or add vanilla custard or ice cream for a more decadent touch.

Hottokēki (Japanese Hot Cakes) (1 of 3)

For anyone visiting my site from the photo posted on pinterest of three stacked pancakes with blueberries: That photo is not of these pancakes. Here is the original link/recipe for that photo: http://goodatcooking.net/index.php/ru/archives/4435

 

Japanese Hot Cakes (ホットケーキ) are similar to American pancakes, but are a bit fluffier and have a little more sweetness. Hot cakes are a popular breakfast treat in Japan and often prepared using a packaged hot cake mix. No need for a hot cake mix here! They are also versatile, with a variety of toppings to choose from based on your tastes and what you may have in your refrigerator. I had an extra container of blackberries from my CSA box, so I topped my hot cakes with whipped cream and fresh blackberries. I added a few blackberries to a small pot and cooked over medium heat to create a sauce. We also often enjoy them simply with maple syrup and butter. For a more decadent breakfast, add a dollop of vanilla custard or ice cream.

japanese hotcakes (3 of 3)

Take great care in how you measure the flour. Too much will make the batter too thick. Measuring the amount out in grams is best. If you use cups, make sure it is not packed.

To cook the hottokēki, I heated a steel skillet over medium heat. I placed it briefly on a damp towel to cool to the right temperature and returned to the burner over low heat. Do not place the skillet on a cold, wet towel if it is cast iron or enamel to prevent cracking. After the batter is added, cover the skillet to lightly steam the cake and keep moisture in. It will take about 4 minutes for the hottokēki to set (but the top should still be wet) and bubbles to form over the top. Flip, cover, and cook for a minute or 2 longer until golden. Repeat with the remaining hot cakes. To keep the hottokēki warm while you are preparing the others, arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet and place in a 200 degree F oven for up to 30 minutes. Here is a video I found on Youtube of the cooking technique.

Looking for more pancake recipes? Try Poffertjes (Dutch Mini Pancakes), Beghrir Choco (Algerian Chocolate Honeycomb Pancakes), or Scotch Pancakes.

Hottokēki (Japanese Hot Cakes) (2 of 3)

Updated Recipe (March 25, 2016). Thank you all so much for your feedback. I truly appreciate it. Based on the mixed reviews, I have tweaked the recipe a bit while still keeping it authentic. I changed the flour to cake flour for a more consistent lightness, added a little melted butter, upped the baking powder, and altered the cooking method. If you loved the original recipe, it is still available at La Fuji Mama.

Hottokēki (Japanese Hot Cake) Recipe
Adapted from La Fuji Mama

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Hottokēki (Japanese Hot Cake)

Servings 8 large pancakes

Ingredients

  • 2 large eggs
  • 200 milliliters (3/4 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons) milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 40 grams (3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
  • 200 grams (~1 1/2 cups) cake flour
  • 40 grams (3 tablespoons) granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • Pinch salt
  • Vegetable oil for greasing

Instructions

  • In a medium bowl, beat together the eggs. Mix in the milk, vanilla extract, and butter.
  • In another medium bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to gently fold into the liquid ingredients until just incorporated. Allow to rest while you heat the pan.
  • Place a large steel skillet over medium heat. Set aside a damp towel. Once heated, place briefly on the wet towel (do not do this if using cast iron or enamel) and place back on burner over low heat. Lightly grease with oil, spread with a towel, pour 1/4 cup of the batter in prepared skillet, and cover. Once golden on bottom and bubbles begin to form on top, about 4 minutes, flip to other side. Continue to cook until golden, another 1-2 minutes. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve immediately topped with maple syrup, butter, whipped cream, or fresh berries.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Suzette

    The first time I had hotcakes was in Italy. My SIL is 50% Filippina and she gets the White King Hotcake Mix at an Asian store not far from her house. It was love at first bite! So now when we return from our Italian summer vacations, I try to bring some boxes back with me. However, I do prefer to cook and bake from scratch, so I was very excited to see this recipe on Pinterest and can’t wait to try it…..maybe tomorrow so we can start the 2015 off right!! 🙂

    Reply

  2. Jemille Junio

    Hi Tara,
    Got your hotcakes recipe from Pinterest, glad I’ve found it!
    I’ve been making hotcakes for my little boy as it’s his favorite… However I can’t get mine to be so fluffy 🙁 What am I doing wrong?

    Reply

  5. Audrey Lisa

    The Hubs and I just devoured a plate of these delicious cakes. I used buttermilk and a banana in the batter and topped mine with a honey and mixed berry compote. Let them eat cake! Amazing recipe! I may never eat pancakes again!

    Reply

  6. Sarah

    When you “quickly mix” the wet ingredients into the dry, do you use a mixer or just a spoon? Mine came out flat and I *did* allow the batter to rest. I followed all directions very carefully.

    Reply

  7. Tina

    Hi Dear! ^_^
    It was absolutely delicious and fluffy, and sweet, and great! 🙂 Thanks for your recipe! Greetings from Hungary! 🙂

    Reply

  8. Leigh Anne

    Made these this morning and we LOVED them! They didn’t look as fluffy as yours but I’m chalking that up to old baking powder. Will use fresh next time and hopefully they’ll rise higher. The flavor was very unique. These are being added to the rotation! Thanks for sharing!!

    Reply

    • Tara

      So glad you enjoyed them! I definitely enjoy these more than American pancakes now. Hope they work better next time with fresh baking powder.

      Reply

  9. Bonnie Goodwin

    Would adding fresh blueberries when you pour the batter onto the griddle will that effect the fluffiness of the pancakes ?

    Reply

    • Tara

      Sprinkling a few fresh blueberries on top should be fine. Just don’t use a spatula to press them in and no frozen fruit since they will have too much moisture.

      Reply

    • Tara

      I have no experience with Splenda so can’t comment on that part. I prefer whole milk when baking to make it a little richer, but I have used 2 percent with no issues.

      Reply

  12. Donnellsun

    Sounds like several things could be suggested to help everyone, hopefully. Here goes… A) Stevia sweetner for baking is good & natural, unlike Splenda. However, need to add it at the end, my don’t stir too much or the batter will go flat. B) To assure nice lift (even though other evil factors may be at work, haha), be sure to beast the earth whites separately from the yolks. Add the foamy earth whites at the end, and only child them into the batter; ie.no mite stirring & beating offer the batter, please.
    This is a really special recipe and we make it gluten-free too! Yum!

    Reply

  17. Moose

    To really go the full hog, for amazingly light pancakes, try the following:
    – separate your egg yolks, include them in with your wet ingredients as per usual
    – whisk the egg whites until they are fluffy as
    – after you have mixed dry and wet ingredients, fold in half mixture of egg whites
    – now fold in remaining egg whites

    The above steps only take a second but will change the consistency of your hotcakes / pancakes / waffles to a light, fluffy, lovely mouth watering experience.

    Moose

    Reply

  18. Kasey

    Wish I read the comments before trying – mine also came out way too thick. I don’t think the recipe has enough liquid. Makes for custardy, rubbery pancakes. I’ll have to try some of the recommendations in the comments.

    Reply

    • Tara

      Sorry it didn’t work out for you 🙁 Hottokeki are quite thick, but you definitely have to be careful about overmixing. Also, how did you measure the flour? Weighing is the most accurate. If you use cups, make sure the flour isn’t packed.

      Reply

    • Tara

      So sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy them. The texture is a little different than American pancakes. Did you add any toppings or eat them plain?

      Reply

  20. Josephine

    I don’t know what I did wrong, but I followed the recipe as stated, and the hot cakes turned out spongy (almost rubbery) and lacked flavor. My three little ones even refused to eat it

    Reply

  21. Jen

    My son and I greatly enjoyed these cakes this morning. Definitely thicker than our regular pancakes and very filling, but we loved that aspect of them. Thank you, Tara!

    Reply

  23. Rebecca

    Loved the flavor. Batter was a nice consistency. They looked just like your picture here (not the ones on Pinterest) However, they were a little tough. What did I do wrong? Cook too long, not rest long enough, cook too hot?

    Reply

    • Tara

      Sorry they came out a little tough. As long as you followed the directions, how did you measure out the flour? The photo on pinterest is not related to this recipe. I am not sure how they became linked.

      Reply

  24. Annie

    Tara- Thank you for sharing this recipe!! These fluffy and light wonders are delicious! It will be hard to return to a more traditional pancake recipe after trying this recipe:) I added 1 2/3 TSP instead of tsp. due to miss reading, I added an additional 1/4 C flour to make up for this and a 3 sec dash more of cashew milk. I also altered by using splenda and cashew milk and the recipe turned out great! I think the recipe will not work if you do not fluff the liquid long enough and you have to fold not stir the wet and dry….hope this can be helpful for anyone not achieving the fluffiness that they wanted.

    Reply

  26. Katherine

    Just made these this evening for supper and they were fantastic! Such an easy recipe and really tasty. I had never made pancakes before but now I’ll definitely be making these often!

    Reply

  27. Kayla

    Just made these–they were super simple and beyond delicious! Very fluffy! I made an apricot compote to go over them and my family loved it! Thanks for this recipe! Will use over and over again.

    Reply

  28. Tanya

    Made these this morning and while we really enjoyed them we definitely had some difficult finding the right temperature. We ended up with cakes that were cooked in the middle but rather doughy and sticky towards the edges.
    We will try again next weekend and hopefully have a better result

    Reply

    • Tara

      Sorry you had some issues with the temperature 🙁 I usually go between medium and medium low. Medium low usually works best for me once the pan is thoroughly heated.

      Reply

  29. Kel Swann

    Mine didn’t work at all 🙁 I wanted to make them for my family’s Easter breakfast, followed the directions exactly and it was a soupy mess. My husband tried again with a fresh batch and they turned out the same

    Reply

  30. paula

    Best pancakes I’ve ever made and I have tried many and never liked any of them. Tip to note is that olive oil burns so make sure to fry the hot cakes on vegetable or canola oil. Also they burn quickly so I baked them for 10 minutes at the end on 350 in a toaster oven to make sure they were cooked through. Thank you for this wonderful recipe. I will try adding some almond extract in the future.

    Reply

  31. carmelsuga

    GOODNESS This is the very best recipe I ever made for hotcakes thank you so much I really think the key in fluffyness is to let the batter rest,mine almost look like the picture.Again thanks so much!

    Reply

  32. Christina

    For those that want them fluffier I added 1/2 top baking soda and doubled the amount of baking powder. When you first pour it onto the pan it will be thick and have a lot of air bubbles, do not spread it out at all and make sure your temp is med-low.

    Reply

  34. Hailey

    These pancakes were not fluffy in the slightest… very thick and dense and the flavor was sub par. I made these for my family and they all hated them.

    Reply

  35. Tara

    How did you measure the flour? This can happen if too much flour is added to the batter or it is overmixed.

    Reply

    • Tara

      Yes, it is listed at the top of this post. I still haven’t been able to find the original pinner who attached it to my link.

      Reply

  37. mai4maiysoon

    I made these pancakes twice and it worked, the pancakes turn out thick and a little chewy, but I don’t mind still its light , I think I should beat the eggs more so it’ll be fluffy. The pancakes were a hit with my kids 🙂

    Reply

  39. Becca

    My batter came out really thick and I followed directions exactly but I did want to confirm that the flour was supposed to be 1 cup plus 2/3 cup and not (1) 2/3 cup.. I’m letting it all rest right now so I’ll let you know how they turn out. Thank you.

    Reply

  40. Becca

    OK. They did not turn out that great. I thought the flavor was nice but they were way too thick to the point that it was more like a biscuit mix. It took forever to get the middle cooked which resulted in the outside being kind of tough. My husband was not crazy about them. I think I might have messed up the amount of flour and milk. Im not going to count these out yet, they deserve another go.

    Reply

  42. Stephanie

    These pancakes were so chewy!! I was so so sad because I love a fluffy pancake. I followed the recipe exactly, I even have a backing scale. Didn’t work for me.

    Reply

  43. Tara

    Updated Recipe (March 25, 2016). Thank you all so much for your feedback. I truly appreciate it. Based on the mixed reviews, I have tweaked the recipe a bit while still keeping it authentic. I changed the flour to cake flour for a more consistent lightness, added a little melted butter, upped the baking powder, and altered the cooking method. If you loved the original recipe, it is still available at La Fuji Mama.

    Reply

  44. Melody Zimmerman

    Could I have the old recipe please? I loved it the way it was–they were perfect! I made these every Thursday for breakfast. I liked that they didn’t have any oil or butter added to them–I didn’t feel as guilty putting more butter on top! The pinch of salt is a necessary addition, however. 🙂

    Reply

  45. Emma

    I’m one of the people who came to your site looking for those big, fluffy Japanese pancakes. I was so disappointed – but we made YOUR Japanese pancakes yesterday for Mother’s Day. They were amazing! So often those thick kind of pancakes don’t cook through properly, but yours were perfect. Thank you.

    Reply

  46. Lucy

    Hi There,

    Made your recipe and it came out great. I have a couple of questions:
    1) Can I substitute honey for sugar? If so how much?
    2) Can I made the batter and store it in the fridge a couple of days ahead of time?

    Thanks

    Reply

  47. kips

    Thank you so much for this recipe! These are the fluffiest, tenderest pancakes I’ve ever had, let alone made!!! Note: I used buttermilk instead of milk.

    Reply

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