In Japan, there is a bit of a trend in the culinary community called Fuwa Fuwa, which means "fluffy fluffy." Essentially, they make really, really tall pancakes (think in inches) that are puffy, only lightly sweet, and frankly, very eggy. The official name of this pop culture dish is Soufflé Pancakes; just like a soufflé, they rely on the leavening powder of stiffly beaten egg white to provide the lift that makes them so tall and, well, fluffy.

I decided to take this one on as a bit of a lark. Overall, this recipe wasn't that difficult to swap for keto ingredients. Most soufflé pancake recipes are mostly beaten egg white, with a little bit of sugar, some extra leavening, and cake flour. Egg, friendly flours, approved sweeteners, and leavening? Quadruple check.

The one real concern I had when making over soufflé pancakes was one all chefs—keto or otherwise—have when the word soufflé is operative: will it fall? Soufflés are notoriously finicky, and even the best of us have gone through a ton of effort making one to see it ruined by things that would otherwise be extremely minuscule variables.

Now, y'all know I'm on #teamlazy. So, while I think proper soufflé pancakes are gorgeous, ain't no way I'm spending a ton of time beating the heck out of some egg white and fiddling with English muffin molds on a griddle with such a huge potential for fail. And if I can avoid beating egg white at all, I'm all for that, too. All of which is why I settled on adapting a cream cheese pancake recipe (cause we all know those are eggy) with a little extra leavening help, and baking it up in a deep dish pie plate.

The result was stunningly pretty and a delightful addition to my family's morning. The batter puffed beautifully in the oven and was very lightly flavored, just like the real thing. The best part? Unlike the wheat flour and egg white-based soufflé pancakes—which should be eaten right off the griddle or else they are in danger of falling into a squidgy mess—this baked version holds up well for several days in the fridge.