Got a little fancier and made meringue for the batter instead of adding whole egg, because I like what they do to chiffon cakes.  For the same reason, I used cake flour instead of plain flour; I really want them light and fluffy on Sundays.

Always cook pancakes over very low heat with a light brush of butter on the pan, never a puddle of fats.  This creates the smoothest pancake surface, almost cake-like.

I learned this trick from the cooking instructions stated on the box of a Japanese pancake mix.  I was intrigued by the additional step of cooling the pan down by sitting the sizzling hot pan on a soaked towel after cooking each pancake.  This is to bring down the pan temperature, making it just warm enough to cook the next pancake.  The reason for this is that the pan should never be too hot when pouring in the batter, otherwise “brown rings” will form on the pancake as the batter gets cooked immediately when it hits a hot pan.  Before knowing this, my pancakes used to have an innermost darkest brown ring, followed by 1 or 2 more in different shades of brown as the batter spreads out.  The cooking time might take a little longer with the lower heat, but the end result is worth it.  It is also important to cover the cooked ones with a clean tea towel or aluminum foil while working with the rest of the batter.  The trapped steam will keep the pancakes warm and moist, not dried out by the time the last pancake is done.

Lastly, I topped the stack of pancakes with bento picks from daiso.  It is after all a Sunday, and the pancakes still need some dressing up even if I have run out of cream and berries.

I doubled the recipe below to make the pancake stack above, just nice for 4 pancake lovers.

SUNDAY KIND OF PANCAKES
ADAPTED FROM JOY OF BAKING
INGREDIENTS

1 cup (130g) cake flour
1½ teaspoon baking powder 
¼ teaspoon salt 
2 tablespoons (28g) raw sugar 
1 egg, yolk and white separated 
1 cup (240ml) fresh milk 
28g butter, melted 
more butter, for greasing pan

METHOD

01. Add cake flour, baking powder, salt and raw sugar in a mixing bowl, combine well with a small hand whisk.

02. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in fresh milk, whisk briefly, a lumpy batter will form.

03. Add egg yolk and whisk for a few times to mix well.

04. Finally, drizzle in melted butter, whisk again, till the mixture becomes smooth and no longer lumpy.

05.  Let the pancake batter sit aside while we whisk the egg white till stiff peaks form.

06. Gently fold the egg white into the pancake batter.

07. Heat up a pan on low fire, not too hot.

08. Brush a small amount of butter on the pan to prevent pancake from sticking and pour some batter onto the pan to cook.

09. Do not flip until bubbles start to appear on the top side of the pancake, lift a corner of the pancake slightly to check to see if the bottom has turned golden brown.  I cook my pancakes over really low heat, so that by the time the bottom gets nicely brown, the top side is also almost cooked.  Flip the pancake over and cook the other side briefly, for a few seconds.  Transfer to plate.

11. Repeat with the remaining batter. Remember to brush the pan with melted butter in between the cooking of each pancake.

12. Serve immediately with syrup.