Soft Sweet Cream Pancakes Recipe
Imagine the softest, fluffiest pancakes with an almost melt-in-the-mouth texture. That’s what these sweet cream pancakes are. They’re tender and flavorful, thanks to adding heavy cream to the batter.
Why you’ll love these pancakes
These sweet cream pancakes are really tender and light, with a soft fluffy texture. They’re extremely more-ish, and before you know it you can eat a whole stack! The batter is simple, too, with no separating egg whites or any tricky stuff needed. I make it all in one bowl!
What makes them different from regular pancakes is the addition of cream to the batter. The cream adds extra fat, moisture, and flavor to the batter, making the pancakes tender.
The key ingredients
The cream + substitutions
This sweet-cream pancake batter calls for heavy cream (also called pouring or heavy whipping cream), which has about 36% fat. Because the recipe also adds milk, you’re effectively making your own “half-and-half,” the US blend of equal parts cream and milk. If heavy cream is hard to find, try one of these swaps.
- Half and half (up to 18 % fat). Replace both the cream and the milk in the recipe with the same volume of half and half. Since it is already a cream-and-milk mix, the batter texture stays the same.
- Whipping cream (around 30 % fat). Use it in place of the heavy cream. The batter will be a little lighter but still rich.
- Single cream (around 20 % fat). Substituting single cream will make pancakes that are slightly less tender than the heavy-cream version, yet still so much more flavorful and softer than an all-milk batter.
Avoid swapping the milk for more heavy cream, or the pancakes will become so soft that flipping becomes tricky.
Method
- Whisk together the dry ingredients in a bowl until well combined.
- Add the eggs, vanilla, cream, milk, vinegar, or lemon juice.
- Mix everything together until well combined, but don’t over-mix the batter. Don’t worry if there are small lumps.
- Use around 1/3 cup batter per pancakes. After about 2-3 minutes, flip the pancake over and cook the other side for an additional minute or two.
- If the pan gets too hot, turn down the heat once you’ve scooped in the batter.
Note: Cooking time always varies with your stove, the pan, and the pancake size, so watch each one closely and adjust heat or timing if needed. Aim for a deep golden brown surface before you flip.
Because the pancakes are soft and tender, turn them gently so they do not squash. Slide the finished pancake onto a plate, then repeat with the remaining batter, stacking the pancakes as they finish.
Serving
Pancakes taste best when they are freshly made. Stack them up and serve with your favorite pancake toppings. Leftover pancakes can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days or frozen for long-term storage.
What to serve them with
- Classic: Pour warm maple syrup over the stack and add a pat of salted butter for contrast.
- Berries: Spoon on quick-cooked strawberry compote or a handful of fresh strawberries.
- Caramel: Drizzle with homemade caramel sauce and scatter toasted pecans or crushed honeycomb.
- Shortcake style: Layer the pancakes with macerated strawberries and softly whipped cream.
The Best Sweet Cream Pancake Recipe
Ingredients
- 250 g all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 50 g granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla paste or extract
- 240 g heavy cream or pouring cream
- 125 g milk
- 1/2 tsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Use a balloon whisk to mix the dry ingredients and ensure no lumps of baking powder or baking soda remain.
- Add the eggs, vanilla, cream, milk, vinegar, or lemon juice. Stir it all together until well combined. It should be a thick but still pourable batter.
- Preheat a griddle pan, cast-iron, or non-stick pan over medium-high heat, then grease the pan with butter.
- Ensure the pan is hot and the butter is sizzling, then pour in around ⅓ cup batter for each pancake. Don't spread the batter out; this keeps them fluffy and thick. If the pan gets too hot, turn the heat to medium heat once you've scooped in the batter.
- Little bubbles will start appearing on the surface of the pancake. After about 2 minutes, flip the pancake over and cook the other side for another minute or 2. The timings will change depending on your stove, the pan you use, and the size of the pancake, so keep an eye on it and adjust the cooking time and temperature as needed. The pancakes should be deep golden brown once cooked.
- Transfer the pancake to a plate and continue with the rest of the batter until it is all used up, stacking the pancakes in a pile as you go. As the batter sits it will thicken up and become quite airy. This is because the acid is reacting with the baking soda. If it gets too thick, you can add a splash more milk.
In reading through the recipe it calls for 50 grams of sugar which you state is 1/4 cup. However, Google says 50 grams = 1/2 cup. How much sugar should I use?
50g is 1/4 cup (1 standard US cup is 200g granulated sugar)
What is the lemon juice and vinegar for?
It reacts with the baking soda and makes an extra fluffy pancake 🙂
Have you tried freezing the batter? I have silicone cup cake liners that I want to use to freeze the batter, so I can have 2-3 pancakes at a time.
Hey I hadn’t tried this before. If you do, would love to know how they go 🙂
Just make the pancakes and then freeze the cooked pancakes. When you’re ready-to-eat them, just put them in the toaster.
So incredibly easy to make and the end result is a light and fluffy pancake. I have made it as instructed and with buttermilk and have not been disappointed.
So happy you enjoyed them Mari! thank you!
I followed the instructions to the T and my batter came out extremely thick. Is that normal, because of the whipping cream? There’s no mention of what the consistency should be.
It should be airy but pourable. Did you use grams or cups to measure the flour? If you used cups it may have been over measured
My first time to make pancakes and it turned out great! i Followed the ingredients but i used half and half instead of cream because thats all i have and no milk 😅. We are so happy on the outcome. Yum yum! Thank you!
Thanks so much for this recipe. My 9 y/o son wanted pancakes and we ran out of store-bought pancake mix. We didn’t have regular milk, but had half-and-half and just put 1 1/2 cups of that. The batter was extremely thick, but very soft and tasty. I added a little bit of water to the batter to loosen it up a bit and now, it is perfect. Thanks so much!
These pancakes truly were delicious. Light, fluffy, and tasted amazing. Thank you!
The first time I made these I think I over mixed the batter. They were still 5 stars. I made them again today doubling the batter (meal prep for the week) so I couldn’t really over mix it. They were way fluffier than the first time. Reminded us all of the Japanese pancakes you see in videos. 5+++ stars.
I’ve been looking for the best sweet cream pancakes and after trying several out, this has been my go to now. So delicious they don’t even need syrup! My kids always ask to help make these pancakes, & there’s never any leftover! Thank you!