The Special Ingredient in King Arthur Flour’s Pancakes Makes Them Practically Perfect

Diner pancakes are among some of the most highly-regarded pancakes. They are thick but oh-so tender, piled high onto warm plates and drenched with syrup. I knew, as I set off to find the best weekend pancake recipe on the internet, that one of the contenders needed to be a diner-style pancake.

I found that pancake on King Arthur Flour’s website, one of our go-to resources for baking tips and recipes. Their recipe for “simply perfect” pancakes, which includes tweaks for diner-style pancakes, is one of the most popular pancake recipes on the web, receiving an average of 4.5 stars from more than 250 reviewers.

After ordering the special ingredient this recipe calls for, I cooked up these pancakes alongside other diner-style recipes to see how they stacked up. Here’s why I’ll definitely be making these pancakes again, but also why they didn’t take home the gold.

Get the recipe: King Arthur Flour’s Simply Perfect Pancake Recipe

After reading through the recipe, I was intrigued by King Arthur Flour’s use of malted milk powder as a sweetener in their pancakes. Though they give the option to use granulated sugar instead, they claim the malt powder is the secret to giving these pancakes their signature “diner” flavor, so I knew I had to try it.

Of the eight pancake recipes I tried, this was the only recipe that has you beat the eggs and milk together until foamy before building the rest of batter. To this mixture, you’ll add the oil, flour, baking powder and sweetener, then whisk to combine. The recipe calls for resting the batter for at least 15 minutes while you prep a griddle for cooking.

In their blog post about how to make diner-style pancakes, the King Arthur Flour bakers suggest making a thinner batter and to skip the butter or oil in the pan. Because diner-style was my goal, I used the full 1 1/4 cups milk called for in the recipe as well as a nonstick pan for cooking.

Out of all the pancakes I tested, these were definitely one of my favorites. Thanks to the first step of whipping the eggs and milk, they had a lofty, tender texture — and it was less fussy than separating eggs and whipping just the whites. And the flavor! The malt powder added sweetness and deeply caramelized notes, making these unlike any other pancake I tried. They came together effortlessly, making them just as suited for weekdays as they are for weekends.

The only downsides? These pancakes weren’t quite as evenly browned or as tall as my favorite recipe in the bunch, and I disliked that I had to order an ingredient (the malted milk powder). However, now that I have it on hand, I know I’ll be making these pancakes again in the future.

1. Really whip the eggs and milk. The texture of these pancakes greatly depends on how much air you can incorporate into the eggs. Use a hand mixer to thoroughly whip the eggs with the milk on high speed for at least 3 minutes.
2. No malt powder? Use brown sugar. If ordering the malt powder for these pancakes would keep you from making them, you can use light or dark brown sugar in place of the sugar called for in the recipe.
3. Rest the batter and skip the butter. Resting the batter makes for loftier, more tender pancakes, so don’t skip that step! King Arthur suggests skipping the butter or oil in your pan for a more even browning, so use a non-stick griddle or a naturally non-stick cast iron pan to get more evenly-browned pancakes.

Rating: 9/10

Have you tried King Arthur Flour’s Simply Perfect Pancake Recipe? Tell us what you thought in the comments.