Secret to making fluffy pancakes in an air fryer

Make the perfect pancakes with this quick and easy guide.

Taste has become Australia’s number one destination for air fryer recipes over the past 12 months.

Our foodies have air fried everything from pavlova to cob loaf – but one thing they’re yet to perfect is an air fryer pancake recipe.

But all that’s about to change.

Pancakes are one of the most consistently searched for and most cooked recipes on taste, so we simply HAD to nail the ultimate air fryer pancake.

We challenged food director Michelle Southan to give it a try.

Here’s what happened …

Can you make pancakes in an air fryer?

“When I was first asked if I could make pancakes in the air fryer, many questions came to mind. But I do love a challenge.

“I looked at various issues you face when using an air fryer, like holes in the basket, what temp you need and how long it might take.

“I also looked at trends out there and tried to figure out what problems people were experiencing while attempting their own versions so I could potentially solve them for everyone. And of course, I wanted them to taste amazing and be beautifully fluffy.”

Air fryer pancakes: the testing possess

Test 1

“My first test was to take a tried-and-tested pancake recipe that I know works well (I make it every weekend). I wanted to see what would happen when I cooked it a new way – enter the air fryer.

“I decided to try the TikTok trend of just pouring batter onto baking paper. I did need to make the batter a little thicker with ¼ cup less milk. Epic FAIL! The air fryer blew the paper around and up.

“My pancake became a ball and almost caught on fire as it hit the element. Weirdly, it was super-fluffy in the centre and cooked through, but the baking powder left a funny unpleasant taste.”

Test 2

“I wondered if the batter was better contained in egg rings to give it that pancake ‘look’ and hold down the paper. (Also, I love to find other uses for common kitchen gadgets!) Due to the dough cooking so fast on the outside, the pancake in the centre had nowhere to go but up or out! Also, the temp at 200C was too high.”

Test 3

“I started to wonder if it was my batter that was going wrong. After some time researching, I discovered many people use an already-bought batter mix from the supermarket.

“If I tried that batter and if it worked, then how would I make a batter similar at home? I gave it a go and noticed the batter was much thinner and would need to be contained.

“So I started with pie dishes but could only fit two in the air fryer at once … which made for a lot of batches.”

The winning formula?

“I tried thinning down my homemade batter. I cooked it at a lower temp so it didn’t go too hard and crusty on the outside and in a cake pan so the batter didn’t run too far or the paper didn’t blow around. Lo and behold – jumbo sized pancakes in 8 minutes.”

Michelle’s sciency bit

“Luckily, I am married to an agricultural scientist who specialises in food chemistry. Shout out to Michael Southan!

“With his help, we were able to develop a pancake batter for the air fryer. He said heat transfer is most effective when it is applied directly from a frying pan when making pancakes.

“The hot air in the air fryer seals the surfaces of the pancake, which then makes the pancake cook from the outside – unlike the frying pan, which seals the base but not the top until it is flipped. This means the air fryer pancakes cannot expand and results in a rubbery pancake once cooked.”

Problem solved

“One way we were able to get around this was to rest the batter so it aerated and lightened. This resulted in a more fluffy pancake with the traditional pancake texture and flavour.”

If you want to try making your own air fryer pancakes, give Michelle’s PERFECTED RECIPE a go.

For more recipe ideas, go to taste.com.au or check out the Taste Test Kitchen now.