These Japanese soufflé pancakes are what dreams are made of
They're light, they're fluffy and they have that mesmerizing jiggle.
Japanese soufflé pancakes are a playful twist on an American breakfast classic and they're one of the signature dishes of New York City's Taiyaki, alongside its famous ice cream served in a fish waffle cone.
Tom Yang, Taiyaki's founder, dishes up some (but not all) of the secrets in achieving the cloud-like texture and signature wiggle of the pancakes.
It all starts with making a whipped meringue and lightly folding it into the pancake mixture. The batter is then added to paper molds, which help the batter keep its shape.
They're heated evenly on an electric griddle and cooked for a few minutes on each side.
What results is a satisfying, plump pancake that's topped either with the classic maple syrup-and-butter combo or a creamy matcha sauce.
Yang says he found inspiration for the pancakes from his family's roots in Japan and the playfulness of adding a new element to a classic dish.
"Japanese people love taking classic things and adding a new spin to it," he said.
"The inspiration of starting Taiyaki was to make something that brought us home to Japan. Being a first-generation Asian American, I wanted to connect back to my Asian roots. I've been trying to bring these different cultural experiences back so that people can really enjoy them in America," Yang told "GMA."
When something's almost as fun to look at as it is to eat, there's always going to be the desire to photograph or capture it. Yang says the first thing customers do is smile when they see the pancakes, and the second thing they do is pull out their phones.
"There's a theatrical aspect, people love jiggling the pancakes -- it's just really fun," he said.
