I tried 3 celebrity chefs' recipes for blueberry pancakes, and the best used whipped egg whites

Advertisement
I tried 3 celebrity chefs' recipes for blueberry pancakes, and the best used whipped egg whites
I tried three celebrity chefs' blueberry-pancake recipes.Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images; Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images; Noam Galai/Getty Images; Paige Bennett for Insider
  • I tried three blueberry-pancake recipes from chefs Trisha Yearwood, Ree Drummond, and Bobby Deen.
  • Yearwood's secret ingredient was sour cream and Drummond used cake flour.
Advertisement

Nothing says it's the weekend quite like a hot stack of blueberry pancakes.

Blueberry pancakes, or really any kind of pancakes, are generally easy to make, but the trick is finding how to achieve the softest, fluffiest pancakes that can still hold up to generous helpings of warm maple syrup.

Celebrity chefs Trisha Yearwood, Ree Drummond, and Bobby Deen each have a signature blueberry-pancake recipe, and I tested them all to find my favorite.

Here's how they all stacked up:

Yearwood adds sour cream to achieve a fluffy texture

I tried 3 celebrity chefs' recipes for blueberry pancakes, and the best used whipped egg whites
Trisha Yearwood's pancake recipe used the most blueberries.Paige Bennett for Insider

Yearwood's blueberry pancakes call for several ingredients, most of which are kitchen staples.

Advertisement

She also allows for a lot of either fresh or frozen blueberries.

I tried 3 celebrity chefs' recipes for blueberry pancakes, and the best used whipped egg whites
Sour cream was a surprising ingredient in this recipe.Paige Bennett for Insider

The most interesting ingredient was sour cream, which I figured would help make for a pillowy pancake with a bit of tanginess to complement the sweet blueberries.

My pancakes were a bit too large, but they still cooked nicely

The ingredients were easy to work with.

I sifted the dry ingredients together in one bowl and mixed the wet ingredients in a separate one, then poured the wet ingredients into the dry mixture and whisked for a few minutes until it was a smooth batter with no lumps.

I tried 3 celebrity chefs' recipes for blueberry pancakes, and the best used whipped egg whites
Despite pouring too much batter, the pancakes turned a nice golden brown.Paige Bennett for Insider

I added some melted butter to the heating skillet as the recipe says, but the butter popped and I had to stand back to avoid being burned.

Advertisement

I ladled the batter onto the skillet, but I poured too much and these pancakes were pretty massive. They took about two minutes per side to get lightly golden brown.

The pancakes were good and somewhat fluffy, but the blueberries didn't soften enough

I tried 3 celebrity chefs' recipes for blueberry pancakes, and the best used whipped egg whites
After flipping the pancake, I saw the blueberries didn't soften enough.Paige Bennett for Insider

I tasted the pancake plain first to get a good idea of the flavor and texture without the interference of syrup. I could taste the tang from the sour cream as well as the flavor of the lemon.

There was a good amount of fluffiness to this pancake.

I tried 3 celebrity chefs' recipes for blueberry pancakes, and the best used whipped egg whites
The pancake was tangy and lemony, but the blueberries weren't soft enough for my taste.Paige Bennett for Insider

The blueberries didn't soften quite enough for my taste, but I did appreciate that they were well-dispersed through each pancake.

After adding syrup, this pancake was really delicious, even if the blueberries were still a bit too chewy.

Advertisement

Drummond's secret ingredient is subbing in cake flour for all-purpose

I tried 3 celebrity chefs' recipes for blueberry pancakes, and the best used whipped egg whites
Ree Drummond's pancake-recipe ingredients include cake flour.Paige Bennett for Insider

There are many ways to achieve the coveted fluffiness in pancakes, and The Pioneer Woman does so by using cake flour in place of all-purpose flour in her recipe.

Cake flour is a fine, low-protein flour. The low-protein content means that less gluten forms while mixing the batter, achieving a lighter, fluffier texture.

I tried 3 celebrity chefs' recipes for blueberry pancakes, and the best used whipped egg whites
The fine texture of cake flour makes the pancakes lighter.Paige Bennett for Insider

The recipe also calls for lemon zest and juice plus evaporated milk, so I was expecting flavorful, moist, and soft pancakes.

The batter seemed too thin

Advertisement
I tried 3 celebrity chefs' recipes for blueberry pancakes, and the best used whipped egg whites
Unfortunately, the pancake batter was too thin.Paige Bennett for Insider

I started by mixing the evaporated milk with lemon juice and zest, then let that mixture sit for five minutes. In the meantime, I mixed my dry ingredients and added the remaining wet ingredients to the evaporated milk.

I then incorporated the wet ingredients into the dry to make the batter. When I poured in the blueberries, they immediately sank to the bottom. The thin consistency was concerning, and I hoped the pancakes wouldn't turn out to be a disaster.

The pancakes quickly turned golden, and the blueberries burst, leaving juice stains

I tried 3 celebrity chefs' recipes for blueberry pancakes, and the best used whipped egg whites
The blueberries began leaking while they cooked.Paige Bennett

Despite the thin batter, the pancakes turned out great.

They achieved a nice golden color on the griddle in no time. While they cooked, the blueberries began bursting, and their juices flowed across each pancake.

Advertisement

I tasted the pancake plain first, and I was bummed that the lemon flavor didn't come through at all. But the pancakes were fluffy and the blueberries softened a lot.

Adding syrup made the pancakes even better. I just wished the lemon flavor was more noticeable.

Dean makes blueberry pancakes fluffy by folding in whipped egg whites

I tried 3 celebrity chefs' recipes for blueberry pancakes, and the best used whipped egg whites
Bobby Dean's pancake-recipe ingredients.Paige Bennett

For Deen's so-called "Super Fluffy Mancakes," you mix wet ingredients and dry ingredients in separate bowls, then add the wet to the dry mixture.

The most interesting part of the recipe is the step that involves whisking egg whites to stiff peaks.

Advertisement
I tried 3 celebrity chefs' recipes for blueberry pancakes, and the best used whipped egg whites
Whipping egg whites is key to Bobby Deen's pancake recipe.Paige Bennett for Insider

Whipping the whites took some muscle, but the results were well worth it.

Aside from whisking the egg whites, this recipe was simple and quick

I tried 3 celebrity chefs' recipes for blueberry pancakes, and the best used whipped egg whites
I whisked eggs for a fluffy batter.Paige Bennett

It admittedly took me a while to whisk my egg whites until the peaks were firm, but the other steps took just a couple of minutes.

This recipe called for non-stick spray rather than butter on the griddle, so I wondered if my pancakes would still achieve a nice golden color.

The texture was incredibly soft and fluffy

Advertisement
I tried 3 celebrity chefs' recipes for blueberry pancakes, and the best used whipped egg whites
The finished pancake was soft and golden.Paige Bennett

I sought out to find the fluffiest pancakes, and this recipe delivered: The whipped egg whites definitely helped.

The pancake tasted fine plain, but, of course, it was much better with syrup. My only complaint with this recipe is that it could use more blueberries. And I could do without calling them "mancakes."

Overall, Deen's trick of folding in whipped egg whites was the best hack for fluffy pancakes

I tried 3 celebrity chefs' recipes for blueberry pancakes, and the best used whipped egg whites
Bobby Deen's pancake recipe was my favorite of the bunch.Paige Bennett for Insider

All of these pancakes were delicious, and I'd happily make any of them again.

But I found that Deen's addition of egg whites whipped to stiff peaks was the best way to make super-fluffy pancakes. Next time, I'd just load up on the blueberries for the perfect stack.

Advertisement

Click to check out the other celebrity-chef recipes we've put head-to-head so far.

Want more recipes from these celebrity chefs? Try out some of their most popular dishes from their cookbooks:

I tried 3 celebrity chefs' recipes for blueberry pancakes, and the best used whipped egg whites"Trisha's Kitchen: Easy Comfort Food for Friends and Family" by Trisha Yearwood$17.88 FROM AMAZONOriginally $30.00 | Save 40%$27.60 FROM BOOKSHOPOriginally $30.00 | Save 8%
Advertisement

Advertisement


I tried 3 celebrity chefs' recipes for blueberry pancakes, and the best used whipped egg whites"The Pioneer Woman Cooks: The New Frontier" by Ree Drummond$18.98 FROM AMAZONOriginally $29.99 | Save 37%$18.98 FROM WALMARTOriginally $29.99 | Save 37%


I tried 3 celebrity chefs' recipes for blueberry pancakes, and the best used whipped egg whites"Bobby Deen's Everyday Eats" by Bobby Deen$22.00 FROM AMAZON$20.39 FROM WALMART


{{}}