For Truly Fluffy Pancakes, Replace The Milk With This Shelf-Stable Alternative

Whether you're making them from scratch or using your favorite store-bought pancake mix, "fluffy" is the adjective you want pancakes to live up to. A basic pancake batter consists of flour, milk, eggs, and sweetener. But you can replace the fresh splash of dairy with a can of evaporated milk for a shelf-stable alternative that will enhance your pancakes' flavor and texture.

Essentially milk that has been reduced to eliminate most of its water content, evaporated milk is a thick, creamy, slightly sweet dairy alternative that has a 2-year long shelf life. But its uses go far beyond replacing a glass of milk. The ingredient is your secret weapon to richer, fluffier pancakes. Due to its lower moisture content, evaporated milk will create an especially thick pancake batter that helps trap air bubbles, resulting in a lighter, fluffier, and taller pancake. Furthermore, the concentrated fat content in evaporated milk ensures a more even fat distribution in the pancake batter, leading to a more velvety, creamier batter consistency and tender crumb without sacrificing structural integrity. Lastly, the sweet and milky taste of evaporated milk will bring depth of flavor and add a nicely browned, caramelized exterior.

You can replace regular milk or buttermilk in a pancake recipe with about the same amount amount of evaporated milk. Some pancake recipes vary in how much evaporated milk to add based on the amount of other wet ingredients required. For example, if you're only adding one egg, you might need to add more evaporated milk or (use less and thin it out with water) than if you're adding two eggs.

You can try replacing milk with evaporated milk on any one of our 15 tastiest pancake recipes and marvel at the fluffy, caramelized results. To bring out the rich flavor of evaporated milk in your next batch of pancakes, you can even try topping them with bourbon-infused syrup. 

While it might be a common practice to stack pancakes, you might be sabotaging their texture. If you stack pancakes while they're hot off the griddle, they might collect steam and become too moist, transforming their fluffy texture into a dense and disappointing crumb. So, if you're making pancakes for a crowd, keep them warm in a low-heat oven on a cooling rack (and in a single layer) to keep them light and airy.

If you're a fan of IHOP's pancakes, you can cook them like IHOP does with a few temperature tricks. For example, IHOP employees say they ensure the wet ingredients are cold before blending them with the dry ingredients so as not to prematurely activate the gluten in flour. You also want your griddle or flat top to be nice and hot before scooping or pouring on the pancake batter. When made with canned evaporated milk, the fat content in pancake batter needs no extra help, so you don't have to butter or oil the griddle before cooking. In fact, you'll get better caramelization and browning if you don't.