In Maura Laverty’s seminal 1960 cookery book Full and Plenty, she describes men coming home quickly from the fields on Pancake Tuesday, knowing “there will be pancakes for supper – real pancakes, none of your paper-thin rolled foolishness”.

What would the Tolka Row author make of the internet’s obsession with fat stacks of fluffy Japanese soufflé pancakes?

They are certainly a long way from paper-thin rolled foolishness, but pancakes are a broad church, and many dishes bear the name.

In this delightfully varied pancake world I decided to take on the Japanese soufflé pancake, a popular recipe on social media, via Canadian-American cookbook author Kat Lieu. I was, admittedly, quite sceptical.

My concern was twofold. Firstly, I am naturally distrustful of any “viral” food trends that are designed to look a certain way for clicks rather than taste delicious.

Secondly, I believe any kind of extra faff in the kitchen – unnecessary steps, getting more dishes dirty, non-shortcut-friendly recipes – to be pointless.

Given that Lieu’s recipe involved separating the egg white and yolk to whisk separately, and tiny but specific measurements – I was predisposed to saying this popular dish is overrated.

Boy was I wrong. I had to eat my own delicious words.

Clouds of pancakes – airy, fluffy, light in texture, yet decadent in taste, were the perfect vehicle for toppings.

How hard could it be to make Japanese soufflé pancakes? Very hard, as it turns out. Niamh Browne puts her baking skills to the test. Video: Niamh Browne

Not only that, but the first bite instantly reminded me of my grandmother’s egg cloud omelette, although her recipe is less complex. The good news, though, is that I substituted all the ridiculously small measurements for pinches, splashes and dashes, and it seemed to work out fine.

Another tip for tiny measurements is to use the spoon that comes with cough syrups to help measure out liquid to the half millilitre.

Other shortcuts included skipping piping the batter into the pan; I used a ladle to pile on the batter. This trick also meant less air got into my mix than if I had put it through a piping bag, and air is what will make your fluffy pancakes collapse.

While you might not get picture-perfect pancakes, as long as your egg whites are stiff, the end result should have the coveted soufflé-like texture.

The recipe I followed was Lieu’s soufflé pancakes which can be found in her cookbook Modern Asian Baking at Home.

Kat Lieu’s soufflé pancakes recipe (makes three) 15g plain flour 1g baking powder 2g cornflour Pinch salt 30ml milk Two large eggs, separated 5ml vanilla extract 2.5ml white vinegar 20g granulated sugar Butter for frying Method Whisk together the flour, baking powder, cornflour, salt, milk, egg yolks and vanilla extract until smooth and set aside. In a separate and spotlessly clean bowl, whip the egg whites with the white vinegar until frothy, then add the sugar and whisk until it forms stiff peaks. Slowly fold the meringue into the batter mix with a rubber spatula, one-third at a time, and transfer to a piping bag. Heat a frying pan on a low to medium heat and grease with a little oil or butter. Pipe the pancakes into 3-inch circles, add a tablespoon of water to the pan (to create steam), cover and cook for about five minutes, until the bottoms are slightly browned. Flip, add another tablespoon of water and cook for another five minutes or so before serving. Serve with a knob of butter and maple syrup.

If you prefer to go the traditional route you won’t go wrong with this tried-and-true Catherine Cleary recipe: how to make flipping perfect pancakes.

Mark Moriarty does a mean take on the French classic with his crêpes suzette recipe.

Moving pancake adjacent, Moriarty provides an excellent boxty recipe, which is a nice savoury alternative.

Sticking with spud-centric patties, check out Caryna Camerino’s potato latkes.

Finally, a sweet but fragrant offering from Cork’s Green Saffron: founder Arun Kapil’s Indian malpua pancakes.