I don't know about you, but I have been in a slump over the past week. With everything going on in the world, even on a beautiful sunny day, I don't feel like there's much to be celebrating.

Still, try explaining that to your three small kids. They don't have the same dreary outlook - they are living in the moment.

My kids get joy from the simplest things. Today, nothing is more exciting than getting to eat pancakes for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

When I was little, my mom always hid things in our pancakes on Shrove Tuesday. It's an old Acadian French tradition to wrap coins in wax paper and add them into the pancake batter.

Aside from the coins, one button is wrapped. Whoever gets the button in their pancake gets good luck.

I will do that later for my kids, but for lunch I wanted something a little more comforting.

Enter fluffy Japanese-style souffle pancakes.

These pancakes take a while to cook, but are so worth the effort. / Janine Kennedy

These pancakes are made in metal rings and they take a bit more time and effort than traditional pancakes, so let's get this out of the way now - these are NOT the pancakes to make while your kids are eagerly awaiting their dinner.

To make them souffle-style, you separate the eggs and whip the egg whites with some cream of tartar before folding them into the batter.

They take longer to cook as you cook them on a very low temperature, covered, for around 10 minutes per side.

The result is a sweet and fluffy pancake which is maybe more suited to dessert than lunch - but it is Pancake Day, so this is our lunch of choice.

Fluffy Japanese-style Pancakes

The result is a soft, fluffy pancake - perfect with berries and maple syrup. / Janine Kennedy

Makes 8 pancakes

Ingredients

230g plain flour

3 tbsp caster sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

300ml milk

1 tsp vanilla

4 tbsp melted butter

1 egg yolk

3 egg whites

1 tsp cream of tartar

Directions:

1 In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Set aside.

2 In another bowl, whisk the milk, egg yolk and vanilla.

3 Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until just combined.

4 Add the melted butter and gently fold into the batter.

5 In a separate bowl, whisk (use a hand mixer or stand mixer here) the egg whites with the cream of tartar. You want to beat the egg whites until stiff peaks appear.

6 Fold the egg whites into the batter.

7 Heat a non-stick pan on low heat. Spray lightly with cooking spray. Also spray three metal rings (optional) and place those in the pan.

8 Fill each ring 3/4 of the way with batter, cover with a lid and let cook on low for 8-10 minutes per side.

9 Gently remove from the rings and top with powdered sugar, maple syrup, fresh berries or whipped cream.

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