You've seen the lines. If you have ever walked down Clinton Street on Manhattan’s Lower East Side on a Saturday morning, you know exactly what I’m talking about. People wait two hours—sometimes more—for a stack of these. It's wild. But honestly, once you bite into those blueberry pancakes with that pool of warm maple butter, the resentment toward the wait just kinda evaporates.
Chef Neil Kleinberg and his wife Dede Lahman opened Clinton Street Baking Company back in 2001. Their goal wasn't actually world-famous pancakes. They just wanted to make really good muffins. But then New York Magazine called their pancakes the best in the city, and well, the rest is history.
The good news? You don't have to stand on a sidewalk in the freezing cold. You can make the real-deal clinton street baking company pancake recipe at home. But there's a catch. If you just mix some flour and milk and hope for the best, you’re going to be disappointed. These aren't your standard "shake the bottle" flapjacks.
The Secret Technique Nobody Tells You
Most people think the "secret" to fluffy pancakes is buttermilk. Wrong. Not here. Kleinberg actually uses whole milk. The real magic—the thing that makes these taste like a cloud—is a French technique borrowed from the world of soufflés.
You have to separate your eggs. It’s a pain, I know. You get an extra bowl dirty, and you’ve got to be careful not to get any yellow yolk in the whites, or they won’t whip. But if you skip this, you aren't making Clinton Street pancakes. You're just making regular pancakes.
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You whip those egg whites until they hit medium peaks. Not stiff like a meringue for a pie, but enough so that when you lift the whisk, the tip curls over just a little bit. Then—and this is the part that feels wrong—you fold them into the batter.
The Recipe: Straight From the Cookbook
This recipe makes a big batch, about 18 to 20 pancakes. If you're just cooking for two, you might want to scale it down, but honestly, they’re so good you might just eat the whole stack yourself.
The Dry Goods
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar (it's a lot, but it helps with the browning)
- 1 teaspoon salt
The Wet Goods
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- 6 large eggs, separated
- 3 cups whole milk
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (and a little extra for the griddle)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
The Fillings & Toppings
- Fresh wild Maine blueberries (if you can find them) or sliced bananas
- Chopped walnuts
- Maple butter (we'll get to that in a second, because it's non-negotiable)
Putting It All Together
First, sift your dry ingredients. Sifting actually matters here because it prevents big flour clumps that won't break down later. In a different bowl, whisk the yolks, milk, melted butter, and vanilla.
Now, pour the wet into the dry. Give it a few stirs. It’s going to look lumpy. Stop. Do not keep whisking. If you overmix, you develop gluten, and your pancakes will turn into chewy rubber discs.
Whip your whites to those medium peaks I mentioned. Fold half of them into the batter very gently with a spatula. Then fold in the rest. Kleinberg says the batter should look like "whitecaps on the ocean." You should see little streaks and clouds of egg white. That’s where the air is. That air is your fluff.
The Griddle Truth
Here is where most home cooks mess up. They put the blueberries directly into the batter bowl. Never do that. If you put the fruit in the bowl, the juice bleeds, the batter turns gray or purple, and the fruit sinks to the bottom. Instead, you drop your batter on the hot griddle (aim for 350°F to 375°F) and then you sprinkle the blueberries or banana slices right onto the raw top of the pancake.
Use clarified butter on the griddle if you want that "crispy ring" around the edge that the restaurant is famous for. It has a higher smoke point, so it won't burn and turn bitter while you're cooking the whole batch.
You Can't Forget the Maple Butter
If you serve these with cold syrup from a plastic bottle, you’ve wasted your morning. The Clinton Street experience requires maple butter.
It’s an emulsion. You take 1 cup of real-deal Grade B maple syrup and bring it to a simmer (don't let it boil over!). Then, you whisk in 1 cup of cold, cubed unsalted butter, a few pieces at a time. It’ll turn from dark amber to a light, creamy tan color. It is liquid gold.
Actionable Tips for the Perfect Stack
If you want to nail the clinton street baking company pancake recipe on your first try, keep these nuances in mind:
- Temperature check: If your griddle isn't hot enough, the pancakes will soak up the butter and get greasy instead of searing. If it's too hot, the outside burns before the middle sets. Test with a tiny spoonful of batter first.
- The "One Flip" Rule: Only flip when you see bubbles forming and popping on the surface and the edges look set. If you flip too early, you lose the height.
- Keep 'em warm: Don't stack them on a plate where they'll steam each other into sogginess. Put them in a single layer on a wire rack in a 200°F oven until the whole batch is ready.
- The Batter Lifespan: This batter is a ticking clock. Because of the whipped egg whites, it will start to deflate after about an hour. Plan to cook them immediately after mixing.
Grab your whisk and get the butter melting. Once you see those whitecaps in your batter, you'll know you're about twenty minutes away from the best breakfast you've ever had in your own kitchen.