Golden Diner Pancakes
Yeasted pancakes with honey-maple-soy butter and mixed berry compote. The viral Korean-American brunch recipe from NYC's Golden Diner that spawned 3-hour waits.
Health Scores
Ingredients
- Pancake Batter:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 3/4 cups buttermilk, slightly warm
- 2 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Honey-Maple-Soy Butter:
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- Berry Compote:
- 1 cup mixed berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Butter for the griddle
Instructions
- 1
Make the honey-maple-soy butter: beat softened butter with maple syrup, honey, and soy sauce until fluffy and combined. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Tip: The soy sauce is the secret weapon. It adds umami depth that makes the butter taste richer and more complex than plain maple butter. You won't taste 'soy sauce' — just an unexplainable deliciousness.
- 2
Warm the buttermilk to about 100°F (lukewarm — it should feel like bath water). Too hot kills the yeast, too cold and it won't activate.
- 3
Whisk together flour, sugar, yeast, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
- 4
Add the warm buttermilk, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla to the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined — lumpy is fine. Cover with plastic wrap and let the batter rest at room temperature for 20 minutes. It will puff up and become bubbly.
Tip: The 20-minute rest is non-negotiable. This is when the yeast produces CO2 and flavor compounds. You'll see the batter visibly rise and develop bubbles on the surface. This fermentation step is what separates Golden Diner pancakes from ordinary ones.
- 5
While the batter rests, make the berry compote: combine berries, sugar, and lemon juice in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the berries break down and the mixture thickens slightly. Remove from heat.
- 6
Heat a griddle or large non-stick pan over medium heat. Brush with butter.
- 7
Gently pour 1/3 cup batter per pancake — do not stir the batter aggressively. The bubbles from fermentation are your leavening. Cook until bubbles cover the surface and the edges look set, about 3 minutes.
- 8
Flip once and cook 2 minutes more until golden brown. The yeasted batter browns more deeply than regular batter due to the sugars produced during fermentation.
- 9
Stack the pancakes, top with a generous scoop of honey-maple-soy butter, and spoon warm berry compote over the top. Serve immediately.
Why This Recipe Works
- Yeast fermentation produces CO2 for lift plus flavor compounds (alcohols, esters, organic acids) that chemical leaveners cannot replicate.
- Triple leavening (yeast + baking powder + baking soda) creates an exceptionally light, airy texture with complex rise dynamics.
- Honey-maple-soy butter combines sweet (maple, honey) with umami (soy) — the Korean-American fusion that made this recipe viral.
- Berry compote provides acid and brightness to cut through the richness of the compound butter.
- The 20-minute rest is the minimum for yeast to produce meaningful flavor and gas — even this short fermentation elevates the pancakes above standard recipes.
The Korean-American Fusion Story
Sam Yoo opened Golden Diner on the Lower East Side of Manhattan as a Korean-American diner — a love letter to the classic New York diner through a Korean lens. The pancakes became the signature dish, not because they reinvented the wheel, but because they added one ingredient to the compound butter that changed everything: soy sauce.
It sounds counterintuitive — soy sauce on pancakes? But Korean cooking has always understood that umami amplifies every other flavor. A touch of soy sauce in sweet maple butter creates a savory-sweet contrast that makes your brain light up. It's the same reason Koreans drizzle soy sauce into braised meat glazes and add it to marinades with sugar.
The yeast in the batter is the other innovation. Most American pancake recipes rely entirely on baking powder, which provides lift but zero flavor complexity. Yeast, even in a 20-minute room-temperature fermentation, begins producing organic acids and alcohols that add depth. The pancakes taste more complex — a little tangy, a little more caramelized when browned, a little more interesting with every bite.
Step-by-Step Guide
Start with the compound butter because it needs time to firm up. Beat softened butter with maple syrup, honey, and soy sauce until fluffy. A teaspoon of soy sauce into sweet butter feels wrong, but trust the process. Refrigerate while you work on the batter.
The batter is similar to a standard buttermilk recipe with one critical addition: yeast. Warm the buttermilk to bath temperature — about 100°F. If you don't have a thermometer, it should feel neutral on your wrist. Too hot and you'll kill the yeast. Mix the dry ingredients including the yeast, then add the wet. Stir until just combined.
Now cover and wait. Twenty minutes at room temperature. This is the fermentation window. You'll see the batter change — it puffs up, bubbles appear on the surface, and it takes on a slightly yeasty aroma. This is CO2 being produced by the yeast, and it's building flavor simultaneously.
While you wait, make the compote. Berries, sugar, lemon juice, medium heat, 5-7 minutes. The berries break down into a thick, jammy sauce. Done.
When the batter is ready, handle it gently. Those bubbles are your leavening — stir too aggressively and you'll deflate them. Pour carefully onto a buttered griddle at medium heat. Three minutes until bubbles cover the surface, flip once, two more minutes. The yeasted batter browns more deeply than regular batter because fermentation produces extra sugars.
Stack, add a generous knob of that honey-maple-soy butter, spoon compote over the top. This is the pancake that broke New York's brunch scene.
Tips & Tricks
- ✓The yeast fermentation adds complexity that baking powder alone cannot. Even a 20-minute rest produces a subtle tanginess and deeper flavor. For even more complexity, make the batter the night before and refrigerate overnight.
- ✓Don't skip the soy sauce in the compound butter. It sounds strange but umami is the fifth taste — it amplifies sweetness and makes the butter taste three-dimensional.
- ✓Use warm (not hot) buttermilk. Yeast dies above 120°F. You want 95-105°F — comfortable bath temperature.
- ✓Handle the rested batter gently. Those bubbles are your leavening. If you stir vigorously, you'll knock out the CO2 and the pancakes will be flat.
- ✓The berry compote can be made ahead. It stores in the fridge for a week and improves as the flavors meld.
Variations & Substitutions
| Ingredient | Substitute | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Active dry yeast | Instant yeast (same amount) | No need to bloom — add directly to dry ingredients |
| Buttermilk | Milk + 1 tbsp vinegar per cup | Rest 5 minutes to curdle. Less tangy but functional. |
| Soy sauce (in butter) | Fish sauce (1/2 tsp) | Even more umami, use less as it's stronger |
| Mixed berries | Stone fruit (peaches, plums) | Excellent summer variation, cut small |
| Maple syrup (in butter) | Brown sugar (1 tbsp, packed) | Different flavor profile, more caramelly |
Storage & Reheating
- Refrigerator: Cooked pancakes keep 2-3 days. The compound butter keeps 2 weeks. Compote keeps 1 week.
- Freezer: Freeze pancakes between parchment. Compound butter freezes for 2 months. Compote freezes for 3 months.
- Reheating: Oven at 350°F for 5 minutes. Top with fresh compound butter after reheating — don't freeze the butter on the pancake.
Nutrition Information
Per serving (serves 4)
| Calories | 420 |
| Total Fat | 18g |
| Saturated Fat | 10g |
| Cholesterol | 120mg |
| Sodium | 520mg |
| Carbohydrates | 54g |
| Fiber | 2g |
| Sugar | 20g |
| Protein | 10g |