Charlie Chaplin's Go-To Breakfast Hot Cakes Featured A Unique Addition

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In the 1921 silent film "The Kid," there is a scene where "the kid," played by Jackie Coogan, prepares a pancake breakfast for "the tramp," played by Charlie Chaplin. Because Chaplin himself wrote, produced, and directed the film, we wonder if Chaplin himself whipped up the batter on set, since he did have a favorite hot cake recipe. He'd go on to share it in "Spécialités de la Maison," a cookbook published in 1940 that compiled recipes from the who's who of Hollywood and Broadway, as well as notable authors and even royalty. Chaplin's sour cream hot cakes come together with just a handful of ingredients, including a generous amount of the titular sour cream.

To make the pancakes, two egg whites are beaten until stiff peaks form, at which point the accompanying egg yolks are whisked in. Plenty of sour cream, plus baking soda and salt, are added, followed by flour — and that's the batter. It's assumed that any sweetness would come with the hot cake topping, whether that be maple syrup, honey, jam, powdered sugar, or molasses.

Years prior, Chaplin also contributed to other cookbooks. In 1916, he submitted a recipe for an apple roll to "Celebrated Actor-Folks' Cookeries," and in 1922, his steak and kidney pie recipe was featured in "The Stag Cookbook." Clearly, Chaplin knew his way around the kitchen, from those hot cakes for breakfast all the way through dinner and dessert.

Charlie Chaplin was onto something by including sour cream in his hot cakes. Today, it's a common and popular addition to many pancake batters because the creamy dairy product not only adds a pleasant tang to the finished cakes, but it makes a huge difference in the texture as well. The acid and protein help achieve fluffy pancakes, and the added fat creates a moist crumb. 

In fact, sour cream is commonly added to many baked goods in order to achieve fluffiness and tang. It's a staple ingredient in red velvet cake and coffee cake recipes. You can add it to waffles, muffins, and cheesecake batters, or use sour cream to upgrade apple pie filling. You can even turn sour cream into cream cheese by adding just a couple of ingredients.

Chaplin's affinity for hot cakes became well known throughout his life. In a 1925 interview with The New York Times, he recounted a trip he'd made from the United States back to his native England. His host knew how much Chaplin enjoyed American-style breakfast and had wheat cakes (another name for pancakes or hot cakes), cereal, and fruit delivered to Chaplin's room, much to his delight.