Swedish Pancakes

Happy Friday - Swedish pancakes for breakfast. Traditionally in Sweden, pancakes are eaten as a lunch dessert on Thursdays following pea soup. But I prefer mine for breakfast or brunch. And always with some type of jam, mostly lingon, never, ever maple syrup. You can take the girl out of Sweden, but you can’t take Sweden out of the girl!

When I first came to the U.S. there were things I swore I would never do, and one of them was eating American pancakes with maple syrup. If you’ve read my earlier entries, you know I now do so, but in those early days a part of me held on steadfast to my past. Food, it seemed to me then and still does now, is one of the strongest carriers of tradition.

Swedish pancakes, “svenska pannkakor”, are different from American in that they are much more like crêpes, as in French crêpes. Thin and the size of a plate, they are eaten with a runny kind of jam, “sylt”, or berries, “bär”, or perhaps a sweet spread like Nutella for fancier occasions. For birthdays, they can even be requested served as a “pancake cake” or “pannkakstårta”, which is simply pancakes stacked on top of each other, with a filling of jam and whipped cream in between. It’s a Swedish child’s dream.

In my family, my “mormor”, my maternal grandmother, made the best pancakes. We didn’t live close to her, so my mother and I would drive or take the train the entire day to get to Mormor’s house. When we arrived, it was always the same, Mormor stood in the doorway, apron on and spatula in hand, and with “pannkakor” ready for us. I loved to eat mine with lingon or raspberry jam and a glass of ice-cold milk. I could eat more than anyone, which made Mormor very happy.

I make Swedish pancakes from time to time for my husband (who is Colombian) and our son. I still eat mine with jam (preferably lingon), but my husband prefers his with maple syrup and butter. Our son sometimes eats them with jam sometimes with syrup. It used to hurt me a little, to see him pour maple syrup on top of my Swedish pancakes. But now, I think it’s a good thing. Traditions aren’t meant to be written in stone, traditions are supposed to grow and change as each family member adds his or her particular touch.

I know exactly how I want my pancakes. Impossibly thin, and with a crispy, filigree-like edge and absolutely no sugar. To me, the sweetness should come from the jam or berries you serve the pancakes with.

How to eat them: How you eat your pancakes is your own business of course, but there’s something to be said for unfolding the pancake, spreading jam all over it, rolling it up and cutting it into bite-size pieces. This is how my son and I eat ours.

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

2 cups milk (I actually always end up using a little more, perhaps 2 Tablespoons or so, in order to make my pancakes really thin)

2 eggs

Using an electric mixer beat all ingredients together. Be thorough, you don’t want any lumps! Then, while you let the batter rest and swell, you preheat a skillet to medium heat and melt some butter. When the butter sizzles, you pour batter into the pan, spreading it so the entire bottom of the pan has a thin, even coating, no more. Watch for the pancake to start to bubble, when it does, use a spatula to flip it. If you’ve never made them before, it may take a few times to get it right. For me, the first pancakes of the batter never come out the way I want them to anyway. Keep the pancakes you’ve made warm in the oven, while finishing the batter.

Throughout the years, I’ve experimented and made cinnamon pancakes (with cinnamon and a dash of sugar to bring out the flavor), chocolate pancakes (with Dutch-processed cocoa and sugar, I found these a bit too heavy), and vanilla pancakes (with vanilla and a little sugar), but I prefer my Swedish pancakes without any flavors.

Have a great weekend and see you Monday!