We first had Swedish Pancakes during our initial visit to Minnesota, the second home of Swedish Pancakes. We landed in a blizzard to yards piled with at least 3 feet of standing snow. The tops of the snow banks touched the base of most first floor windows. We still decided to move there (and haven’t had a winter like it since). I think it was the Swedish Pancakes. But most likely, it was breakfast at Sarah’s house the morning prior that sealed the deal. Either way, Swedish Pancakes seemed to play an important role, too.
I’m mostly posting this recipe for myself. Because every time I go to make Swedish Pancakes, I can’t find the recipe. Maybe it’s because I never write titles to the recipes I keep scratched into a notebook. I kept looking for “Swedish Pancakes” to jump out at me. Though sometimes I draw hieroglyphics. This particular recipe had neither, making it very difficult to find pre-coffee. I texted the recipe to Sonja once after she asked. So when my notebook would fail me, I’d search the archives of my texts. Five minutes of searching and scrolling, and the app crashed. Always. That’s why I’m posting this recipe for Swedish Pancakes. For myself.
After visiting Minnesota, we went back to our New Haven apartment where Kev focused heavily on finding a house, and I focused on finding perfect Swedish Pancakes. A quick google search turned up very few recipes. The couple that I tried were nothing like those pancakes we ate in Minnesota. I eventually found a gluten-free recipe that looked just as I remembered. After adjusting the flour ratios (gluten-free flour absorbs more than traditional flour) they were spot on. The only thing missing—a recipe title, a hieroglyphic, or a blog post.
You should know, I serve these Swedish pancakes all wrong. They should be rolled and not folded like crepes. I like the filling to pancake ratio better when folded, so you’ll just have to forgive me on this one. But I do serve them with the traditional lingonberry jam procured from Ikea. (Minnesotans, can you recommend a good lingonberry jam?) And like everything, we top it with plain whole milk yogurt, coconut, and pure maple syrup.
So what’s the difference between a Crepe and Swedish Pancakes? If a Dutch Baby and a Crepe had a baby, it’d be Swedish Pancakes. They’re slightly thicker than a Crepe but more eggy in texture like a Dutch Baby. Traditionally, Crepes need an overnight rest before hitting the hot griddle, whereas the batter for Swedish Pancakes is ready to go after a 5 minute nap.
Molly and Eggboy and Sonja and Alex came over for Swedish Pancakes late last year. We topped them with thinned chocolate hazelnut butter, sautéed apples, and yogurt whipped cream. If you’re not a traditionalist, the toppings are endless.
So long story short, I’m not sure why I’m telling you all of this. Because I’m posting this recipe for myself. But I do hope it wiggles its way into your weekend line-up too.
Swedish Pancakes are thin and eggy pancakes, traditionally served rolled with lingonberry jam. If a crepe and a dutch baby had a baby, I think they’d call it a Swedish Pancake.
Ingredients
Scale
3 tbsp. melted butter
2 c. whole milk
3 large eggs
1 c. all-purpose unbleached flour
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
Filling
lingonberry jam
plain whole milk yogurt
pure maple sryup
Instructions
In a small saucepan melt butter. Set aside to cool.
Into a high-powered blender, add in milk and eggs. Blitz on medium speed until mixture has about doubled in size, about 20 seconds.
Add in the cooled melted butter, flour, and salt. Blitz again for another 10-20 seconds. All the flour should be evenly incorporated. Scrape down sides if necessary and blend again. Set aside.
Preheat a 10″ non-stick pan on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. This will give your batter a little time to rest and your pan enough time to get hot.
Once ready, holding the pan slightly off the burner, pour batter into the center of the pan until it’s about an inch shy of the bottom edge of the pan. Swirl the pan around several times as you would a crepe until the batter stops. Return to the burner and cook until the edges begin to brown, about 1-2 minutes. Using a very thin spatula, carefully peel around the edges and then slide the spatula halfway under the pancake. Flip quickly and allow to finish cooking, about 30 seconds-1 minute.
Slide off onto a plate. And repeat. Note! It’s not uncommon for the first pancake to flop. Molly calls this a snack cake. Don’t throw it out in anger like me. Snack on it.
Fill with lingonberry jam and plain yogurt, then top with maple syrup.
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Hi Samantha! If your pancakes are too thick, try using less batter. Using too much batter for your pan size will produce a thick, gummy pancake like you mentioned.
These are just like the egg pancakes I grew up with, but Dad always adds pure almond extract to the batter. It’s the way his grandmother, who came to the US from Sweden in the 1900s, made them.
We top them with butter and an even layer of granulated sugar, then roll them up. Dad prefers to add plain wheat germ before rolling them. I like to use peanut butter instead of butter sometimes, too. The almond flavor is so good with just butter and sugar, but makes any other topping, including lingonberry jam, even better.
These were a staple of my childhood, and it was a right of passage for my dad to teach my brother, then my husband how to make them for their households. Now I’ve got a hankering!
I would argue that you can’t make real Swedish pancakes without cardamom! But I’m from Denmark so it might just be how we’ve adapted them (even though I think that we here in Scandinavia make pancakes the same way all the way around) 🙂
Another great topping… Greek yogurt spread out thin, drizzle of honey, with some cut up fruits. DELICIOUS. I just updated my Swedish Pancake recipe to reflect yours, your measurements worked better!
Have you checked out Taste of Scandinavia? They’ve got three locations here in town and their Swedish pancakes are pretty tasty. I believe they sell jars of the lingonberry jam that they use too.
Wonderful! As a Swede I can recommend you to skip the lingonberry jam and go for cloudberry jam (if it is possible to find?), raspberry jam or strawberry jam, tat will defiantly do the trick. And btw do not forget the most important thing; whipped cream – delicious!
Wohoo, this is the first non-swedish recipe I’ve found for swedish pancakes that is “correct” (wich means it’s basically the same recipe I use, and I’m a Swede. My dad taught me the basic principle:
1 part egg 2 parts flour 4 parts milk (aka double it up) and a pinch of salt.
Considering how much I love your dutch baby recipe, I’m thinking this one will be equally fantastic! I’m also nerd-ily loving the colour contrast between the teal plate and the pancake/syrup — great eye lady, beauty photos!
I love when you include pictures of Hal too, what a cutie! I have this same problem, making things over and over again, but forgetting the recipe. The pictures are lovely my dear! xo
I love it! Blogs are great for this exact reason – when you need to find that favorite recipe for something, you can just google your own blog. Loving these pictures, too! I’m guessing this was shot with your fancy new camera?
These came out horrible for me. They are way too thick and wouldn’t cook through. I’m Swedish and also never had added butter in my recipe.
Hi Samantha! If your pancakes are too thick, try using less batter. Using too much batter for your pan size will produce a thick, gummy pancake like you mentioned.
These are just like the egg pancakes I grew up with, but Dad always adds pure almond extract to the batter. It’s the way his grandmother, who came to the US from Sweden in the 1900s, made them.
We top them with butter and an even layer of granulated sugar, then roll them up. Dad prefers to add plain wheat germ before rolling them. I like to use peanut butter instead of butter sometimes, too. The almond flavor is so good with just butter and sugar, but makes any other topping, including lingonberry jam, even better.
These were a staple of my childhood, and it was a right of passage for my dad to teach my brother, then my husband how to make them for their households. Now I’ve got a hankering!
I would argue that you can’t make real Swedish pancakes without cardamom! But I’m from Denmark so it might just be how we’ve adapted them (even though I think that we here in Scandinavia make pancakes the same way all the way around) 🙂
Adding cardamom next time because you said to!
we make creep all the time, but Swedish pancakes have been on my list of must-makes for ever! your pics have sealed the deal
crepes 🙂 not creeps
Another great topping… Greek yogurt spread out thin, drizzle of honey, with some cut up fruits. DELICIOUS. I just updated my Swedish Pancake recipe to reflect yours, your measurements worked better!
SO HAPPY you posted this…saw you and Hal putting everything in the blender on snapchat and I was in love! Can’t wait to try these!!!
She loves to “help” with these 🙂
one word: NEED.
Have you checked out Taste of Scandinavia? They’ve got three locations here in town and their Swedish pancakes are pretty tasty. I believe they sell jars of the lingonberry jam that they use too.
No I haven’t! Thanks for the recommendation!
http://www.annies-eats.com/
Wonderful! As a Swede I can recommend you to skip the lingonberry jam and go for cloudberry jam (if it is possible to find?), raspberry jam or strawberry jam, tat will defiantly do the trick. And btw do not forget the most important thing; whipped cream – delicious!
Ah, thank you! Going on a hunt for cloudberry jam!
Wohoo, this is the first non-swedish recipe I’ve found for swedish pancakes that is “correct” (wich means it’s basically the same recipe I use, and I’m a Swede. My dad taught me the basic principle:
1 part egg
2 parts flour
4 parts milk
(aka double it up)
and a pinch of salt.
BTW, gorgeous pictures!
Not gonna lie, I was a little nervous to post this recipe. So glad I did it justice! I love how your recipe is written. Perfect for scaling.
This looks great, Melissa! Nordic (/Swedish) pancakes are what we here up north grow up with and, thus, they have a very special place in our hearts.
Hope you have a fab weekend! xx
I hope I’ve done it justice!
Considering how much I love your dutch baby recipe, I’m thinking this one will be equally fantastic! I’m also nerd-ily loving the colour contrast between the teal plate and the pancake/syrup — great eye lady, beauty photos!
Thank you! Huge compliment. Trying to pull more color in. It’s so hard for me. All white always.
I love how thin swedish pancakes are. They are so delicious!
Kari
http://www.sweetteasweetie.com
I love when you include pictures of Hal too, what a cutie! I have this same problem, making things over and over again, but forgetting the recipe. The pictures are lovely my dear! xo
Thanks lady! So glad for blogs and search engines.
I love it! Blogs are great for this exact reason – when you need to find that favorite recipe for something, you can just google your own blog. Loving these pictures, too! I’m guessing this was shot with your fancy new camera?
It was! But guess what I did??! I shot in video mode so my ratio was all off. Had to do some major cropping. The Faux strikes again!