In a surprising twist of irony, the topic here on Waffle today is Swedish pancake lore. Swedish pancakes are, from what I can tell, not too far away from Belgian/Dutch/British pancakes in the eyes of the rest of the world, and thusly most things about Swedish pancakes are identical to Belgian/Dutch/British pancakes. However they’re significantly different from American pancakes. To that end, I will be referring to them both, and I’ll shorten Swedish pancake to “SP” and American pancake to “AP” throughout the rest of this article. I’ve long wanted to write about SPs since they’re both one of my favorite dishes and one of few dishes that I actually know stuff about. That, and the family recipe is somewhat esoteric.
Making and eating SPs is a different story than making and eating APs, by far. To start off, SPs are thin. A quarter of an inch, or roughly 0.7 millimeters is what we’re talking about here. It’s important to note that SPs are thicker than cr?™pes. And due to that, SPs are not ‘fluffy’, they’re just cohesive and a bit crispy on the ends. SPs are also traditionally eaten by applying the condiments on the surface, just like APs, but since SPs are so thin, you normally roll it up into a small cylinder, the pancake and condiment mixing in ‘laps’. By being so thin, SPs often form an ‘outside’ and an ‘inside’ - the outside is typically the side that fries before you turn it over, and has a tendency of looking nicer. Most people prepare the pancake by putting the outside down, making sure the condiment ends up on the inside when rolled. Traditionally, SPs most used condiment is jam based on one or more of strawberries, raspberries, cloudberries and blueberries; Sprinkled sugar and whipped cream (and, although rarely and often to please kids, ice cream) are also used, but it should be noted that syrup is rarely used unless in an attempt to make the SPs more “exotic” - e.g. by borrowing the common AP condiment.
SPs are traditionally served following yellow pea soup (often with bits of pork) on Thursdays in Sweden - this precise dinner recommendation is unique, and is thought to have arisen in the military (Sweden has featured an obligatory draft for many years, so peculiarities in military culture can often have a big effect on civil life) where yellow pea soup and pancakes are often served together. However, I think SPs are good enough to justify its own meal, and I prepare my SPs in a way that ensures at least a little nutrition. I also hate yellow pea soup, if that’s any explanation.
Well then, how do you actually make SPs? Here’s the recipe I use, complete with SI (deciliter (0.1 liter)) and US (cups) measurements. It makes around 30 pancakes and is perfect for refrigeration of the batter.
- 4 dl / 1.6 cups flour (wheat flour)
- 2 eggs
- 6 dl / 2.6 cups milk
- a few pinches of salt
- 50 to 100 grams / 1.5 to 3 oz melted butter (to taste)
- 1 dl / 0.4 cups bran (wheat bran or oat bran will do)
- 1 tablespoon of vanilla sugar (icing sugar mixed with vanilla extract or vanillin extract)
Mix all dry ingredients in a bucket, then add in, while stirring, the wet ingredients in this order: milk, eggs, butter. Flour, eggs and milk are harsh mistresses in terms of measurement - the rest can be varied a bit to taste. Bran and vanilla sugar are optional ingredients, but the bran provides fiber and the vanilla sugar both sweetens the taste and hides the sometimes grainy bran flavor.
Fry each pancake on both sides for approximately a minute per side in a frying pan, on a hot (but not the hottest - you want about 75% to 90% of full throttle) setting. The first side might take slightly longer to fry, and the sides will probably look different. This is normal. Add butter periodically (every third pancake or so), but add lots for the first pancake. People still worried about the nutritional aspects of SPs may choose to either slice down pieces of green or red apples in the batter while it’s frying, or add them as condiments when serving.
Serve with fruit jam, sprinkled sugar and/or whipped cream or ice cream.
Lastly, I thought I’d share a hint of successful SP frying. SPs, due to being so thin, and for being fried for so short time on such high temperatures, quickly turn cold and lose taste. To avoid this, you can take turns with others at the dinner table in making a few pancakes for each other, eat them as you fry them if you eat alone, or simply reheat them in the microwave for about 15 seconds (not recommended as it dampens the pancakes by forcing the water out).
(Wikipedia has more info about Pancakes - any variation.)