Swedish Pancakes (Pannkakor) with Lingonberry Jam and Cream
Thin, crisp-edged Swedish pancakes made from a simple milk, egg and flour batter, rolled or folded and served with lingonberry jam and whipped cream, Thursday-style.
In Sweden, Thursday means pea soup and pancakes. Levande kulturarv, Sweden's national website for the UNESCO Convention on intangible cultural heritage, run jointly by the agencies that carry it out, says peas with pork have medieval origins and that serving them on Thursdays is probably based on the Catholic tradition of fasting on Fridays. It adds that pancakes were first served alongside the soup in the 18th century: thin, crêpe-style pancakes of eggs, milk and wheat flour, usually with jam and whipped cream. Yellow split peas replaced the more bitter field pea in the mid-19th century, and hot punsch, popular since the 19th century, is drunk with the meal on special occasions. Families eat it at home and many restaurants serve it on Thursdays.
Wikipedia's pancake article groups Nordic pancakes with French-style crêpes. In America, a pancake is a breakfast stack; in Sweden this one is the dessert after a bowl of soup.
Why it works the kitchen science
Flour first, then the rest
Mixing the flour with only half the milk makes a thick paste you can whisk lump-free; thinning it afterward keeps the batter silky.
A very hot pan
Arla starts on high so the thin batter sets the moment it hits the pan, giving lacy, crisp edges and a tender middle.
Step by step
- Step 1
Whisk the flour with half the milk until completely smooth. Whisk in the rest of the milk, then the eggs and salt.
- Step 2
Let the batter rest about 10 minutes so the pancakes hold together. Meanwhile, melt the butter with the oil in a small dish, and whip the cream to soft peaks and refrigerate it.
- Step 3
Heat a 9- to 10-inch skillet (cast iron or nonstick) over high heat about 2 minutes, until very hot, then turn it down to medium-high.
- Step 4
Brush the pan with a little of the butter mixture, pour in about 1/4 cup batter and tilt the pan so it spreads in a thin layer.
- Step 5
Cook about 1 minute, until the underside is set and spotty brown and the edges loosen. Flip and cook 30 to 45 seconds more.
- Step 6
Stack the pancakes on a plate. Add more fat now and then: a cast-iron pan needs it often, a nonstick pan about every third pancake.
- Step 7
Serve warm, folded in quarters or rolled, with a spoonful of jam and a spoonful of whipped cream.
Swedish Pancakes (Pannkakor) with Lingonberry Jam and Cream
Serves 4 · about 12 thin pancakes · 40 min total
Batter
- 1 1/4 cups (3 dl, 180 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 cups (6 dl) whole milk, divided
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 tsp salt
For frying
- 1 1/2 tbsp butter
- 1 1/2 tbsp canola oil
To serve
- 1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks
- 1/2 cup lingonberry jam (or strawberry)
Method
- Whisk the flour with half the milk until completely smooth. Whisk in the rest of the milk, then the eggs and salt.
- Let the batter rest about 10 minutes so the pancakes hold together. Meanwhile, melt the butter with the oil in a small dish, and whip the cream to soft peaks and refrigerate it.
- Heat a 9- to 10-inch skillet (cast iron or nonstick) over high heat about 2 minutes, until very hot, then turn it down to medium-high.
- Brush the pan with a little of the butter mixture, pour in about 1/4 cup batter and tilt the pan so it spreads in a thin layer.
- Cook about 1 minute, until the underside is set and spotty brown and the edges loosen. Flip and cook 30 to 45 seconds more.
- Stack the pancakes on a plate. Add more fat now and then: a cast-iron pan needs it often, a nonstick pan about every third pancake.
- Serve warm, folded in quarters or rolled, with a spoonful of jam and a spoonful of whipped cream.
Adapted from Arla Foods Sweden, "Pannkakor" (arla.se, no date shown), as written. Arla's batter is 3 dl wheat flour, 6 dl milk, 3 eggs and 1/2 tsp salt, rested about 10 minutes, fried in 3 tbsp of a butter and canola mix in a very hot pan. Arla gives no serving count (its FAQ suggests 2 to 3 pancakes per person); 4 servings is ours. Cup conversions are ours (1 dl flour is about 60 g). Jam and whipped cream are Arla's serving suggestion and the heritage page's; lingonberry is our pick of jam. The pan size and timings per pancake are ours. arla.se. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (3)
Tips
- Arla's flavor ideas: 1 tsp ground cardamom, or 2 tsp vanilla sugar with grated lemon zest, in the batter.
- Freeze leftovers with parchment between them so you can pull out just a few.
- For the full Thursday, serve a bowl of yellow split pea soup with mustard first.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Pea soup on Thursdays comes from Catholic Friday fasts. Disputed: Levande kulturarv says "probably"; other accounts (search summaries only) point to army cooking, which the heritage page also links to pea soup, or to restaurant habit.
- King Erik XIV was poisoned with pea soup on a Thursday. Folklore: a legend repeated online; no reputable source we opened supports it.
- Pancakes have always come with the soup. Documented as not so: Levande kulturarv says pancakes joined the soup in the 18th century.
- Swedish pancakes are basically crêpes. Documented: Wikipedia calls Nordic pancakes similar to French-style crêpes; Levande kulturarv calls them crêpe-style.
- Rest the batter. Documented (Arla: about 10 minutes so the pancakes hold together).
- Lingonberry jam is the only jam. Folklore: Arla and the heritage page just say jam.
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