More Nigella recipes

Swedish Pancakes

by Nigella

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Introduction

I’ve always admired the Swedes for their serious commitment to pancakes. Not for them the once-a-year splurge, wonderful though it is: oh no, in Sweden pancakes are on the menu every Thursday. I don’t blame them: Swedish pancakes – unsurprisingly, given the amount of practice they’ve all had – are so very good. They look pretty much like French crêpes but they’re so much more tender, the simple reason being that Swedish pancakes have markedly less flour and milk (and a little more butter). They cook up crisp at the edges but are otherwise pliably soft, though the very tenderness of these pancakes means that you certainly mustn’t think of flipping them – which may come as something of a relief!

Obviously, it’s up to you how you fill your pancakes, but the familiar practice in Sweden is to spread them with jam and roll them up into a cigar shape. But they are also – especially for a more formal offering – folded rather than rolled, and the filling is boosted with cream and fruit. I am more than happy to follow suit.

For US measures and ingredient names, use the toggle at the top of the ingredients list.

Image of Nigella's Swedish Pancakes — Photo by Nigella

Ingredients

Makes: 6

Metric U.S.

FOR THE PANCAKE BATTER

125 grams plain flour (sifted)
¾ teaspoon fine salt
2 teaspoons caster sugar
2 large eggs (at room temperature)
450 millilitres full fat milk (at room temperature)
30 grams unsalted butter (melted and left to cool a little)

FOR THE BLUEBERRY FILLING (enough for 6)

150 grams blueberries
1 x 190 grams jar blueberry jam / preserve / spread
20 grams unsalted butter (soft)
1 x 250 grams can squirty cream
30 grams flaked almonds (toasted in a dry frying pan until golden)

FOR THE PANCAKE BATTER

1 cup all-purpose flour (sifted)
¾ teaspoon fine salt
2 teaspoons superfine sugar
2 large eggs (at room temperature)
1¾ cups whole milk (at room temperature)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted and left to cool a little)

FOR THE BLUEBERRY FILLING (enough for 6)

1 cup blueberries
¾ cup jar blueberry preserves / preserve / spread
1 tablespoon unsalted butter (soft)
8 ounces can squirty cream
⅓ cup sliced almonds (toasted in a dry frying pan until golden)

Method

For the pancake batter, combine the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl.
Crack the eggs into a bowl or measuring jug, pour the milk over, and whisk to mix. Add the flour/sugar/salt mix gradually – a heaped tablespoon at a time – whisking gently after each addition, until you have a fairly runny batter. Don’t worry if you see a few lumps bobbing about the surface: the warm butter will help them disperse.
Gently whisk in the melted butter (set aside your buttery pan or bowl for step 5).
Preheat the oven to 110C/90C Fan/225F. Line a baking tray with baking paper, ready to take the pancakes as you cook them. Heat a shallow 22cm/9in non-stick frying pan on the hob, over a high heat.
Wipe a silicone pastry brush around the base and edges of the pan or bowl you melted the butter in, and then brush the base of your hot frying pan with it.
Fill a measuring jug with 75ml / 5 tablespoons of the pancake batter and then pour it into the hot pan, then immediately lift the pan off the heat and swirl it around to get as even a layer as possible.
Put the pan back on the heat and cook for 1 minute. Don’t be tempted to touch the pancake at all until the minute is up, as it is delicate. The edges will start to turn golden and look as if they’re crisping up, but you won’t see any bubbles forming on the surface. Do not flip to turn, but gently slide a spatula under the pancake at its crispest, most-cooked looking edge, and then ease it further to the middle of the pancake and turn it over, swirling and shaking the frying pan a little to get the pancake back into the middle. If the pancake still feels too soft at this stage, just cook it a little longer and try again.
Cook the pancake for 30 secs on the other side, and then simply turn your frying pan upside down, right over the lined baking tray, to deposit your pancake.
Continue with the rest of the batter, whisking the mixture in the jug briefly every now and then. And give your pan a little wipe with the buttery brush before you cook each one. Keep the pancakes warm in the oven until ready to serve.
For the blueberry filling, put the blueberries and 40g / scant 3 tablespoons blueberry jam (or conserve or spread) into a saucepan – I use one of 18cm diameter – and add the 20g/ 1 tablespoon blob of butter. Warm over a gentle heat, giving the pan a little swirl and shimmy above the burner every now and again – just until the butter’s melted and the blueberry spread has oozed into a glaze, and the berries are beautifully shiny; you don’t want them to pop! Take the pan off the heat, and then you can assemble each pancake. Don’t be tempted to make do this too far in advance as it will thicken and become jammy and turn into a sauce, rather than distinct, shiny and syrupy berries.
To assemble, arrange 6 pancakes with the palest sides facing up, and spread each one with approx. 25g / scant 2 tablespoons of the blueberry jam. Squirt some cream from the can in a whirly fashion down the centre of the open pancakes, then fold in the sides, leaving a slight gap over the cream, as if putting on a jacket that doesn’t quite do up. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the glazed blueberries over each pancake and scatter on some flaked almonds.

For the pancake batter, combine the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl.
Crack the eggs into a bowl or measuring jug, pour the milk over, and whisk to mix. Add the flour/sugar/salt mix gradually – a heaped tablespoon at a time – whisking gently after each addition, until you have a fairly runny batter. Don’t worry if you see a few lumps bobbing about the surface: the warm butter will help them disperse.
Gently whisk in the melted butter (set aside your buttery pan or bowl for step 5).
Preheat the oven to 110C/90C Fan/225F. Line a baking tray with baking paper, ready to take the pancakes as you cook them. Heat a shallow 22cm/9in non-stick frying pan on the hob, over a high heat.
Wipe a silicone pastry brush around the base and edges of the pan or bowl you melted the butter in, and then brush the base of your hot frying pan with it.
Fill a measuring jug with 75ml / 5 tablespoons of the pancake batter and then pour it into the hot pan, then immediately lift the pan off the heat and swirl it around to get as even a layer as possible.
Put the pan back on the heat and cook for 1 minute. Don’t be tempted to touch the pancake at all until the minute is up, as it is delicate. The edges will start to turn golden and look as if they’re crisping up, but you won’t see any bubbles forming on the surface. Do not flip to turn, but gently slide a spatula under the pancake at its crispest, most-cooked looking edge, and then ease it further to the middle of the pancake and turn it over, swirling and shaking the frying pan a little to get the pancake back into the middle. If the pancake still feels too soft at this stage, just cook it a little longer and try again.
Cook the pancake for 30 secs on the other side, and then simply turn your frying pan upside down, right over the lined baking tray, to deposit your pancake.
Continue with the rest of the batter, whisking the mixture in the jug briefly every now and then. And give your pan a little wipe with the buttery brush before you cook each one. Keep the pancakes warm in the oven until ready to serve.
For the blueberry filling, put the blueberries and 40g / scant 3 tablespoons blueberry preserves (or conserve or spread) into a saucepan – I use one of 18cm diameter – and add the 20g/ 1 tablespoon blob of butter. Warm over a gentle heat, giving the pan a little swirl and shimmy above the burner every now and again – just until the butter’s melted and the blueberry spread has oozed into a glaze, and the berries are beautifully shiny; you don’t want them to pop! Take the pan off the heat, and then you can assemble each pancake. Don’t be tempted to make do this too far in advance as it will thicken and become jammy and turn into a sauce, rather than distinct, shiny and syrupy berries.
To assemble, arrange 6 pancakes with the palest sides facing up, and spread each one with approx. 25g / scant 2 tablespoons of the blueberry preserves. Squirt some cream from the can in a whirly fashion down the centre of the open pancakes, then fold in the sides, leaving a slight gap over the cream, as if putting on a jacket that doesn’t quite do up. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the glazed blueberries over each pancake and scatter on some sliced almonds.

Additional Information

MAKE AHEAD/STORE:

The pancakes can be cooked up to 2 days ahead. Stack them on a plate with pieces of baking parchment in between each pancake. Cover and refrigerate within 2 hours of cooking and store in the fridge until ready to use. The pancakes can also be frozen, tightly wrapped in a double layer of food wrap and a layer of foil. Thaw overnight in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave in 5-10 second bursts until warmed through then add your choice of filling.

MAKE AHEAD/STORE: