Grandma Beda's Swedish Pancakes Recipe

God middag, friends! That's good afternoon in Swedish. It’s a special day on Project Domestication for two reasons: one I was interviewed on Danish Mamma’s blog about my love for all things Scandinavia and my Swedish blood. And two: because I am sharing a family recipe with you today for Swedish Pancakes.

My mother's grandparents came to Salt Lake City from Stockholm, Sweden. My grandparents grew up in Salt Lake City, my mother in Los Angeles and I here in the beautiful state of Utah. Through these generations, my family has preserved some of our Swedish heritage. Though I'm as American as apple pie, (and make a darned good one, if I do say so myself) I devour everything Scandinavian and feel connected to my ancestors through keeping Swedish traditions alive. One of my favorite ways to do so is through, you guessed it…food!

I love Swedish Pancakes. These light and delicate thin pancakes are wonderful. You could say they are a cousin to the French crepe, really a cross between the Western flapjack and traditional crepe. We serve them rolled on a plate and with lingonberry jam and a dusting of powdered sugar. (Though, if I’m being honest I should say it’s more of a dumping of powdered sugar for me. I did this as a kid and old habits die hard.)

The batter is simple and quick to prepare. You beat it with a whisk. I love this about old recipes. No need for a stand mixer or food processor. Just use your best kitchen tools: clean hands and a little elbow grease, quite magical if you ask me—and just another way to feel connected to breakfast makers of old.

As much as I’m adore and am proud of family recipes, I do have a bit of beef with them. Why are these recipes so vague? I can’t be the only one who believes this. I laugh when I see the mere two lines of directions that went something like: “Mix wet ingredients, mix dry ingredients combine and cook on griddle?" I then proceed to curse and look up to the sky “Seriously Grandma…seriously?” Then I wonder what on Earth a "small one-cup of flour" is and if baking powder has always been in this family recipe, as my research suggests otherwise.

So that’s when I call my Mom and ask her to tell me the definition of ‘a small cup of flour” and what “Cook on griddle means.” Then she tells me, "Becky: you must use a 10 ½-inch cast iron skillet and it must be on low to medium heat…and you mustn’t pour more than a ¼ cup of the batter into your skillet." But then the beauty of the vague directions comes out--I can feel the smile on my Mother’s face over the telephone as she recalls mornings when her own mother made this exact recipe for Swedish pancakes.

It’s as if my Grandma Edith was the Swedish pancake fairy. "She made these in a whirl," my Mom tells me. "And in a rhythm…a true art form. She poured the batter, she turned the pan with her wrist, and she flipped the giant pancakes elegantly and then quickly rolled them up and placed them perfectly on the platter." I suppose this is what Great-Grandma Beda wanted anyway; she wanted me to share this moment with my own mother, her granddaughter. She wanted me to connect with her, to hear her share memories and feel connected to the women in our Swedish family. It was beautiful.

I hope you’ll give these Swedish Pancakes a try. I warn you--they don’t come without some trial and error. The first couple pancakes usually end up as blobs in my garbage, but that’s okay keep trying. One day I’ll master these Swedish pancakes and my daughters will deem me the Swedish pancake fairy and maybe yours too.


Do you have a recipe for Swedish Pancakes? How do our family recipes differ?

Swedish Pancakes
By Beda Eleanora Gustavson Johnson

Ingredients:
2 eggs*
1 T. sugar
½ tsp. salt
1 c. flour (scant, or as GG Beda said, small cup)*
1 tsp. baking powder
2 c. milk*
cooking spray or butter
lingonberry jam
powdered sugar
pure maple syrup

Directions:
Beat eggs with sugar and salt. Add milk alternately with flour that has baking powder added. Cook on griddle. (And now read below for my detailed instructions. ☺ )

Warm a 10 ½-inch cast iron skillet on your stove top. If using electric burners go to dial four, if using gas, go right below your medium dial. With whisk, combine eggs with sugar and salt until combined. In a separate bowl, combine flour with baking powder. Add dry ingredients to wet alternately starting with milk. You’ll do this in three rotations. Whisk until combined with no lumps.

Spray pan with cooking spray (or melt butter, though it has a faster burn point). Then carefully pour ¼ cup of batter and using wrist move batter to make circle and cover pan. Cook on each side for 45 seconds to one minute. Make sure pan is still steaming when you flip or pancakes will be dry. Edges will be a bit lacy and cook faster than middle. After second turn, roll in pan with hands or spatula and place on platter or serve immediately with lingonberry jam and powdered sugar or maple syrup.

*I have yet to decide if eggs should be at room temperature and if I should use whole milk or what I have on hand, usually 1%. I have done both, but not yet done a side-by-side comparison. I also have plans to figure out what exactly a scant is. I’m guessing it’s 5/6 of a cup, as that is about what I’ve been doing. I’m hoping to write a how-to post with step-by-step pictures this year!

http://www.danishmama.com/2012/01/interview-meet-becky-olsen/

Don’t forget to visit Danish Mamma to read my interview and then enjoy Kathy’s blog, which I enjoy. You should also follow Kathy on Twitter. That’s how we met.