Sunday Brunch: Swedish Pancakes with Easy Fruit Sauce

When I was pregnant with Son #2, I had two distinct cravings: cheeseburgers with onions, and the Swedish-style 49er Flapjacks from the Original House of Pancakes.  Thankfully for my waistline, we opted for the pancakes most often. As my belly expanded, I grew to need the thin and chewy pancakes several times per week.

I mean, really. I ask you: what is not to love about a pancake that is almost a crepe, and is as big as your plate? Nothing. The answer is nothing is better than a thin & chewy pancake the size of a dinner plate.  We joked that Son #2 would be born and skip nursing all together, and go straight for those pancakes.

I was perfectly content to wait in the sometimes hour long line at the Original House of Pancakes to get my 49er Flapjack fix. Until they changed the recipe to include peanut oil. Peanut oil that would now contaminate every cooking surface of the restaurant. That was a deal breaker since ingesting peanut oil would send Son #2 into anaphyllactic shock.  Kind of ironic that the very thing that I craved while pregnant with him was something I could no longer eat.

I think you know where I am going with this…naturally, I had to find a recipe to make the Swedish style pancakes at home. Lucky for me, Mary Ostyn had a similar recipe that I was able to tweak in her book Family Feasts for $75 a Week.   I’ve mentioned recipes from her book a time or two. If you haven’t yet looked into Family Feasts…you should.

In her book, Mary has a recipe for her Aunt Edie’s pancakes. With a few alterations, the revised recipe tastes almost identical to my beloved 49er Pancakes.  They are a Sunday brunch staple at our house. I highly recommend them.

Start by preheating the oven to 200 degrees (F). Place a half-sheet pan into the oven to warm. Then measure the flour into a large bowl.

Toss in some kosher salt.  Don’t worry. The printable has actual measurements. I just have a habit of measuring small amounts of seasonings with my hands.  I blame it on my grandmothers.

Of course, since we are making crepe-like pancakes, a little brown sugar is in order.

Crack open the eggs, and pour in the vanilla along with the milk.

Then whisk the mixture within an inch of its life, or until smooth and blended. Since that batter is more crepe-like than pancake, you have to be sure to break up the lumps of flour.

Add the melted butter, and whisk to further combine.

If you are a kitchen-gadget-dork like me that happens to be a tad on the lazy side, then you’ll bust out your stick blender to do the work for you. The stick blender does an excellent job of breaking up the flour clumps.  You could also try using a regular blender.

Once the batter is ready, heat a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Peel back the wrapper on a half stick of butter.

Once the pan is good and hot, swirl the stick of butter around the pan to give it a good greasing.

Pour in a little batter, then

pick up the pan and tilt it is all directions to spread the batter around the pan. You will have to work quickly because the batter starts to cook immediately upon hitting the hot pan.

Cook the pancakes for about a minute or so until the edges dry out and start to curl. Run a spatula around the edges of the pancake to loosen.

The get the spatula under most of the pancake, and give it a quick flip.  If you’re like me, you’ll have to practice with the first few pancakes before you flip one without folding it on top of itself, like an omelette. It happens.

Continue cooking the pancake for another 30 seconds or so, so it has a chance to brown on the other side.

Flip the pancakes onto the warmed sheet pan, and use the stick of butter to smear butter on the tops of each pancake. At this point, you can sprinkle on powdered sugar and roll up the pancakes, OR lay them flat so that they can be stuffed & rolled later. Put the sheet pan back in the oven to keep the pancakes warm. Repeat this process with each pancake.

Once you are done making the pancakes, keep them warm in the oven while you make the fruit sauce.

For a quick and easy fruit sauce, plop a cup of fruit preserves or jam into a bowl. In this case, I used my homemade blueberry jam.

Add a few tablespoons of water to thin out the jam to the desired sauce consistency. For easy application, serve the sauce along side the pancakes, in a gravy pitcher or squirt bottle. (I make this type of fruit sauce to garnish all sorts of desserts, pancakes, or waffles.)

Usually, I just serve Swedish pancakes open face, with a dollop of Greek Yogurt and a little fruit sauce.  That’s how the Original House of Pancakes served them.

My boys are partial to having their Swedish pancakes rolled up with powdered sugar and fruit sauce. I make them have a little yogurt–for added protein. Because I’m a big meanie.

However, since these pancakes are just slightly thicker than a crepe, they are also wonderful filled with a variety of accouterments, such as:

1. Nutella & bananas
2. Fresh fruit
3. Yogurt
4. Chocolate chips & vanilla yogurt
5. Wilted spinach and feta cheese

Play around and have fun with it! Add whatever sounds delicious at the time. Just be sure to make these Swedish pancakes the next time you are craving brunch.

Swedish-Style Pancakes with Easy Fruit Sauce

http://comfortablydomestic.com

Serves 6

For Pancakes:

3 C. all-purpose flour

¾ tsp. kosher salt

1 Tbs. brown sugar, packed

4 C. milk

4 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 Tbs. butter, melted

Powdered sugar for dusting

For Fruit Sauce:

1 C. fruit preserves or jam (blueberry, raspberry, and cherry are nice)

2 Tbs. (or more) water

For the Pancakes:

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees (F) and place a half-sheet pan into the oven.
2. In a large bowl, measure flour, salt, and brown sugar. Whisk to distribute.
3. Add the eggs, vanilla, and milk to the flour mixture.  Briskly whisk until smooth and blended.
4. Pour the melted butter into the batter, and whisk to further combine.
5. Heat a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat.
6. Once skillet is hot, swirl a half stick of cold butter around the pan to coat.
7. Pour about ¼ cup of batter into the greased pan. Tilt the pan in all directions to evenly distribute batter.
8. Cook pancake for about a minute or until edges dry and begin to curl upward.
9. Run a spatula around the edges of the pancake to loosen.
10. Get the spatula under most of the pancake, and flip it quickly, trying to keep it from folding.
11. Continue cooking the other side for about 30 seconds, or until slightly browned.
12. Remove pancake and put it on the warmed sheet pan. Run the stick of butter over top of the hot pancake to butter it, and then put the sheet pan back in the oven to keep it warm.
13. Repeat the butter/batter/cooking/flipping/warming process until all of the batter has been used.

For the fruit sauce:

1. Place the preserves/jam into a small bowl.
2. Pour a few tablespoons of water over the preserves, and then whisk to combine.
3. More water can be added, depending on the desired consistency of the sauce.
4. Place sauce in a gravy pitcher, or plastic squirt bottle and serve alongside pancakes.
5. Pancakes can be served sprinkled with powdered sugar & rolled up, filled with fruit, or flat with a dollop of Greek yogurt and fruit sauce.

Additional filling ideas:

1. Nutella & bananas
2. Fresh fruit
3. Yogurt
4. Chocolate chips & vanilla yogurt
5. Wilted spinach and feta cheese