February 8, 2016

Scandinavian Oven Baked Pancakes

Oven baked pancakes are a traditional Scandinavian dish. Find out how to make these fluffy delights here, complete with tangy yogurt and sweet blueberries.

A taste of Scandinavia

I don’t know if you’ve noticed but Scandinavian cooking has become a thing. It’s definitely up there on the list of food trends for 2016 and this is my first foray into blogging the cuisine!

When I started writing this post I knew only one thing, that the recipe was delicious. But, I struggled with how to describe it. In England we tend to use the the words “Scandinavian” and “Nordic” interchangeably, when in fact Scandinavian refers to anything from the Scandinavian Peninsula and Nordic refers to anything from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland. Confusing right!

When I first came across the concept of Oven Baked Pancakes they were sold to me as Nordic (they even appear in my Nordic Bakery Cook Book). But the more I researched these fluffy delights, I discovered that they are actually eaten in Sweden, where they serve up a savoury version every Thursday which is eaten alongside a traditional pea soup. The Nordic Bakery Cookbook even admitted that these are enjoyed on a daily basis by children in Finland! That sounds like they’re Scandinavian to me?!

Confusion over terminology aside – after all why get bogged down in the specifics when we could be eating pancakes right now – one thing I do know is that blueberries are featured in both Nordic and Scandinavian food. So, topping my oven baked pancakes with a creamy yogurt and sharp blueberries was a pretty safe bet! (And a tasty one too.)

Something Special for Pancake Day

Whether kids in Finland eat these for breakfast every day or not, having tried these I soon realised they were far too decadent to become my go-to breakfast. These had to be saved for something special like Valentines Day, birthdays or even Pancake Day.

When I was growing up as a child pancakes were literally only eaten on Pancake Day when I would proceed to stuff my face with as many as physically possible over the course of an evening. There were no leisurely brunches at the weekend tucking into fluffy American style pancakes topped with maple syrup; and savoury crepes certainly didn’t enter into my parent’s imagination. Instead when Pancake Day came around we all got up the table with a big old bag of lemons, the bag of sugar straight out of the cupboard. We would then wait patiently as my Dad delivered the pancakes to our plates, one after the other. This went on for hours until all the milk, flour and eggs in the house had been used up and we were full to bursting.

As fun as that was, I’m pleased to say pancakes are a pretty regular staple in my diet these days. Each Pancake Day I now look to try a new and exciting pancake recipe that will beat the classic lemon and sugar combo which I ate for so many years. These Scandinavian Oven Baked Pancakes really did the trick!

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Oven Baked Pancakes

Now I’ll be perfectly honest, cooking your pancakes in the oven rather than on your stove isn’t going to save you time. It takes roughly an hour to get these pancakes on to your plate. But, one of the benefits is that everyone’s pancakes re ready at the same time! No more waiting as each individual pancake is delicately crafted.

You also get an entirely different texture with Scandinavian Oven Baked Pancakes. I like them best when the edges are crisp and the rest fluffy. I like them even more when the centre has a slight custard like wobble! Unlike the traditional English Pancake there is sugar in the pancake batter, so these are sweet and almost cake like.

As if the sugar in the batter wan’t enough to satisfy your sweet tooth, these pancakes are dusted with a generous helping of icing sugar.

If you’re feeling a bit more adventurous then you could even top these pancakes with lingonberries (related to the blueberry and cranberry) or rhubarb, two popular Scandinavian ingredients.