Flat as a pannkakor

Last night, Pete told me that I had to use up all the milk since it was getting near to the expiry date.  "You have to bake a cake," he said.  But there was still about a liter of milk left so I decided on a recipe that uses lots of milk - pancakes.  Specifically Swedish pancakes or pannkakor.

I used to make the fluffy American version of the pancake back home.  My mum or my sis would, from time to time, ask me to make some for tea of breakfast. Those were good and easy to make.  Those were what I had in mind when Pete first asked me to make pancakes.  But he was not referring to those.  Apparently, when he was in school, every Thursday was pancake day.  Pancakes were served on Thursdays in schools all over Sweden.  That is the day they have pea soup too.  That's another Swedish tradition.

Swedish pancakes are flat and thin, almost like crepes.  They are a bit thicker, softer and more elastic than crepes.  They are eaten with jam, cream, ice cream and other yummy stuff.  I have never eaten any before I moved here but I have seen them being sold here.

I found a few recipes online and stuck to one that I thought looked good.  And it was.  The recipe was easy to follow and I managed to crank up good pancakes every time.  I made a batch just now and used up all the batter.  I found that it's easier to store the cooked pancakes than the batter.  You can also freeze the pancakes and then thaw and reheat them on your pan or skillet when you want to eat them.  Of course here, the pancakes don't stand a chance.  They have a habit of disappearing so I never had to store them.

When I first made these, I used a stand or hand-held electric mixer to make the batter.  The third time I made them, I didn't feel like taking the machine out so I whisked the eggs by hand.  It turned out fine so that is the method I go by now.  Apart from the crazy whisking for a minute or two at the start, the rest of the batter came through quite easily.  There WILL be some tiny lumps and the batter will NOT look nice and smooth.  That's the way it is.  Don't worry about it.  The pancakes would still be yummy.  The only thing you will worry about is whether you have made enough.

Swedish Pancakes
3 eggs
2 cups (about 450ml) milk (full fat is best)
2 tbsp melted butter
2 or 3 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1.5 cups plain flour, sifted

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs until very fluffy.
Add the milk and melted butter and mix well.
Add the dry ingredients and combine until you get a runny batter.
Cook the pancakes over medium heat.
I use a ladle which holds about 3 tbsp of the batter and it gives me quite a flat pancake with my pan.
Turn the pancakes over when the edges start to turn light brown.
I cook mine for one minute on one side and then another 30sec for the other side.

I piped some lightly sweetened whipped cream in the middle and rolled it.

It's yummy with a dollop of apricot marmalade on top.