Swedish Pancakes (Plättar)
By Middagsarkivet
- Easy
- 4 servings
Plättar are the small version: silver dollar sized pancakes fried seven at a time in a cast iron plättlagg, a pan with seven shallow wells. The same batter poured into a regular skillet makes pannkakor, the big floppy ones you roll up. Either way the batter is thin, closer to crepe batter than to American pancake batter, and there is no baking powder anywhere near it.
The Thursday tradition is real and oddly persistent. Swedish school canteens, workplace lunchrooms and army messes have served yellow pea soup followed by pancakes on Thursdays for generations, a habit usually traced to pea soup being a cheap Thursday dish before the Friday fast in Catholic times. Nobody fasts on Friday anymore, and the pancakes stayed.
Lingonberry preserves are the standard topping. Most American supermarkets carry them in the jam aisle or near the Scandinavian items, and IKEA always has them. If you cannot find any, use a tart cranberry sauce or lightly mashed raspberries with a little sugar.
How to make it
- 1
Start the batter
Whisk the flour, salt and sugar together in a bowl. Add about half the milk and whisk to a smooth, thick paste with no lumps. Starting thick is the whole trick: lumps cannot be whisked out of a thin batter.
- 2
Finish the batter
Whisk in the eggs one at a time, then the rest of the milk and the melted butter. The batter should be thin, roughly the consistency of heavy cream.
- 3
Rest
Cover the bowl and let the batter rest at room temperature so the flour hydrates and the pancakes turn out tender rather than rubbery.
- 4
Whip the cream
Beat the cold heavy cream with the confectioners' sugar and the vanilla extract to soft peaks. Keep it in the refrigerator until the pancakes are done.
- 5
Heat the pan
Set a plättlagg or a nonstick skillet over medium heat and brush the wells with butter. Stir the batter before each round, it settles as it stands.
- 6
Fry the pancakes
Pour about 1 1/2 tablespoons of batter into each well of the plättlagg, or 1/4 cup into a skillet, tilting to spread it thin. Cook until the surface is set and the edges are lacy and brown, 1 to 2 minutes, then flip and cook 30 to 60 seconds more.
- 7
Keep them warm
Stack the finished pancakes on a plate in a 200°F (95°C) oven while you fry the rest, buttering the pan between batches. The batter makes about 24 small pancakes.
- 8
Serve
Serve the warm pancakes stacked or loosely folded, with a spoonful of lingonberry preserves and whipped cream alongside.
A couple of tips
The first pancake is a test pancake. If it is pale and thick, turn up the heat; if it tears, the batter needs another tablespoon of flour.
Cast iron plättlagg pans need less butter once they are properly seasoned, but brush a little in anyway. The browned butter is half the flavor.
Leftover batter keeps overnight in the refrigerator. Whisk it well before frying, and thin it with a splash of milk if it has thickened.
What you need
- a plättlagg (Swedish seven-well cast iron pancake pan), or a nonstick skillet
- a thin offset spatula for flipping
Serving
Follow a bowl of Swedish yellow pea soup for the full Thursday treatment, or serve them on their own as dessert with lingonberry preserves and whipped cream. A squeeze of lemon and a dusting of sugar is the plainer Swedish version.
Storing it
Cooked pancakes keep 3 days in the refrigerator, stacked and wrapped. Reheat in a dry skillet or briefly in the microwave. The whipped cream is best made fresh and does not keep well overnight.
Nutrition per serving
| Calories | 720 kcal |
|---|---|
| Fat | 39 g |
| of which saturated | 23 g |
| Carbohydrates | 78 g |
| of which sugars | 46 g |
| Fiber | 3 g |
| Protein | 15 g |
| Salt | 1 g |
Questions and answers
- Can you freeze Swedish pancakes?
- Yes. Stack them with parchment between each pancake, freeze in a bag for up to 2 months, and reheat in a dry skillet straight from frozen.
- Do I need a plättlagg pan?
- No. A nonstick skillet works fine, it just makes larger pancakes, which in Sweden makes them pannkakor rather than plättar.
- What can I use instead of lingonberry preserves?
- Tart cranberry sauce is the closest easy swap, or lightly mashed raspberries with a spoonful of sugar.
- Can the batter be made ahead?
- Yes, it is better for it. Mix it up to 24 hours ahead, keep it refrigerated, and whisk it before frying.
- Why are my pancakes thick instead of lacy?
- The batter is too thick or the pan is too cool. Thin the batter with milk a tablespoon at a time and let the pan get properly hot before pouring.
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- $0.233
- 1 min 42 sec
- 5
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