Swedish Plätt Pancakes

ScandiKitchen Summer

Plättar are little pancakes. In Sweden, these mini pancakes are eaten as a dessert, but they make a brilliant brunch too, especially for a special day like Mother’s Day.

Because they have no raising agent, they are flat like French crêpes, rather than fluffy like American-style pancakes. Some people fry their plättar in a special pan (like the one pictured) with large blini-sized shallow round indents of around 8 cm/3 inches across. You can, of course, make them freestyle on a normal pan/skillet too, but they will not be as uniform. If you have metal cookie cutters, you could drop the batter inside these for a neater finish.

 

175 g/11⁄3 cups plain/all-purpose flour

pinch of ground cardamom

1 tablespoon icing/confectioners’ sugar

pinch of salt

3 eggs

500 ml/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons whole milk

25 g/13⁄4 tablespoons butter, melted

50 ml/31⁄2 tablespoons beer (lager) (You can leave this out and replace with a little more milk or a dash of sparkling water instead, if you prefer.)

extra butter and olive oil, for frying

Cold Stirred Lingonberries or lingonberry jam/jelly, to serve (optional)

Serves 3–4

 

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour with the cardamom, icing/confectioners’ sugar and salt. Add the eggs and mix until smooth. Whisk in the milk, bit by bit, stirring after each addition to avoid lumps. Whisk in the melted butter. Leave the batter to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Just before you want to fry your pancakes, add the beer. Give a brief stir but don’t over-mix.

Preheat the pan over a medium heat and add a little butter and oil.

Drop in spoonfuls of the batter and fry briefly, turning once, until golden on both sides. Serve the pancakes hot, with a large helping of cold stirred lingonberries or lingonberry jam/jelly.

 

This recipe is from ScandiKitchen Summer by Brontë Aurell, photography by Peter Cassidy © Ryland Peters & Small