Are you looking for your next luxury brunch dish, or perhaps a special appetizer for an elegant dinner? Look no further… Swedish Pancakes are delicate with fine lacy edges and a rich flavor. You can fill them with either sweet or savory ingredients to enjoy a delicious dish. And best of all, they’re quick and easy to make.
Pancakes or Crepes?
These type of flat fried breads are known in most of the world as pancakes. In Sweden, they are called pannkakor, a literal translation of pan-cake. In France they are known as crepes.
However, in the USA, the word pancakes usually refers to fried goods from a batter with baking powder added. They puff up in the pan for a thicker, spongy texture. To distinguish flat pancakes from puffy ones, these kind of pancakes usually go by the French name of crepes in America.
What Makes Swedish Pancakes Different?
Swedish pancakes are richer than most crepes, with a higher proportion of eggs and butter. They also contain more milk than regular crepes, making the batter much thinner. This means they’re a little more delicate to handle in the pan, but the extra milk is also responsible for giving them those distinctive lacy edges. Swedish pancakes are usually also a little thicker than crepes, with a softer and airier texture.
Mixing Swedish Pancake Batter
Start off with the liquid ingredients. Crack the eggs into the milk and stir in half the butter. Then add the flour in 2-3 batches, whisking each time to combine completely. A hand whisk is fine for this purpose, but you can do this with an electric blender or whisk if you prefer. There might still be a few small lumps of flour in the mix, but it doesn’t matter.
Frying Swedish Pancakes
Firstly, make sure you’ve got a good pan. Either a well-seasoned cast iron pan or a non-stick pan. Butter gives the best flavor to pancakes and that’s what we’re using the rest of the melted butter for. Heat your pan over medium high heat and brush with a little of the melted butter. Add about 2 tbsp of batter to the pan. I find it easiest to do this by pouring it in from a jug.
Tilt and swirl the pan so the batter spreads out to the edges in a thin layer. Cook for just 1-2 minutes until lacy at the edges, then gently turn to cook the reverse side. You might be used to flipping crepes in a dramatic show by grabbing the pan handle and flicking your wrist, but I don’t recommend that you try that with these ones. They are a lot more delicate and you’ll probably end up breaking them. Turning over gently with a spatula is a better method.
Once cooked on both sides, turn out of the pan and repeat with the remaining batter. Stack the pancakes up on top of each other when cooked and keep warm in a low oven.
Toppings
As I said before, you can serve Swedish pancakes with either sweet or savory fillings. I was making these for a fancy brunch, so I decided to go savory with egg salad and smoked salmon. And throw in a few dill pickles, sour cream, and fresh dill, for some extra Scandinavian flair! Chives are completely optional, but I like them here too.
But if you want to go sweet, of course you can! The typical sweet way to eat Swedish pancakes is with whipped cream, fresh berries, and lingonberry jam. And if you decide to go sweet, you can try adding a tablespoon of sugar to the pancake batter as well, to round all the flavors out perfectly.
My preference, though, is usually for the savory version. Crepe-style pancakes just seem to make more sense to me when salty. I tend to save the sweet toppings for fluffy American pancakes with maple syrup.
And More…
Looking for more pancake recipes – sweet or savory? I’ve got a lot for you to try out!
- Orange Ricotta Pancakes
- Broccoli Pancakes with Spinach and Parmesan
- Russian Cottage Cheese Pancakes
- Upside Down Pineapple Pancakes
- Spinach Crepes
Conclusion
With their delicate lacy edges, crisp in all the right places, Swedish Pancakes are the perfect vehicle for sweet or savory fillings, at any time of day. Try them for breakfast or brunch, or even as one course for a smart lunch or dinner. Filled with salmon, as here, they would make a great appetizer. Or try a sweet version for dessert. What are you going to put in yours?
Swedish Pancakes
Ingredients
For the pancakes
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 1.75 cups milk
- 4 tbsp butter, melted divided in half
For the filling
- 4 oz smoked salmon
- 1 cup egg mayonnaise salad
- 2 tbsp sour cream
- 6 dill pickles
- fresh soft herbs: dill, chives, parsley, etc roughly chopped
Instructions
- Mix the flour and salt together.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, and half the melted butter.
- Add the flour to the liquid in three steps, whisking each time to combine.
- Lightly grease a skillet with some of the remaining butter and place over medium high heat.
- Pour in a splash of the pancake batter and swirl the pan to coat the base.
- Cook for about 1-2 minutes until set and you can see bubbles bursting at the edges.
- Carefully turn the pancake over and fry for another 30-45 seconds on the reverse side.
- Turn out of the pan and repeat with the remaining batter. You should get 8-10 pancakes in total.
- Roll the pancakes up, filling them with smoked salmon, egg salad, sour cream, pickles and fresh herbs.
1 Comment
Mimi Rippee
August 19, 2025 at 9:25 pmLove this! I could eat salmon and/or pancakes like these any time!