Britta Burman's Swedish Pancakes
Jason with his sister, Jennifer and brother, Jon 1995
Benjamin, age 2, Melissa age 11 and Katherine age 10
August 2009, Chicago
Fortunately, coming from a cooking family and being a cook myself, I had the great luck of marrying into a family of great cooks! As I said before, Jason, was taking a cooking class at West Point and that is the reason we met. His mother, sister and brother are all fabulous cooks and I've had so many great meals with them. But perhaps the most famous thing they make is their Swedish Grandmother's pancakes with Lingonberry Jam. We've often gone for breakfast in Andersonville, the Swedish section of Chicago, at Ann Sathers. But nothing is better than when they make the Swedish Pancakes at home.
Jason is incredibly close to Jon and Jennifer. At Jennifer's wedding he kept trying to give the toast and he couldn't speak. He was so choked up and couldn't get a word out. (And this is from a man who speaks publicly for a living.) Jennifer was with us in the delivery room when both of our girls were born. We loved living so close to her in Hawaii and we're sad we don't get to see her more often now that she is back in Chicago.
But last month we flew out to celebrate Jennifer's son, Benjamin's, second birthday! We just love our little guy! He is one happy kid who constantly amuses and entertains us. He calls himself "Benny" and says "Benny wants that train" or "Benny wants ice cream" or "Benny wants Swedish Pancakes."
On our first morning in Chicago Jennifer made her grandmother's famous Swedish Pancakes. She was running low on flour and had to substitute a half cup of whole wheat flour. They were amazing and reminded me of buckwheat crepes from Brittany. So you can make them either way: with all white flour or a combo of whole wheat and white flour. The traditional way is to serve them with Lingonberry Jam and powdered sugar. If you are having a hard time finding Lingonberry, then just use your favorite jam or syrup. Benjamin loves them with syrup.
Swedish Pancakes are similar to Danish pancakes. They are giant and in some ways similar to a crepe. But they are thicker and more pancake like. We always eat too many.
BRITTA BURMAN'S SWEDISH PANCAKES
Jennifer's father follows this recipe exactly. Her brother, Jon, uses less butter in the batter but more butter on top. Jennifer uses extra sugar because she prefers her pancakes with the tart lingonberry jam. Those who prefer maple syrup may want to use the original 3 tablespoons of sugar. Jennifer also uses more vanilla.
4 eggs
1 1/3 cups flour
1 2/3 cups milk
3 tablespoons sugar (Jennifer uses 1/3 cup sugar)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (Jennifer uses 1 teaspoon)
dash of salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) of melted butter
Beat eggs with a mixer or whisk. Add all the ingredients except the melted butter and combine well. Then stir in melted butter.
Heat an or 8 or 9-inch skillet to medium high heat. Put butter in the pan just to make the first one. Then after that there will be enough butter for the rest of them not to stick. Place enough batter to cover it completely, about 1/2 cup. Pancakes are thinner than traditional American pancakes and don't rise. They are more similar to crepes but are about twice as thick as a normal crepe.
Cook 1-2 minutes on each side or until golden brown.
Roll them up and serve warm. Top with lingonberry jam, powdered sugar or syrup.
Jennifer Burman Meece
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