Nigella's Swedish Pancakes

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Nigella

6 serving

5.0 3 ratings Review this recipe

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Serves: 6

Cook, author and broadcaster Nigella Lawson takes inspiration from Scandinavian plättar for these Swedish Pancakes. “They look like French crêpe-style pancakes, but they’re so much more tender,” she says. She serves them as the Swedes do, either rolled into a cigar shape or folded, and suggests two mouthwatering fillings: cream cheese and lemon curd, and glazed blueberries, cream and toasted almonds. For the blueberry filling, avoid the temptation to make the glaze too far ahead as it will thicken and turn into a sauce, rather than distinct, shiny and syrupy berries.

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Ingredients Method

Ingredients

125g plain flour
¾ tsp fine salt
2 tsp caster sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
450ml whole milk, at room temperature
30g unsalted butter, melted and left to cool a little, plus 20g extra, softened
150g blueberries
190g blueberry preserve
1 squirt cream
30g flaked almonds, toasted in a dry frying pan until golden
90g cream cheese, at room temperature
120g lemon curd

Method

Step 1

For the pancake batter, combine the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl.

Step 2

Crack the eggs into a bowl or measuring jug, pour the milk over, and whisk to mix. Add the flour/sugar/salt mix gradually – a heaped tbsp at a time – whisking gently after each addition until you have a fairly runny batter. Don’t worry if you see a few lumps bobbing about the surface: the warm butter will help them disperse.

Step 3

Gently whisk in the melted butter (set aside your buttery pan or bowl for step 5).

Step 4

Preheat the oven to 110°C/90°C fan/gas ¼. Line a baking tray with baking paper, ready to take the pancakes as you cook them. Heat a shallow 22cm non-stick frying pan on the hob over a high heat.

Step 5

Wipe a silicone pastry brush around the base and edges of the pan or bowl you melted the butter in and then brush the base of your hot frying pan with it.

Step 6

Fill a measuring jug with 75ml of the pancake batter and pour it into the hot pan, then immediately lift the pan off the heat and swirl it around to get as even a layer as possible.

Step 7

Put the pan back on the heat and cook for 1 min. Don’t be tempted to touch the pancake at all until the minute is up, as it is delicate. The edges will start to turn golden and look as if they’re crisping up, but you won’t see bubbles forming on the surface. Gently slide a spatula under the pancake at its crispest, most cooked-looking edge, and then ease it further to the middle of the pancake and turn it over, swirling and shaking the pan to get the pancake back into the middle. If the pancake still feels too soft at this stage, just cook it a little longer and try again.

Step 8

Cook for 30 secs on the other side, and then simply turn your frying pan upside down, right over the lined baking tray, to deposit your pancake.

Step 9

Continue with the rest of the batter, whisking the mixture in the jug briefly every now and then. And give your pan a wipe with the buttery brush before you cook each one. Keep the pancakes warm in the oven until ready to serve.

Step 10

For the blueberry filling, put the blueberries and 40g jam into a saucepan – I use an 18cm-diameter one – and add the 20g blob of butter. Warm over a gentle heat, giving the pan a little swirl every now and again, until the jam has oozed into a glaze and the berries are shiny; you don’t want them to pop! Take the pan off the heat.

Step 11

To assemble, arrange 6 pancakes with the palest sides facing up, and spread each one with about 25g jam. Squirt some cream from the can in a whirly fashion down the centre of the open pancakes, then fold in the sides, leaving a slight gap over the cream, as if putting on a jacket that doesn’t quite do up. Spoon 2 tbsp of the glazed blueberries over each pancake and scatter on some flaked almonds.

Step 12

For the lemon filling, mix the cream cheese with the lemon curd in a bowl until combined. Arrange 6 pancakes with the palest sides facing up, and divide the mixture between them, spreading evenly. Roll up tightly, into a cigar shape, and serve.