Once I briefly lived in a darling little Swedish village in Central California called Kingsburg. Almost every local establishment there serves Swedish pancakes, and I couldn't set foot in a restaurant that served them without ordering a plate. They very quickly became my absolute favorite kind of pancakes, traditionally served with a side of lingonberry jam and sour cream.
Of course, once I moved away, I had to learn how to make Swedish pancakes at home. There are a lot of European pancake recipes out there -- Dutch babies, German pancakes and French crepes, for example -- but most of them just weren't what I was looking for. It took me several years to arrive at a recipe I was happy with.
Swedish pancakes are slightly thicker than crepes and eggier, too. They have a unique texture and aren't meant to be fluffy and lighter than air, but rather more substantial than their French cousins.
I can imagine no better Mother's Day than waking to breakfast in bed prepared by my pajama-clad clan including handwritten notes, strong mugs of coffee, big hugs and kisses and a plate of Swedish pancakes, all enjoyed over a leisurely, snuggly morning. Frilly-edged triangles of folded pancake drizzled with hot melted butter and a few generous squeezes of tart, fresh lemon juice, all dusted quite liberally with powdered sugar: It's delightfully simple and delicious, a hopeful burst of sunshine on a plate.
Swedish pancakes with lemon
Yields 6-8 pancakes
5 eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
3 tablespoons sour cream
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 lemon, quartered
3 tablespoons melted butter
Powdered sugar
In a blender, whirl the eggs, milk and sour cream together. Then add the flour, salt and sugar to the blender. Whirl until completely smooth. The batter will be thin and pourable.
Heat a medium-sized frying pan over medium heat. Oil the pan with about a teaspoon of neutral-flavored oil. When pan and oil are hot, pour 1/4-1/3 cup sized amounts of batter onto the center of the pan. Quickly but gently lift and swirl pan to spread batter to the edges. Cook about 60-90 seconds, until bottom is set, then flip. Cook another 30-60 seconds until other side sets up and golden flecks can be seen. Fold in half and in half again to make a triangle. Set pancake aside and repeat with remaining batter.
When ready to serve, lay three pancakes on each plate. Drizzle generously with fresh lemon juice and melted butter, then dust liberally with powdered sugar. Serve promptly with more lemon wedges, melted butter and powdered sugar on the side.
Maya Wilson lives in Kenai and blogs about food at alaskafromscratch.com. Have a food question or recipe request? Email maya@alaskafromscratch.com and your inquiry may appear in a future column.