Pönnukökur

Ingredients

The batter

• 250 gplain flour
• 2 tablespoonssugar
• 1 teaspoonbaking powder
• half a teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• a pinch of salt
• 3eggs
• about 600 ml milk
• or 500 ml milk and 100 ml buttermilk
• 1 teaspoonvanilla
• or half a teaspoon ground cardamom
• 75 gbutter, melted and browned
• see the note

For the pan

• butter, for greasing
• a folded cloth or a piece of potato
• for wiping the pan

To serve rolled

• caster sugar, to sprinkle

To serve folded

• whipped cream
• rhubarb jam
• or blueberry or strawberry jam

To drink

• coffee

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a small pan. Keep it over a medium heat. They turn golden and then brown. Take it off the heat at that moment. Pour it into a cold bowl to stop the cooking.
2. Pour them into the batter with the butter. Do not strain them out. Let the butter cool before it goes in. Hot butter cooks the eggs into threads. Whisk the flour, sugar, raising agents and salt. Whisk them in. Whisk until completely smooth.
3. Whisk it in last. It should be thin, like single cream. Cover it and rest it thirty minutes. An hour is better. Whisk it and add milk to loosen it. Heat it over a medium heat. Give it a full five minutes. Melt a little butter in the pan. A thin film is what you want. Pour a small ladle into the centre.
4. Spread the batter to the edges. You have about three seconds to do that. Use less batter than feels right. It should barely cover the pan. Pour off any excess immediately.
5. Cook it for about a minute. The surface goes from wet to matt. Lift it and flip it over. Use a knife if you would rather. Give it about thirty seconds.
6. Stack them on a plate as you go. Cover them with a cloth. That keeps them warm and soft. Sprinkle caster sugar over a warm pancake. Roll it into a tight cylinder. Spread jam on a cooled pancake. Add a spoonful of whipped cream.
7. Fold it in half, then in half again. They keep two days in an airtight container. Layer them with greaseproof paper. They are eaten cold as often as warm. Layer them with paper before freezing. The batter keeps two days refrigerated. Whisk it and thin it before using.

Technique

• Brown the butter and pour the specks in with it. The nutty toasted flavour is what makes these Icelandic rather than plain crêpes, and the brown milk solids carry most of it — do not strain them out.
• Watch browning butter constantly from the moment it foams. It goes from browned to burnt in seconds, and burnt butter is bitter and unusable — pour it into a cold bowl to stop the cooking, then let it cool before it meets the eggs.
• Keep the batter thin, like single cream. The quantity of milk looks excessive for the flour and it is correct — these are far thinner than most pancakes, and a thick batter gives a heavy one.
• Rest the batter thirty minutes and preferably an hour, then whisk and thin it again. Resting hydrates the flour and relaxes the gluten; unrested batter is tougher and tastes faintly floury.
• Pour and swirl in one movement. You have about three seconds before the batter sets on a hot pan.
• Use less batter than feels right — it should barely cover the pan, and pour off any excess immediately.
• Wipe most of the butter out of the pan with a cloth. A pool of butter fries the pancake unevenly; a thin film is what you want. The traditional Icelandic tool is a piece of raw potato on a fork, dipped in butter and wiped across, which holds the butter without burning.
• Turn it when the surface goes from wet to matt, the edges lift and go lacy brown, and small holes appear. The second side needs only thirty seconds and comes out paler and blotchy, which is normal.
• The first pancake is always a failure while the pan finds its temperature. That is universal, and the cook eats it.
• Stack them under a cloth as you go. Uncovered they dry out and go brittle.
• Both serving forms are standard: sugar sprinkled on and rolled into a cylinder for every day, or jam and whipped cream folded into a quarter-circle for guests.
• Rhubarb is one of the few things that grows readily in Iceland, which is why rhubarb jam appears so constantly — a real agricultural limit showing up on the plate.

Substitutions

• Cardamom replaces vanilla and is very Nordic.
• Buttermilk in place of some milk gives a slight tang.
• Plain melted butter replaces browned, at real cost to the flavour.
• A crêpe pan or good non-stick pan replaces a pönnukökupanna; low sides matter.
• Rhubarb, blueberry or strawberry jam all serve.
• The same batter makes savoury pancakes if you leave out the sugar and vanilla.

Variations

• Rolled with sugar is the everyday form and folded with cream and jam the version for guests.
• Norwegian and Swedish thin pancakes are close relatives without the browned butter.
• Lummur are the thicker Icelandic pancakes, often made from leftover porridge.
• Kleinur, the twisted fried doughnuts, sit on the same coffee table.
• Skúffukaka, the sheet chocolate cake, is another fixture of it.
• A savoury version filled with smoked lamb or salmon is made occasionally.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pönnukökur?

Pönnukökur is a dessert from Iceland: thin rolled pancakes with sugar or whipped cream and jam.

How long does Pönnukökur take to make?

Pönnukökur takes 15 minutes plus 30 minutes resting of preparation and 25 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes makes about 16. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Pönnukökur?

Yes, within limits. Cardamom replaces vanilla and is very Nordic. Buttermilk in place of some milk gives a slight tang. Plain melted butter replaces browned, at real cost to the flavour. A crêpe pan or good non-stick pan replaces a pönnukökupanna; low sides matter. Rhubarb, blueberry or strawberry jam all serve. The same batter makes savoury pancakes if you leave out the sugar and vanilla.

What is the most important thing to get right in Pönnukökur?

Pour them into the batter with the butter. Do not strain them out. Let the butter cool before it goes in. Hot butter cooks the eggs into threads. Whisk the flour, sugar, raising agents and salt. Whisk them in. Whisk until completely smooth.