The Finnish oven pancake (pannukakku in Finnish) is an ordinary dessert in any Finnish home. But when I say ordinary, I mean it in the most loving way.
You see, there isn’t a Finnish kid who doesn’t have a warm memory of a just-baked crispy-on-the-top and all-gooey-in-the-middle homemade oven pancake.
Finnish moms have baked an oven pancake to cure the disappointment of a lost football match, mend a broken heart and celebrate a regular, cozy weekday evening.
I don’t know an easier sweet treat than the oven pancake! Honestly, you don’t need any baking skills to do it. The best news? You don’t need a mixer, either.
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The Finnish Oven Pancake Recipe
This recipe makes one baking tray-sized pancake with rough measurements of 15×12 inch (40×30 cm). That’s enough for two adults and two school-aged kids. If you are serving a bigger crowd, better make two trays!
We use deciliters here in Finland but I have converted the amounts to American cups too.
I have put the names of the ingredients in Finnish. If you want to learn a bit of Finnish, this is a fun opportunity to do so. Furthermore, the Finnish names are handy if you are in Finland, and trying to find the ingredients in a Finnish grocery store!
So roll your sleeves up and let’s make pannukakku!
Oven Pancake Ingredients with Finnish Measurements
In Finnish: Pannukakkutaikina suomalaisilla mitoilla
- 2 eggs (kananmuna)
- 100 g melted butter (voi)
- 8 dl milk (maito)
- 1,5 dl granulated sugar (taloussokeri)
- 2 tsp vanilla sugar (vaniljasokeri)
- 4 dl all-purpose baking flour (puolikarkea vehnäjauho)
- 1 tsp baking powder (leivinjauhe)
- 1 tsp salt (suola)
Oven Pancake Ingredients with American Measurements
In Finnish: Pannukakkutaikina amerikkalaisilla mitoilla
- 2 eggs (kananmuna)
- 1 stick of melted butter (voi)
- 3,5 cups milk (maito)
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar (taloussokeri)
- 2 tsp vanilla sugar (vaniljasokeri)
- 1 ⅔ cups all-purpose baking flour (puolikarkea vehnäjauho)
- 1 tsp baking powder (leivinjauhe)
- 1 tsp salt (suola)
On top:
- Strawberry or raspberry jam (mansikkahillo tai vadelmahillo)
- Optional: whipped cream or vanilla ice cream (kuohukerma tai vaniljajäätelö)
Instructions
Mix the sugar, eggs, and milk in a bowl. Put flour, baking powder and salt in a separate cup and mix, then add with the sugar-egg-milk dough. Whisk.
If you are doing this for the first time, you’ll start to get worried. The dough is watery and full of flour bubbles. Fear not! This dough isn’t meant to be perfect. Try to break the biggest bubbles but don’t worry, you’ll never catch them all. The dough will be uneven.
Last, whisk in the butter.
Leave the dough to rest z. 20-30 minutes. Preheat oven to 440°F / 225°C.
Pour the dough on a baking tray covered with parchment paper. Remember to have enough paper for the sides of the tray, too. The dough looks even funnier flat but the taste will be yummy, I promise!
Bake the pancake for 30 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool a bit, cut to pieces and eat immediately with jam. A scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream complete this dessert.
Does the recipe sound easy and inviting? Will you try Finnish oven pancake? Let me know in the comments!
Looking for more Finnish recipes? Check out some of my other Finnish food posts:
Warm wishes from Finland,
Varpu
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Hello there!
I’m Varpu. One blonde,
travel-loving,
Finnish engineer driving this site.
Hello, I have baked these pancakes twice now, and they are very good but it seems the insides are often a little bit raw while the edges of the pancake is almost burnt. I thought maybe I’m using the wrong oven setting. My finnish boyfriend told me to try “kiertoilmauuni”, but I would like to hear your opinion first! 🙂 Thank you in advance
Hei Ida! Yes, please try kiertoillmauuni. Also, you can try putting the pancake lower in the oven. Let me know how it goes! <3
I just made this and it turned out delicious! My pan was a little small so it came out thicker than yours, but it still tasted great. A refreshing change from the typical American breakfasts that are so overly sweet.
Yay! So happy to hear that Carrie! Thank you so much for sharing!
I’m not the greatest baker, but even with my mistakes this turned out delicious! My baking pan was too thin for the job. It buckled under the heat and everything pooled to one side. I guess a heavier pan is needed for 440 degrees. Next time, I’ll also cut back on the butter and milk a touch. I think a typical stick of butter in the US is 8 tbsp (113g) and 3.5 cups of milk is 825 dl. Both end up being a bit more than the original Finnish recipe. That tweak (and the right pan) might help the next batch be even better. Thank you for sharing this. It was a big hit with the family.
Hei Greg! This recipe knows no mistakes, just deliciousness. Thank you for your lovely comment!
What size baking pan do you use, in US (forgive us, please, for our government) measurements?
Hei Kevin! I’m so so sorry, but I didn’t quite understand your question? In the recipe I write: This recipe makes one baking tray-sized pancake with rough measurements of 15×12 inch (40×30 cm). What other details you would like to know? Many thanks in advance!
I made it a few times but I had to change some a bit because its too sweet. Instead of 1.5 sugar I put 1tbsp of sugar and 1tsp of vanilla
Awesome to hear that you found a suitable version for yourself Luc! You can easily alter the amount of sugar and fat in oven pancake.
I can’t wait to try your recipes! My Mom was a full blooded Finn from the Iron Range in MN (USA). Both her parents came from Finland. She would mix her cooking with her Finnish and American recipes. She made her version of Finnish Pasties and Finnish Potato Sausage. I would love to see your recipes for these, if you have them. My Mom made Finnish Potato sausage every Christmas. It was such a treat.
Hei Jeanne! I’m so glad to hear you liked this post. Your mom’s dishes sound so great. As there are a couple of versions of both in Finland, what did her Finnish pasties have inside of them? And how she made her Finnish potato sausage?
So delicious these and the smell of cardamom is enough to remind me of my youth and sitting in my Finnish friends house when their grandmother was visiting and baking, heaven on earth!
Aaaww, Anna, such a lovely and delicious memory! Thank you for sharing! <3
I’m using our time in Covid-19 isolation to do some geography lessons with my son (he’s only 5!) learning a little about different countries. Today we’ve learnt about Finland 🇫🇮 so I’d looked for suitable recipes. I found your website, and cooked both the salmon soup and this pancake for our dinner. Delicious!! The whole family loved them both. Eating traditional foods really adds a brilliant aspect to learning – especially when it’s so yummy!!
Many thanks from England 🏴
Hi Emma! Wow, that’s amazing! That’s a fantastic idea. I tried to make a music lesson today for my toddler but she wasn’t in the mood. 😀
For the baked version I cannot find where you put the butter. I’ve looked it over three times.
Hei Lori!
Thank you so much for letting me know it is difficult to spot the sentence about the butter in the recipe. You’ll want to whisk in the butter as the last step before pouring the dough into the pan.
I put it now separately so that it is more visible. <3 Kiitos!
"If you are doing this for the first time, you’ll start to get worried. The dough is watery and full of flour bubbles. Fear not! This dough isn’t meant to be perfect. Try to break the biggest bubbles but don’t worry, you’ll never catch them all. The dough will be uneven. Last, whisk in the butter."
I just loooooved the pancakes!!! They‘re really easy to make and so delicious.
I had them aswell with butter and salt and with Creme cheese and egg, as I love the sweet / hearty combo.
Thank you for bringing Finland to my kitchen 🙂
Hi Julia! Thank you so much for letting me know that you liked this post! Pancakes are the best. Seriously. I could eat them every day but I try not to. 😀
I don’t have Instgram. Can aI follow you on Facebook?
Hi Perry! Yes, I’d love it if you would follow me on Facebook! You can find me here: https://www.facebook.com/herfinland/