The Casa Bella Swedish Pancake Factory – Swedish Pancakes 3 Ways

I have two sisters.  We are not Swedish.  Each of us has our own version of Swedish Pancakes.  I got my version from my mother’s very old Better Homes and Gardens “New” Cookbook© (it’s at least 50+ years old).

My mother didn’t really like to cook.  But, she had this cookbook (her only cookbook) and I used to love to pour over it dreaming of the great things I would make when I grew up!  She also subscribed to Better Homes and Gardens™ magazine and I loved reading it cover-to-cover when it arrived every month in the mail.  To this day, my mother gives me a Better Homes and Gardens™ magazine subscription as a gift every year.  Great memories; delicious pancakes.

I like all three versions of our collected pancake recipes and will often switch off making each one, depending on whether or not I have Bisquick™ in the cabinet.  So, this past Sunday, in honor of my little sister Dawn, who is a faithful and ardent follower of our blog, I decided that I would make all three versions of our collected pancake recipes and put them under the microscope by the ultimate taste-tester, my husband Charlie.

You see, I consider him a pancake connoisseur.  That’s because I don’t like pancakes.  Let me rephrase that – I don’t like traditional pancakes because they are, well, too “cakey.”  But, I like Swedish Pancakes because they are like crepes – more eggy, more chewy, more yummy and you can roll them up and fill them with even more yumminess.

So, in age order from oldest sister to youngest sister, here are all the different Swedish Pancake recipes.

Carole’s (yes, I’m the oldest!) Swedish Pancakes

1.  The original Swedish Pancake Recipe from the old Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.
2. Gather your ingredients.
3. Measure and sift your dry ingredients.
4.  In separate bowl, break three eggs.
5.  Beat eggs with wire whisk until thick and lemon-colored.
6.  Whisked eggs.
7.  Measure out 1 1/4 cups of milk.
8.  Pour milk into egg mixture.  Whisk to combine.
9.  Add flour mixture to egg mixture.
10.  Whisk to combine.

1.  Heat 8″ non-stick frying pan over medium-low heat.  Add a tablespoon of butter or use cooking spray and cover bottom of pan.
2.  Pour 1/4 cup of pancake batter into hot frying pan and cook until bubbles form.
3.  Gently turn pancake over with a spatula to cook other side.
4.  Place finished pancake on serving plate.
5.  Add more butter.  Here’s the first of 36 pancakes dripping in butter!
6.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
7.  Roll pancake into thirds.
8.  Sprinkle rolled pancake with more powdered sugar.

1.  Make a second pancake.
2.  This one is darker.  That happens when you aren’t paying attention or when you have too many balls in the air!
3.  On the plate ready for more goodies!
4.  Rolled up in style!
5.  Three pancakes covered in powdered sugar – one light, one just right and one a little dark!  Choose which works best for you.
6.  Drenched in syrup ready to eat!

Here’s the recipe:

Print Print

Dawn’s Swedish Pancakes

This last recipe is my youngest sister’s, Dawn’s, version.  She acquired this recipe from our cousin, who is of Irish and Swedish descent.  This produces a thinner batter and a thinner pancake than Gail’s version, closer in texture to mine.

1. Measure milk in measuring cup.  Measure Bisquick and place in mixing bowl; add eggs.
2. Measure 4 tablespoons of butter.  Place butter in microwave-safe bowl and melt.
3. Add milk and butter to Bisquick and eggs.
4. Whisk all ingredients together.
5. Pour 1/4 cup of batter into 8″ non-stick skillet that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Cook over low heat until bubbles form.
6. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.  I didn’t have a small sifter, so I improved and used this grater to sift the powdered sugar!
7. Pancake with powdered sugar.
8. Gently turn 1/3 of pancake into center of pancake.
9. Continue to roll pancake; continue cooking until inside is firm.
10. Remove from skillet to serving plate.  Continue to make more pancakes.  Charlie ate one to complete the taste-testing exercise!

Here’s the recipe:

Print

So, which recipe won out?  It was a 3-way tie!  Charlie likes all of them (still) and won’t choose one.  Each has its own specialness.  Mine are a little more crepe-like, producing light, chewy pancakes.  Gail’s are closer to traditional pancakes, thicker but still not as “cakey” as traditional pancakes.  Dawn’s are a little lighter than Gail’s because hers requires less Bisquick™, the same amount of milk, but more eggs.

Conclusions:

• Mine was the winner for the crepe-like consistency and the most complicated recipe.
• Gail’s was the winner for the ease of making the pancakes and hers are more like traditional pancakes.
• Dawn’s was the winner for all the extra butter, plus lighter pancakes and the hardest to make without getting burned because you roll the pancakes in the pan!

All winners!

I bet you have a couple of other questions, like:

1. How long did it take you to cook all of those pancakes?  3 hours
2. What did you do with all the leftovers?  I froze them.  I’ll let you know if that was a good idea over the next few months as we unfreeze them and eat them.

Additional Notes:

• Using butter to cook the pancakes in (my recipe) produces a “crisper” pancake.  The edges are slightly crispy as is the first side of the pancake.
• Using all that butter in Dawn’s recipes produces a “richer” tasting pancake.
• The butter isn’t really unnecessary in all three recipes.  If you are trying to cut calories and reduce fat, just eliminate the butter and use cooking spray.  The sugar and syrup mask the need for butter.
• Also, if you are trying to reduce calories, use sugar-free syrup.
• But, if you are like us (me and Charlie), pancakes are a rare treat; so make each version of the original pancakes and live large!

I ended up with 12 extra of Dawn’s pancakes for freezing.  This is a 7” x 9” baking pan and I lined the bottom of the pan with wax paper plus placed a layer of wax paper between the layers and on top before covering it with aluminum foil.

We had 11 leftover from her recipe and 4½ leftover from mine (I made mine first, so we loaded up on those!).

Stay tuned for Part 2 – the update on eating pre-made pancakes that have been frozen!

P.S.  Charlie and I call our house “Casa Bella,” but that’s another story!

Tootles,

 

Related Posts:

(other Pancake posts)

• Easter Egg Pancakes
• The Casa Bella Swedish Pancake Factory – Update
• Pumpkin Pancakes with Maple Butter Glaze