Finnish Oven Pancakes (Pannukakku)

By moninikole

Ingredients

• 4 Tablespoons (1/2 of one stick) butter, cut into three or four pieces
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk, preferably whole milk
• 1 pinch of salt
• up to 4 Tablespoons sugar, optional
• splash of vanilla extract, optional

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 400°F. When the oven temperature reaches about 300°F, place an 8- or 9-inch cake pan or 10-inch pie plate in the oven with the butter in it. The butter should melt, but not brown, while the oven finishes heating.
Place the eggs, f lour, milk, salt, sugar and vanilla (if using) in the carafe of a blender. Fix the cover in place and blend on high, stopping to scrape down the sides if necessary, until the mixture is smooth and even. When the oven is fully heated, and the butter is fully melted, pull the oven rack out far enough to work safely and pour the batter into the hot pan. Push the rack carefully back into the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the oven pancake has puffed quite high and is a deep golden brown. You can test the doneness by quickly inserting a butter knife in the center of the oven pancake. If the knife comes out clean, the pancake is done.
Remove the pan from the oven, cut immediately (it will deflate some, so don’t worry!) and serve topped as desired.