Pannekoeken take me back to sunny Sunday breakfasts at our kitchen table. My dad would stand at the stove flipping crepe after crepe at the stove, delivering them pale, fragrant and steaming to eager plates as my siblings and I lined up at the counter.
Yes, that’s right–the pancake princess was raised not on the fluffy, thick American-style pancakes that I seem to be obsessed with, but skinny, crisp-edged crepes of Dutch origin.
My dad, raised in Dutch-colonized Indonesia, used to make these with his mom during his childhood. As a kid, he would to add raisins to the batter (ew), but we always filled them with either maple syrup or nutella. I always went for a thick drizzle of amber syrup down the center before rolling it up into a tube and scarfing it down–five or six in a go. My brother always went for the nutella and my sister alternated, depending on her mood. These days, the toppings have evolved to include fresh berries and fruit, peanut butter, jam and occasionally whipped cream in addition to the syrup and nutella.
Funnily enough, my brother is the rising crepe master in the house. I’m almost never the one to make them at our house, but I wanted to share this recipe because it’s my ultimate pancake comfort food and according to the way my dad and brother make the crepes, they’re pretty much fool-proof. Thin, just baarely doughy in the center–when rolled up, the layers form an almost custardy tube that is too much fun to bite into–and fragrant with egg, these make an exceptional foundation for a variety of toppings, and a great brunch spread.
Pannenkoeken (Dutch pancakes)
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour or: try 1/2 all-purpose flour, 1/2 buckwheat flour
- pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- 1.5 cups milk
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients. My dad follows this order: flour, salt, vegetable oil, eggs and milk. Whisk together until there are no lumps.
- Preheat an ungreased, nonstick frying pan over medium heat. When pan is hot, pour in enough batter to lightly cover the bottom of the pan, quickly swirling the pan to coat evenly (in our 10-inch frying pan, my dad uses about 4 oz or 1/2 cup batter per crepe). Cook for 30 to 45 seconds, or until the edge of the crepes start to turn from beige to brown and bubbles start to puff up the crepe (you can lift the edge of the pancake to check the browning of the underside.) Flip and cook for another 30 to 45 seconds, then plate and serve.
Marycke
I also grew up eating Dutch pancakes…we always called them roll up pancakes, sprinkled inside with powdered sugar. My grandchildren now ask for rollup pancakes every time they come visit…so good and so many memories
Paige
I loved finding your recipe…in our family, which also shares the Dutch-Indonesian connection, the recipe has evolved with each generation. My dad cut the butter to make them a bit less fattening. And I switched to sweet rice flour after we learned my brother had celiac disease and could no longer tolerate gluten…and to be quite honest, the gluten-free version is even better.
My family tends to go with either jam or cinnamon-sugar, but I’ve had people fill them with scrambled eggs, lemon juice and sugar, or maple syrup. What ever tickles your fancy!
I love hearing that this treat is passed down through other families with a similar experience.
susan
What pan is the best pan to cook these in?
erika
Hi Susan! I would recommend a medium-sized nonstick frying pan–nonstick is definitely the easiest to work with when it comes to crepes.
michael
Oh those look delicious, Dutch pancakes are really good. There is so many different ingredients you can use in these. You have some really good recipes on your site!! 🙂
visit my site if you get a chance, most recent post, Making Crème Brûlée
http://michaelswoodcraft.wordpress.com/2014/01/23/making-creme-brulee/
Michael 😉
erika
Thanks Michael! I know–crepes are so deliciously versatile!
Lianna
I DON’T THINK I’VE EVER HAD CREPES.
What’s wrong with me?! I think it’s because whenever I’m out there’s always other options that I choose over crepes, and they always looked so hard and finicky and time-consuming to make at home so I never really bothered. I love all your photographs, and the recipe seems simple enough…I’m thinking 2014 will be the beginning of a crepe era for me
erika
Omgosh REALLY?! I somehow feel like you should have had a crepe at some point in your life! But I guess if I hadn’t grown up eating them, I never would have had them either…aside from food trucks. Because there’s a crepe food truck in Houston that’s out of this world.
Anyway, I think they are actually almost the same difficulty level as pancakes–that is to say, easy. You can totally do it!! 🙂
Katie (The Muffin Myth)
Mmmm, I love dutch pancakes! This version is very similar to the Swedish pankakkor, which people will eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I usually find myself in Holland once or twice a year and always eat at the same pancake restaurant in Amsterdam where they make slightly thicker dinner plate sized pancakes with fruit or savory fillings baked right into them. Sooooo dreamy!
erika
Oh yumm I just googled pankakkor and they look so good!! What is this pancake restaurant in Amsterdam called? Amsterdam is next on my list of places to visit!
Kaylie @ Skinny Muffin
Mmph. These sound SO good. I have only had homemade crepes once and Nutella was definitely part of that process. I need to try to make them on my own. I trust you when you say they’re essentially fool-proof but I’m still a little nervous..
erika
WHAT. ONCE?!?! Get your butt over here. I am going to make you homemade crepes and then we are going to make those spinach artichoke mac and cheese cups and drink wine and watch She’s The Man or another girly movie while eating slutty brownies or something. Oh that sounds really fun right now actually.
Okay anyway. I really think you could totally make these!! It’s just a matter of a hot-enough-but-not-too-hot pan, a quick swirl of the batter and then flipping is SUPER EASY. Promise.
erika
Yes! It feels way lighter than thick pancakes, as much as I love ’em. These definitely don’t put me into a food coma the way pancakes do…unless I revert to my childhood stomach and eat six haha.
Kym
HAPPY NEW YEAR ERIKA! Looking forward to creeping your delicious blog more in 2014.
I have all the ingredients for this recipe but i’m just scared about the flipping part. I’m a terrible flipper. Terrible. It might end up as scrambled pannenkoeken in the end. -____-
erika
Haha! Well there is this Austrian pancake I recently discovered called kaiserschmarrn–literally a scrambled pancake (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaiserschmarrn) and it sounds DELICIOUS! So I don’t think that would be too disastrous 🙂
But seriously, I’m not great at crepe making either and even I can make these. I find the hardest part is swirling them evenly, but as long as your pan is hot, you pour enough batter in, and you swirl it quickly, flipping should be a breeze! The edges will get all crackly and lacy and you can kind of pick up an edge with your fingers before using a spatula to flip it. If you mess up, the first one’s always a dud anyway 🙂
Happy new year to you too! Thanks for being such a loyal blog reader :))
Two Red Bowls
Mm, these look like perfection. Lucky you have a brother who can make them! My brother’s cooking specialty is the drive-thru at Zaxby’s. Happy new year, Erika!
erika
LOL that made me giggle. Somehow all of my siblings seem to have been gifted with some kind of cooking prowess–my sister is best at eggs, my brother at crepes and I at…vegetarian dishes maybe? Only since they never cook vegetarian! Ha you know it’s bad when you’re laughing at your own jokes. Happy new year to you too!
yummychunklet
I love Dutch pancakes! How yummy!
laurasmess
This is such a beautiful post. I love the history imbedded in it; my mother used to make thin pancakes (English style) when I was a child too. We normally ate them with lemon juice and sprinkled sugar… it was the only way I ate pancakes until I discovered McDonalds hotcakes, ha! I became a slave to maple syrup and whipped butter. Beautiful pictures. Love the fact that your bro is carrying on the tradition! Happy new year for a couple of days away Erika xx
erika
Oh yum! Okay English-style pancakes, Korean pancakes, and Poffertjes are next up on my list of not-healthy-but-globally-interesting pancakes. Funnily enough, I don’t know if I’ve ever had a McD’s pancake, but that’s hilarious that that’s how you discovered “American-style” pancakes!
Thanks so much as always, Laura! 🙂
Mary Frances
I completely understand your obsession! These would make any morning 10x bette. Thanks for such an easy and delicious recipe. I’ve always had a major soft spot for crepes:) Hope you had a wonderful Christmas!
erika
Mhm you and me both! Ugh, I had such a good time over break but it was far too short…hope you had a great Christmas too!
Kelly
Love crepes and these look incredible Erika! The step by step and action shots look fantastic! Hope you had a wonderful Christmas girl and enjoy the rest of the holidays and new year 🙂
erika
Aww thanks Kelly! Hope you have a great Christmas too!
The Vegan 8
Oh girl I LOVE crepes! Yours look beautiful with all the strawberries! I have a chocolate crepe recipe I’m hoping to get posted soon….if I can stop eating them all before photographing them, lol! Love the pics too!
Kayle (The Cooking Actress)
omgosh gorgeeeeous photos and gif and crepes! They look deeeelish! (I’d want nutella, obvi)
erika
lol, obvi. we all know you too well 🙂
The Wimpy Vegetarian
I love these Dutch pancakes! It just feels like a light, easy way to have pancakes to me. And healthy with all the fruit!