Friday, January 3, 2014

A New Year And A New 'Old' Recipe


Alright, so it’s been about 2 months since I really posted anything. I figured I would start the New Year off with kropsu or a Finnish pancake. This is something that my Dad has been harping on me to blog about. He sent me the email his friend Ron sent him. It gives a little description along with the recipe. This one’s for the old man. Kindly stop harping.

Sincerely,

Your Daughter :)

 

Kropsu is a high-rising traditional Finnish dish with a crispy exterior cross between a pancake and a custard. According to my cookbooks, the name is kropsu or a Finnish version is pannukakku which is an oven pancake. The variations in the recipe are according to one’s own preference as to the finished texture.
 
Recipe for Finnish pancakes:     4 eggs, 3/4 teaspoon of salt, 2 1/2 cups of milk, 1 cup of flour, 4 tablespoons of butter, 1/4 cup of sugar.     Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Melt butter and set aside. Mix all other ingredients in and then slowly add the butter. Pour into a skillet that can go into the oven. Make sure the skillet is well greased with butter. Bake for approximately 30 minutes at 400 degrees until firm. Add a pinch of baking powder to get a better rise. It can be served with blueberry/strawberry preserves or topped with the proper topping for Finnish pancakes: a light topping of butter sprinkled with some sugar.





 
Now I’m not the baker in my family. When it comes to cakes, breads, cookies and such, I’m completely inept. That skill went to my Mom. She makes the best banana bread I’ve ever had, but I digress. She tried this recipe and it turned out great. While she and Dad enjoyed their kropsu with butter and jam, I personally preferred it with butter, cinnamon and sugar. She made 3 large 10” kropsu and I think I ate 2 of them in one sitting. It was amazing! It was large and flat like a pancake, but thinner. It was about the thickness of 2 crepes stacked on top of each other, with a creamier texture. It had a slight custard taste to it, which I loved.  

Kropsu is a great dessert that seems fairly easy to make (if you can bake). I highly recommend trying it. If you’re not a baker, like me, get someone who is to make it for you. You won’t regret it. Special thanks to Ron for passing this on, to Dad for harping at me to post this and to Mom for actually making it for me.

As always, let me know what you think or if there’s something out there you think I should try. Hope everyone has a great 2014!

~MLS~