Pannu Kakku

I grew up eating this yummy breakfast treat thanks to my grandmother, who is an amazing cook by the way.  This goes into the oven as a runny batter and comes out like a yummy custard or flan.  It goes well with whipped cream and fruit, warm fruit compote, maple syrup or just cinnamon and sugar.  I consider this to be one of my comfort foods and I hope someday it will be one of yours as well. 

   My Grandmother always referred to this as Pan o Cuckoo and that is what I've always called it.  When I started writting the recipe card for this I was a little worried that some people might be turned off by the name "cuckoo" so I searched for a more proper sounding name.  After sifting through recipes on the internet I found that there are many versions of this puffy oven pancake but the one that came the closest to my Grandmother's recipe was Pannu Kakku, which is a Finnish oven pancake.  This name also sounds the closest to my Grandmother's version.  So from now on I will spell it the proper way "Pannu Kakku" but say it the way my Grandmother said it "Pan o Cuckoo".   

Caution: the recipe list and instructions are very short so don't blink when you read this.  You will need...

2 Tablespoons butter
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
2 cups milk
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

For topping:
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1Tablespoon sugar
(you can use more if you like)

Step 1

First preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Place a 9 or 10 inch pie plate into the oven with the butter until it melts.  Once the butter is melted and before it turns brown and burns remove it from the oven.  Brush the sides of the pie plate with the butter. 

Step 2

In a medium size bowl beat the eggs slightly with a wire whisk. 

Step 3

Next add the milk and vanilla and beat until combined. 

Step 4 (Yes I know this looks very similar to the last one)

Then mix in the flour and salt until just combined, be careful not to overbeat (It's that easy folks).  Pour into the pie plate with the melted butter and bake for 40 minutes or until puffy and golden brown. 

When removed from the oven it should look just like this very puffy and inflated.  Similar to a turnover.  Notice the nice well of butter in the middle,yum.  Don't let it scare you this helps the cinnamon and sugar stick to the top. 

Last but not least mix your cinnamon and sugar together and sprinkle on top of the pancake.  In the end it should look like this after it has deflated and is sprinkled with sugar. 

The middle should be set and not jiggly and have a thick custard texture. If it is runny then I'm sorry to say it is not cooked all the way through.  This is excellent with syrup (that's the way my kids like it), warm apple compote (the way I like it), fresh whipped cream or just plain with cinnamon and sugar.  I have also been known to eat the leftovers cold straight out of the fridge(not for the faint of heart).  Hope you enjoy!

For the recipe card click here.