Pannkakstårta (Swedish Pancake Cake)
My birthday is this month, and this weekend I decided to celebrate early with a Swedish pannkakstårta, or pancake cake. This is a popular cake in Sweden to serve on birthday mornings – like a pancake breakfast but more festive! Pannkakstårta is made with a stack of thin Swedish pancakes filled with cream, berries, and jam. Some people make the cake simply with a pile of pancakes, but I like to wrap the entire stack in pancakes as well so that it looks like a proper cake.
And wow, let me just say that pannkakstårta is so good. If you like thin, crêpe style pancakes you will love this pancake cake. I’m not actually a huge fan of whipped cream, but I mix the cream here with cream cheese to make a sort of whipped cream/cream cheese frosting hybrid. Then I alternate filling each layer with strawberry jam and cream with berries. You can of course get creative and fill the layers how you like. You could even sneak in a strip of bacon or two if you like bacon with your pancakes!
And then I top the entire cake with fresh berries and mint.
Tips
Instead of making a cake batter here, you’ll start pannkakstårta with a stack of about fifteen small/medium sized pancakes. I use a small frying pan for the pancakes.
The cardamom is optional, but it gives the pancakes a nice Scandinavian flavor. If using cardamom I recommend grinding cardamom seeds in a mortar and pestle instead of using pre ground cardamom, which doesn’t have much flavor.
There’s butter in the batter, so you only need to add a little bit of butter to the pan when you make the first pancake. After that you don’t need to continue adding butter to the pan. After adding a scoop of batter to the pan, slowly swirl the batter around the edge of the pan so you get a nice thin pancake that coats the entire bottom of the pan (see the video below the recipe).
Once the center has hardened, flip the pancake and cook until the other side is golden (about one minute).
Depending on the size of the pancakes, you can arrange four or five pancakes at the bottom of the plate with the ends hanging over the edge of the plate. If you’re unsure, use five. At the end you will fold these pancakes over the stack of pancakes in the center to close the cake.
I like to alternate the pancake cake with layers of cream with berries and jam. I use strawberries and strawberry jam, but feel free to use whatever type of berries you prefer, or whatever is in season.
I usually have seven or eight pancakes in the middle of the cake. Then I fold the bottom pancakes up and over the pancake stack, making sure to fold the pancakes enough that there are no sides left exposed. Then I place a plate on top of the cake and refrigerate it for at least two hours, but ideally overnight. If you don’t wait to serve the cake the layers will be slippery and the cake will be hard to cut. With time the cake solidifies.
Be sure also to save the rest of the whipped cream filling to put on top of the cake before serving. I place it in an airtight container in the fridge. The cream cheese in the whipped cream ensures that the mixture keeps well overnight, unlike plain whipped cream.
When you’re ready to serve the cake, top it with the whipped cream filling and any berries you like. I like to take the cake out of the fridge an hour before serving so it’s not cold. You could also dust the cake with powdered sugar if you like.
You can switch the recipe from US measurements to metric by clicking from “US Customary” to “Metric” under Ingredients.
Pannkakstårta (Swedish Pancake Cake)
Ingredients
Pancakes
- 4 eggs
- 3 and 1/3 cups milk
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp cardamom
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp butter
Filling
- 5 oz cream cheese
- 1 and 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 2/3 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla sugar (or extract)
- 2 cups fresh strawberries
- 1 cup strawberry jam
- blueberries for decorating (optional)
Instructions
Pancakes
- Pour half of the milk in a bowl. Add the egg, salt, and all of the flour. Stir until there are no clumps.
- Add the rest of the milk and stir again.
- Melt the butter and stir it into the batter.
- Heat a pan on medium heat and add a little bit of butter. You only need to add butter before the first pancake.
- When the butter is light brown, add batter to the pan and tilt pan around until the entire pan is covered in batter. The amount of batter needed depends on the size of your pan.
- Once the edges turn brown, flip the pancake and cook until golden on both sides (about one more minute after flipping).
Filling & Assembly
- Whisk the cream cheese, cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla into stiff peaks. Slice the strawberries.
- Arrange 4 or 5 pancakes (5 if your pancakes are on the bigger side) in a circle around a large plate, letting the sides hang over the edge of the plate. They will be folded over the stack of pancakes at the end.
- Place a pancake in the center of the plate and spread the cream mixture in a layer across the entire pancake. Add some sliced strawberries and cover with another pancake.
- Spread the next pancake with strawberry jam and cover with another pancake. Repeat, alternating between a layer of cream with strawberries and a layer with jam. Continue until you use all the pancakes (I usually have a stack of 7 or 8 pancakes).
- Fold the sides of the bottom pancakes over the pancake stack to close the cake. Top with a heavy plate and refrigerate for at least two hours (overnight is ideal). Save the excess cream filling and strawberries for the top of the cake.
- Before serving, top the cake with the rest of the cream filling and any berries you like.