More crepes? I think not!

I've arrived in Finland where, like many European nations, they do actually eat crepes.  However, I soon learned that they also have their own unique baked pancake called an Aland pancake.  It's called this because it comes from the Aland region of Finland.  This region isn't a part of mainland Finland.  It is a group of islands in the Baltic Sea.  Also, in addition to this being a baked pancake, the Finnish people call their pancakes pannukakku.

I discovered many different ways of making pannukakku, each involving different types of grains.  I found some of them use regular all purpose flour, while others use rice or semolina flour in combination with all purpose flour.  I opted for a recipe that used a combination of semolina flour and all purpose flour.  Here is what you'll need to make the version of Finnish pannukakku that I made:

4 cups of milk
1/3 cup of semolina flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1/2 cup of sugar
1 cup of flour
1 tablespoon cardamom
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup of raisins (optional, I opted not to have them since I don't enjoy dried fruit)
3 tablespoons melted butter
Fresh strawberries or other seasonal fruit (optional)
Whipping cream (optional)

Be sure to start this recipe early, because there is some cooling time involved, and a long cook time.  In all, the prep time was about 1 1/2 hours.  Much of that time is just sitting and waiting for things to cool and cook, but plan accordingly.  To make pannukakku, you will first need to measure out your milk and semolina flour:

 Then heat the milk until it is boiling.  You will probably need to stir frequently so that the milk doesn't burn in the bottom of the pot.

Once the milk is boiling, add the semolina and salt.  Reduce the heat to low, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.  At the end of 10 minutes, you will have a thick porridge like mixture that looks like this:

Let this mixture cool completely to room temperature (it takes about 20 - 30 minutes for it to cool).  Once it's cool, preheat your oven to 392 F.  Yes, you read that correctly, 392.  This didn't work well for you, so I just turned my oven to where I thought 392 would be.

While the oven is preheating, melt your butter and prepare your pan.  You can use an 8-inch square or 9-inch round baking pan with sides.  Cut parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan.  Use your inner 5  year old for this process:

Next melt the butter, and brush the parchment paper and sides of the pan with the melted butter.  You probably won't use all of the butter.

Now it's time to place all of the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl and give them a whisk.  Everything doesn't need to be incorporated when you whisk, just whisk enough to get the eggs somewhat mixed in.

 Now it's time to add the cooked semolina and milk.  This is how thick it gets once it cools.

Add the cooked semolina to your bowl, and mix until you have a smooth batter.

Now place it in your buttered baking dish and cook for 30-50 minutes until the top is golden brown.

When your pannukakku is close to being finished, cut up some fresh strawberries for on top.

Warning, this pancake will puff up and then deflate.  Here are some pictures showing what happens:

Let the pannakakku cool for 10-15 minutes, then slice and serve.  I have to share that my first slice out of the pannakakku didn't look so pretty.

My next two slices did though.  Put the strawberries on top and serve while warm.

You can see that I drizzled honey around the outside of the plate, but I wouldn't advise this.  The honey flavor doesn't go well with the cardamom flavor in this pancake.  However, it was a very tasty pancake without the honey.  Enjoy!