Finnish crepe pancakes with homemade strawberry-gooseberry jam can be the highlight of your Nordic-at-home summer breakfast.
Lattyja Pancakes with Strawberry-Gooseberry Jam
By Sue Lau | Palatable Pastime
Strawberry-Gooseberry Jam really is a delicious thing on crepes and pancakes.
The gooseberries are really quite beautiful with a nice rosy color and have a flavor ranging from sweet to tart, being somewhat like a grape. They are not to be confused with Cape Gooseberries (which are larger and not the same thing).
One problem with all these beauties are all those little freaking stems. You *could* pick them off one by one or instead keep them on and process them differently.
After simmering the gooseberries in a pan until soft (somewhat like the way you would cook fresh cranberries) we can make short work of them in the Foley mill, which has a crank handle to drive the fruit pulp through the sieve into a bowl below.
Being a jam recipe without sugar, pectin is a concern. Removing the skins from the gooseberries does create a little problem in that it steals a source of pectin in the fruit.
While I had intended to do the gooseberries as a jam by themselves, I amended the fruit mix by adding strawberries, which besides gooseberries are common in Nordic pancake and crepe toppings.
Cooking the fruit pulp down into a jam is a testing process. You basically freeze a teaspoon and put a little on it and if it gels up you are good to go- almost (as the jam does set up more overnight).
You might find, however, that the jam is still not set up sufficiently. In that case, it is best to cook it more, or opt to add powdered pectin to amend, or thicken with something like chia seed. Chia does add some crunch and appearance though.
Mine was not as set as I would have liked, so I sent it for a spin in the saucepan adding in a couple of teaspoons of bulk pectin. I am just glad this wasn’t water-bath processed with lids as that would have been a waste of lids. But it happens. I know the reason this time was the skins being gone, but I have had issues with other fruits, such as sour cherries, not setting up sufficiently.
It really isn’t that big a deal except I hate to waste canning lids and processing time. But fortunately this is only a small batch so no biggie. It had not been canned. If you do want to can this make sure you add the extra pectin and chill it down overnight in the fridge. Bring it to room temp the next day and if it is okay, then water bath it so it can be shelf stable.
If the jam is thin and you prefer it syrupy for pancakes, you can always puree it then strain, then water-bath it from there to be shelf stable. Or just refrigerate.
Finnish Pancakes (Lattyja)
The pancakes are a version of crepe. These in particular have much in common with Swedish pancakes, except they do have buttermilk in them for added tang.
I read that Lattyja are generally made to be plate sized (and these are not). I don’t have a good tawa to make crepes that size on so just kept them smaller. Since they would be filled with jam and folded and taste the same the size seemed irrelevant.
I do have a video demo on making crepes HERE. I recall someone asked about me sitting for the video. I have neck issues and didn’t want to bend over craning my neck and have my face in the vid. I really don’t sit in front of the stove. Although I will park my butt on the stool if I have to do a lot of vegetable prep or something.
I think the video will ease some of your concerns if you haven’t made crepes or if you have problems. Don’t worry about your first crepe- those always seem to be a bummer but then the rest should be fine.
This recipe today is being posted as part of Eat the World, where each month a group of adventurous bloggers takes on making a recipe from a different part of the globe. This month, the topic was Finland.
Destination: Finland
Check out all the wonderful Finnish dishes prepared by fellow Eat the World members and share with #eattheworld. Click here to find out how to join and have fun exploring a country a month in the kitchen with us!
Pandemonium Noshery: Vispipuuro – Whipped Semolina Pudding
Nicoletta & Loreto Sugarlovespices: Mustikkapiirakka (Finnish Blueberry Pie)
Margaret at Kitchen Frau: Lohikeitto (Creamy Salmon, Potato & Dill Soup)
Tara’s Multicultural Table: Makaronilaatikko (Finnish Macaroni Casserole)
Culinary Adventures with Camilla: Mustikkapiirakka (Finnish Blueberry Pie)
Amy: Sima (Finnish Lemonade)
Sharanya Sara’s Tasty Buds: Voisilmapulla(Finnish Butter Eye Buns)
Evelyne: Pannukakku Finnish Pancakes with Blueberries
Sue: Lattyja Pancakes with Strawberry-Gooseberry Jam
A Day in the Life on the Farm: Lihapullat (Finnish Meatballs)
You Might Also Like:
Swedish Meatballs
Swedish Pancakes
Turkey Crepes Royale
Swedish Potato Sausage and Noodles
Chernika Oladi – Russian Blueberry Pancakes
Lattyja Pancakes with Strawberry-Gooseberry Jam
Equipment
- Foley Mill
- Blender
- Wax paper
Ingredients
Strawberry-Gooseberry Jam
- 1 pound fresh gooseberries
- 2 cups water
- 2-1/4 cups sugar
- 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 3 cups fresh chopped strawberries
- 1 tablespoon butter
Lattyja Pancakes:
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 eggs (at room temperature)
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons melted butter
Additional:
- Powdered sugar
Instructions
- Bring gooseberries and water to a boil and cook 15 minutes.
- Pass mixture through a Foley food mill to make 2 cups gooseberry puree.
- Add puree to other jam ingredients in a saucepan.
- Bring mixture to a boil and simmer for ten minutes, stirring, or until a small amount of jam thickens on a freezer-chilled spoon. Or conversely, add sufficient pectin the the mixture (about one tablespoonful).
- Chill jam overnight. Yield 4-5 cups jam.
- To make lattyja, pulse buttermilk and eggs in a blender, or vigorously whisk.
- Add flour and salt gradually then stream in the cooled melted butter until thoroughly mixed.
- Lightly butter a 6-inch nonstick skillet.
- Swirl 1/4 cup batter in pan, and flip when underside is golden. Refer to video I mentioned above if you need help.
- Remove the pancake to a plate and when cool, stack each between waxed paper until needed. If you make the whole stack and store in a ziploc, these are easily made ahead and reheated for a quick elegant breakfast.
- To serve, spread warmed pancake with jam and fold over. Dust with powdered sugar.
Notes
I love homemade jams. We always made our own growing up and you just can’t buy that kind of deliciousness anywhere
I like the thin jam, it looks so good, and it marries well with the pancake/crèpe. Such a luxurious breakfast!
Actually you could have just called it strawberry/gooseberry syrup. It looks and sounds delicious.
Or sauce. But it will set up further with more pectin. It’s not technically a syrup but actually a jam fail, but easily repaired if needed. I might have skipped posting this except it will happen even on the best of occasions, and someone always asks. Since I didn’t require it to be that thick, it’s okay. And most people use a jam fail as pancake syrup, so very apropos. But it did happen from removing the skins (pectin source).
Such beautiful crepes! That strawberry gooseberry jam sounds incredible.
Finnish Pancake and jam looks great together ……..