Winter has finally arrived in Austria! There is lots of snow and freezing temperatures. Kiddo and his best friend have been outside from early morning until late evening playing in the snow. Great! I have been enjoying the silence inside the house, and at least our Kiddo has been dead tired in the evenings. Something else is also going on.

Sternsinger, or Star Singers.. Kids are going around the neighbors, dressed up as three wise men. They go from door to door, singing and collecting money for the church. The tradition is that they bless the house in the form of a “signature” on top of the door. This is supposed to bring you good luck and prosperity.. How come that sounds something like Star Trek?  😂

Several groups are always going around the village, and feeding them is done by a volunteer. This year, it was my turn to feed the kids. My problem was that I did not know what a normal Austrian kid eats, so I decided to play it safe. Schinken Fleckerl is pasta with ham (the recipe is in a separate posting), and Pannukakku.

Pannukakku is something like crepe mixed with pudding. It’s also known as German pancake or Dutch Baby in the US.

I remember Pannukakku from my childhood very well. Grandmother usually made it in the winter. I still remember the sensation when you came inside after playing out in the snow the whole day, and you smelled vanilla mixing with cinnamon.

This is such a simple recipe, and it sure is a people-pleaser! My lunch guests asked me to make this when Henrik’s class is organizing the healthy lunch in mid-January at school. I didn’t even think of it! I thought this would be too boring for the kids, but the oven pan got cleaned up at record speed!

This is my family recipe:

Pannukakku

INGREDIENTS

Ingredients

• 4 dl of wheat flour
• 1 ½ dl of sugar
• 1 tsp of baking powder
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of vanilla sugar
• 8 dl of milk
• 2 eggs
• 100 g of melted butter

Instructions

1. 1. Melt the butter.
   2. Mix the dry ingredients together.
   3. Add the milk, eggs, and melted, cooled butter.
   4. Mix until the batter is smooth. Let the mixture sit at least one hour.
   5. Pour the batter onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake at 200-225°C for about ½ hour.
   6. Serve with sugared strawberries or jam and whipped cream.

Tips! The batter is suitable for a standard 60-centimeter oven sheet. If your oven fits a larger sheet (meaning you need to use a “large baking sheet”), you can make the batter about one and a half times the amount. You can also bake the pancake in a large ovenproof dish or in two smaller ones. However, do not make the pancake too thick – slightly less than a centimeter of batter is the right amount.

Serve with your favorite jam, whipped cream, or ice cream!  Instead of vanilla, flavor the pancake with cardamom and serve it with whipped cream enriched with mascarpone cheese. For a lighter accompaniment, flavor Turkish yogurt with lime juice and zest.

Note: You can add some chopped apples to the dough before baking it. This gives this dessert a whole new twist.