Pönnukökur are the Icelandic pancakes — thin, crepe-like, folded with sugar and cream (or rhubarb jam), and stacked high on a special porcelain plate designed to keep them warm. Eaten at afternoon coffee (kaffitími) or as dessert, they are the most beloved Icelandic sweet, the dish every grandmother makes.
Pönnukökur are the Icelandic version of Scandinavian pancakes (Danish pandekager, Swedish pannkakor), but they are distinctly Icelandic in their thinness (closer to a French crêpe than a fluffy American pancake) and in the tradition of stacking them on a special pönnukökutepottur — a porcelain pancake-warmer that sits on the coffee table. The pancakes are eaten folded, with sugar and cream, or with rhubarb or blueberry jam (Icelandic preserves made from garden or wild berries). They are the kaffitími (afternoon coffee) ritual of every Icelandic household, and the dessert of every family meal.
A thin, soft, golden crepe, folded into a triangle on the plate, dusted with sugar and drizzled with cream. The edges are lacy; the inside is tender. A spoonful of rhubarb jam sweetens it with that bright, tart Icelandic flavor. Eat three, while they're warm from the pan, with a cup of coffee, in the long afternoon light.
The batter is thin (more milk than flour), rested 30 minutes (so the flour hydrates and the gluten relaxes), and cooked in a special pönnukökupanni (a flat cast-iron pan with low edges). The pan must be hot and well-seasoned; the batter spreads thin and cooks in 30-60 seconds per side. The finished pancakes are stacked on the pönnukökutepottur to stay warm, and eaten folded. Sugar and cream is the classic filling; rhubarb or blueberry jam are the Icelandic preserves.
Variations
Some fill with whipped cream instead of pouring cream; some use blueberry jam; some add a splash of beer to the batter for lightness.
On the Palate
Where Pönnukökur sits in the Icelandic flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6
How it's made
8 steps · 40 min active + 20 min waiting
- 15 min
Blend 3 eggs, 400 ml milk, 150 g flour, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, and a pinch of salt to a smooth thin batter.
Watch outBlend to a thin, lump-free batter — pönnukökur must pour and swirl paper-thin, so thick batter gives clumsy heavy pancakes.
- 230 min
Rest 30 minutes.
- 32 min
Heat a flat cast-iron pan (or crêpe pan) with a little butter until hot.
- 41 min
Pour a ladle of batter; tilt the pan to spread thin.
- 52 min
Cook 45 seconds until the bottom is lacy-golden; flip; cook 30 seconds.
Watch outFlip when the bottom is lacy-golden and the surface looks set — too soon and the delicate pancake tears.
- 61 min
Slide onto a warm plate; stack with squares of parchment between.
- 72 min
To serve: fold each pancake into a triangle; dust with sugar; drizzle with cream.
- 81 min
Optionally serve with rhubarb or blueberry jam.
