Pannukakku (Finnish Oven Pancake)

4.43 from 19 votes

Pannukakku, also called a Finnish Oven Pancake, is a thick baked pancake with a custardy interior. If you love Dutch Babies, you'll love Pannukakku!

Prep Time5

Cook Time30

Total Time35

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: Finnish

Servings: servings

Calories: 257kcal

½ cup unsalted butter 1 stick
3 large eggs
¾ cup all-purpose flour a good gluten-free all-purpose flour works, too
1 pint whole milk
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
Fresh grated nutmeg for topping
Maple syrup, berries, apple pie filling, whipped cream, or your favorite pancake toppings

Preheat the oven to 400°F. While the oven is heating, place a 10" cast iron skillet or 9"x9" baking dish in the oven and allow it to heat.
When the oven is warm, pull the rack with the skillet out, and add the butter to the pan. Push the rack back in, close the oven, and allow the butter to melt and slightly brown.
While the butter melts, combine the eggs, flour, milk, salt, sugar, and vanilla in the basin of a blender, and blend on high until very smooth. You can also combine this with a whisk in a mixing bowl, but we have better results using a traditional blender or immersion blender to get it silky smooth.
Open the oven again, and pull out the rack with the skillet on it. Pour the batter into the melted butter in the skillet and sprinkle with grated nutmeg. Push the rack back into the oven, and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the top of the pancake is golden brown and bubbly, and the middle looks custardy and buttery. A knife inserted into the center should come out clean.
Remove from oven—it will begin to deflate as soon as you do—and cut and serve immediately topped with your favorite toppings.

For a thinner pancake, use a 9"x13" baking dish or 12" cast iron skillet, and decrease the cooking time to 30-40 minutes.
Use the middle rack of the oven to give your pannukakku room to rise.
Don't panic when it starts to collapse in on itself as soon as it comes out of the oven. That means you did it right!
This recipe is pretty forgiving. Use dairy-free milks and butter if you need it, sub in duck eggs if that's what you've got, or swap in gluten-free flour as needed!