Recipe
🍳 BREAKFAST
Pannukakku (Finnish Oven Pancake)
A single thick, custardy pancake baked in a hot buttered pan until puffed and golden, cut in squares and eaten with jam and berries.
Finnish · easy · serves 4
prep 10 min · cook 25 min
~359 cal · 12g protein · 40g carbs · 17g fat · 1g fiber · 16g sugars · 9g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Pannukakku is the Finnish oven pancake, and it upends what most people expect a pancake to be. Instead of a stack cooked one at a time on the stove, a single batter is poured into a hot, buttered sheet pan and baked, puffing up at the edges and settling into a rich, eggy, custard-soft middle. It is closer to a Dutch baby or a clafoutis than to a breakfast flapjack.
It is everyday home and school food, the sort of thing baked on a slow morning and cut into generous squares. The oven does the work, which is exactly why it is such a favourite of busy households and why it appears in Finnish school canteens, where it is traditionally served with warm strawberry or lingonberry jam. In Åland the richer, -thickened ugnspannkaka is a regional cousin.
Simple and forgiving, pannukakku needs only pantry staples and a hot oven, and it turns them into something that feels like a treat. Served warm with jam, whipped cream, or a heap of fresh berries, it is Finnish comfort baking at its most unfussy.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
3 eggs
2 cups whole milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp butter, for the pan
to taste jam and fresh berries, to serve
Instructions
1
Heat the oven to 425F (220C). Put the butter in a 9x13 inch baking pan and slide it into the oven to melt while it preheats.
2
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugar, salt, and vanilla until smooth.
3
Whisk in the milk, then add the flour and whisk until the batter is smooth and pourable, with no lumps.
4
Take the hot pan out and swirl the melted butter to coat the base and sides.
✎ Chef’s note
Pouring the batter into a hot, buttered pan is what gives pannukakku its crisp edges and puffed rise.
5
Pour the batter into the hot pan and return it to the oven.
6
Bake 22 to 28 minutes, until deeply golden, puffed at the edges, and just set in the middle. It will deflate a little as it cools, which is normal.
7
Cut into squares and serve warm with jam, fresh berries, or a dusting of powdered sugar.
Karelia home and school tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
North Karelia. The pie has a written history. Karjalanpiirakka is first mentioned in 1686, and the rye crust is rolled out so thin it is nearly translucent before the porridge goes on and the edges are crimped by hand. The egg butter spread over the top is hard-boiled egg mashed into softened butter, and nothing else.
🗺️
Finland. The Karelian pie has held a protected EU name since 2003: a thin rye crust crimped around barley or rice porridge, baked hot and fast, and eaten with munavoi, butter mashed with chopped boiled egg. It belongs to Karelia as a historical region rather than to modern Finland alone, which is part of why the recognition mattered.
🌍
Europe. European cooking is built on the land and the seasons, wheat, butter, and cured pork in the north; olive oil, tomatoes, and seafood around the Mediterranean; preserved vegetables and hearty stews through long winters. Centuries of peasant tradition, guild craft, and royal courts refined techniques from French mother sauces to Italian fresh pasta and Central European baking. Regional identity runs remarkably deep, with a single dish often changing from one valley to the next.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Finland
Karjalanpiirakka (Karelian Pies)Little rye-crusted boats filled with creamy rice porridge, brushed with butter and topped with egg butter.
Hernekeitto (Finnish Pea Soup)A thick, slow-simmered soup of dried peas and smoked pork seasoned with marjoram, Finland's traditional Thursday soup, served with mustard.
LohikeittoA creamy salmon soup with potato, leek, and dill, the warming everyday bowl of the Finnish table.
Browse all Finland recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Oven, Whisk.
Storing it: Best fresh and hot. Keep batter covered in the fridge for up to a day, and rewarm cooked ones in a dry pan.
Make it a Finland meal
MustikkapiirakkaDessert
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Pannukakku (Finnish Oven Pancake)?
A single thick, custardy pancake baked in a hot buttered pan until puffed and golden, cut in squares and eaten with jam and berries.
Where does Pannukakku (Finnish Oven Pancake) come from?
Pannukakku (Finnish Oven Pancake) is a Finnish dish from North Karelia, Finland.
Can Pannukakku (Finnish Oven Pancake) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Pannukakku (Finnish Oven Pancake) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Pannukakku (Finnish Oven Pancake) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Pannukakku (Finnish Oven Pancake) take to make?
About 35 minutes total (10 minutes prep, 25 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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