With these secret tricks from my grandma your Palatschinken (Austrian crepes or pancakes) become fluffy soft like clouds!
In many Austrian homes and restaurants, the pancakes are made super thin like crepes. But many Austrian grandmothers do it differently! The Palatschinken from my 95-year-old grandma are fluffy soft and almost melt in your mouth! In this recipe, I'll tell you grandma's secrets for making pancake dough as fluffy and soft as clouds.
In addition, there are also a few ideas what to serve with pancakes.
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In our family, we eat Palatschinken at least once or twice a week, either for dinner on weekdays, and for breakfast or lunch on the weekends!
To have some variety in the fillings, I collected a few ideas for sweet and savory crepe fillings:
What to serve with crepes
What can you serve with crepes? Actually, you can fill crepes with almost anything! In addition to sweet fillings, there are also many savory options.
Here are a few ideas for sweet pancake fillings:
- all types of jam, most popular filling for Austrian Palatschinken is Apricot Jam, sprinkled with powdered sugar
- nougat cream and fruit
- all kinds of ice cream, especially in combination with berries, whipped cream and chocolate sauce
- cream cheese or curd cheese filling and vanilla sauce, such as in this recipe for Austrian curd cheese crepes (Topfenpalatschinken).
- Sour cream or Philadelphia with maple syrup, tahina or peanut butter and blueberries (my personal favorite combination!)
- Honey, also together with sour cream, curd cheese or Philadelphia.
In principle, you can also fill pancakes with anything you would otherwise fill a sandwich, wrap or burrito. At the same time, pancakes are great for leftover pasta sauces, leftover cheese, meat or ham.
Here are a few ideas for savory crepe fillings:
- Cheese and ham, possibly spiced up with vegetables like peppers, tomatoes, onion.
- Mozzarella, tomatoes and rocket salad
- Bolognese sauce, e.g. gratinated with cheese
- Chili con (or sin) carne leftovers
- Roasted Cabbage with minced meat
- Hungarian meat pancakes (for example according to this recipe)
- Smoked salmon and spinach
- filled with leaf spinach and baked with cheese
- Sour cream, vegetables and herbs
Video
In this video you can see the main steps for the preparation of the recipe briefly summarized. (Sorry it's in German only.)
You can find more videos similar to this one on my Youtube channel.
Grandma 3 secret tips for the fluffiest crepes
My grandmother showed me the following 3 secrets, that she does differently than many other chefs:
- Separate the eggs and beat the egg whites
- She uses a special flour that is more coarse (like is used for dumlings or Spätzle)
- For this recipe you usually have to add a little more milk to the ready-mixed batter. The dough can vary depending on how big the eggs are, or even depending on the flour, etc. The key is to adjust the batter accordingly so that it spreads easily in the pan when you pour it in, but is not too runny.
Additionally, my grandma also uses more fat than is normally used for pancakes, but if you have a well coated pan, that can be reduced.
Ingredients
For Grandma's Palatschinken recipe you need the following ingredients:
- 200g of coarse flour - not durum wheat semolina but rather special flour that is used for dumlings or Spätzle - alternatively use all purpose flour 😉
- 400ml milk
- 2 eggs - if you don't have the time to beat the egg whites, you will need 3-4 eggs instead for the same amount of flour and milk.
- neutral oil - for example corn oil, rapeseed oil, or clarified butter.
Note: Grandma's Palatschinken will be slightly thicker than usual crepes due to the beaten egg whites. The batter becomes fluffy and soft, but it also falls apart more easily when turned in the pan. This is where you need some practice making crepes.
I have tried to determine the quantities as accurately as possible. Unfortunately, you can not specify the quantities exactly, because the batter also requires some "feeling". Depending on how large the eggs are, or how dry the flour is, the consistency may vary.
It can happen that the first one or two pancakes do not turn out so well.
Most of the time, you have to carefully adjust the amount of milk afterwards so that the batter is a little runnier.
Instructions
Here comes step by step instructions with pictures and detailed explanations.
- mix pancake batter with beaten egg whites
Separate the yolks from the egg whites. Using a mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff.
In a second bowl, mix the egg yolks with the milk and flour.
Fold in the beaten egg whites with a spoon. Mix everything carefully, but do not use the mixer anymore.
Let stand for about 10 minutes so that the dough gets a better binding.
- bake the pancakes in a pan
Before baking, stir again with a wooden spoon. If the batter is not runny enough, add a little more milk if necessary, so that it is easier to spread in the pan.
Heat 1-2 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan. With well coated pans you need less fat. For this recipe, however, I recommend in principle a little more oil than you would use in "conventional" recipes, because the pancakes fall apart more easily due to the coarse flour.
Pour a ladleful of pancake batter into the pan once the fat is hot. Hold the pan at an angle and turn so that the batter is evenly distributed. If necessary, help it along with the spatula. As soon as the pancake is light brown on the underside, carefully turn it over with the spatula and finish baking on the second side.
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Shelf life & reheating
Pancakes taste best fresh. However, they also keep well packed in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. To reheat, it is best to heat them briefly in the microwave or in a pan.
Freezing & thawing
Can pancakes be frozen? Yes, baked pancakes can be frozen. It is best to freeze them individually with baking paper or foil between them so they do not stick together. To thaw, remove from freezer a few hours before serving.
Either reheat in the microwave, very briefly reheat in a skillet, or at medium temperature in the oven.
In Austria, we love to cut leftover crepes into thin stripes ("Frittaten") and serve them with soup. They can be frozen especially well:
Roll up leftover crepes and cut into thin strips. Then freeze well wrapped. To defrost, remove from freezer a few hours before use. Then serve directly in the hot soup.
Frittaten go very well with clear vegetable soup, chicken soup or beef broth.
Granny's fluffy Palatschinken Recipe (Austrian crepes)
Zutaten
- 200 g coarse flour special flour that is used for dumlings or Spätzle - alternatively use all purpose flour
- 400 ml milk
- 2 eggs
- neutral oil corn oil, rapeseed oil or clarified butter.
Anleitung
- Separate the yolks from the egg whites. Using a mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff.
- In a second bowl, mix the egg yolks with the milk and flour.
- Fold in the beaten egg whites with a spoon. Mix everything carefully, do not use the mixer anymore.
- Let stand for about 10 minutes so that the dough gets a better binding.
- Before baking, stir again with a wooden spoon. If the batter is not runny enough, add a little more milk if necessary, so that it is easier to spread in the pan.
- Heat 1-2 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan. With well coated pans you need less fat. For this recipe, however, I recommend a little more oil than you would usually use, because Granny's crepes fall apart more easily due to the coarse flour.
- Pour a ladleful of pancake batter into the pan once the fat is hot. Hold the pan at an angle and turn so that the batter is evenly distributed. If necessary, help it along with the spatula. As soon as the pancake is light brown on the underside, carefully turn it over with the spatula and finish baking on the second side.
- Spread with the jam of your choice, roll and sprinkle with powdered sugar - enjoy!
(c) by Angelika Kreitner-Beretits / Vienna Sunday Kitchen
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