Finnish Oven Pancakes (Pannakukku)

Preheat oven to 400°F. When the oven temperature reaches about 300°F, place an 8- or 9-inch cake pan or 10-inch pie plate in the oven with the butter in it. The butter should melt, but not brown, while the oven finishes heating.

Place the eggs, f lour, milk, salt, sugar and vanilla (if using) in the carafe of a blender. Fix the cover in place and blend on high, stopping to scrape down the sides if necessary, until the mixture is smooth and even. When the oven is fully heated, and the butter is fully melted, pull the oven rack out far enough to work safely and pour the batter into the hot pan. Push the rack carefully back into the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the oven pancake has puffed quite high and is a deep golden brown. You can test the doneness by quickly inserting a butter knife in the center of the oven pancake. If the knife comes out clean, the pancake is done.

Remove the pan from the oven, cut immediately (it will deflate some, so don’t worry!) and serve topped as desired.

Here are some topping ideas:

If you add the sugar to the batter below are good toppings…

* Powdered sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice
* A handful of fresh or frozen berries
* A sprinkle of brown sugar and drizzle of maple syrup
* A dollop of fruit jam
* Apples sautéed in butter and caramel sauce (oh help.)
* A dollop or five of sweetened whipped cream

If you omit the sugar…

* Sausage gravy and chopped green onions
* Beef or venison stew
* Gravy