We buy organic spelt flour form a local farm, and I’ve been experimenting with it lately, adding it to all kinds of baked goods. Spelt flour has a lot of flavor and a great texture, and I think it should be much more widely used than it currently is. I used only spelt four in these pancakes and they turned out succulent and filled with apple flavor, just like I hoped they would. With the addition of grated apples, these are a little thicker than most Finnish pancakes, but thinner and more delicate than most American-style pancakes. I fried them in a special pancake pan so they were quite tiny in size, smaller in diameter than the palm of my hand.

This is what I used:

• 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and grated
• 3 and 1/2 dl soy milk
• 3 dl spelt flour
• 2 tablespoons barley (or potato or corn) starch
• 1/2 dl granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
• pinch of salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• canola oil for frying

First, I peeled and grated the apples, and then mixed them with the soy milk. In another bowl, I mixed the rest of the ingredients (except for the oil), and then poured them to the apple-soy milk bowl. I mixed the batter with a wooden fork until combined, and then let it develop for about 30 minutes before frying the pancakes.

I used our pancake pan for frying, and heated it on medium heat. I added a little bit of canola oil in each compartment, and then poured about one and a half tablespoons of the batter in each, leveling the batter with the spoon to fill the whole compartment.

I fried these pancakes for a few minutes on each side, flipping them when the downside had turned golden brown. I had to adjust the heat every once in a while, so that the pan didn’t get too hot and burn the pancakes before they were done inside. They were still jiggly on top before flipping, so I flipped them very carefully with the help of a wooden butter knife and a wooden spatula.

During the frying process, I kept the already fried pancakes in the oven that was on 50 degrees Celsius. I placed them on a plate, and kept them uncovered to maintain some of their crispiness. We enjoyed our pancakes with blueberry-raspberry jam and our favorite whipped topping.

Here’s a photo of our pancake pan – at least for Finns and Swedes these pans with little compartments are very familiar. Traditionally they are made of cast iron, and have more compartments, but ours is non-stick and makes 4 pancakes at a time.