Recipe of the Week: How to make Pippi Longstocking's favorite pancakes

Book lovers don’t need an excuse to go the library or bookstore, but book lovers like Kate Young also throw in a stop at the grocery store.

Young is the U.K.-based blogger behind the Little Library Cafe (thelittlelibrarycafe.com), a collection of book-inspired meals that bring to life some of her favorite scenes from literary classics, from “Moby Dick” to “Little House on the Prairie” to newer bestsellers, such as “White Teeth” by Zadie Smith.

In her new book, “The Little Library Cookbook: 100 Recipes from Your Favorite Books” (Sterling Epicure, $24.95), Young compiles dozens of these dishes. The recipes include short passages from the books that inspired them and Young’s reflections on the nostalgia and connection she feels for the authors through the flavors described in their text.

Young says that she makes these Swedish pancakes — a nod to Astrid Lindgren’s “Pippi Longstocking” — for Fat Tuesday. In Sweden, from where Pippi hails, pancakes are traditionally eaten on Thursdays for dessert.

Swedish Pancakes

I prefer these served with maple syrup or jam for breakfast. These pancakes aren’t too sweet or heavy, and the first in a batch can be on the table in less than five minutes. They’re also foolproof and were my secret weapon for getting my babysitting charges out of bed and downstairs for breakfast.

— Kate Young

2 eggs

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

2 1/2 cups milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons melted butter

For serving: Jam, chocolate spread, honey or lemon and sugar

In a large glass measuring cup or medium bowl, beat the eggs with a couple of tablespoons of the flour (there’s no need to be precise with the amount — just “some”) until they form a smooth mixture. Add the rest of the flour and the milk, beating continuously. The batter should have the consistency of light cream. Flavor with the salt and sugar and then add the melted butter just before cooking.

Heat the frying pan over low heat with a little bit of butter. As there’s butter in the batter, you won’t need to re-grease the pan between each pancake, but this initial greasing helps prevent the tricky first one from sticking. Pour about 2 tablespoons of the batter into the center and swirl the pan around until the mixture covers the base evenly. Cook until the pancake is light brown in small patches underneath, then turn over using a spatula — or jerk your wrist and toss it in the air if you’re very good at flipping pancakes.

Once the pancake is cooked through, place in a low oven on an ovenproof plate or baking sheet to keep warm until you’ve used up all the batter. Make sure you continue to whisk the batter in between each pancake so that the flour doesn’t settle in the bottom of the measuring cup.

Serve with jam, sugar and lemon, chocolate spread or honey — the options are endless. Makes about 16 pancakes.

— From “The Little Library Cookbook: 100 Recipes from Your Favorite Books” (Sterling Epicure, $24.95) by Kate Young

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