If there is one dish that every Austrian child knows, it’s Palatschinken. Thin, golden crêpes, rolled up with jam, sugar, or chocolate spread, and always disappearing far too quickly from the plate.
In my family, Palatschinken were more than just dessert – they were a Sunday ritual. My dad makes the best Palatschinken, and whenever he was off work on a Sunday, that’s what we had. He had the patience to turn out stack after stack, and for us kids it was always the highlight of the week.
Still, I went through a phase where I couldn’t stand Palatschinken at all. The reason? At school we once had to make them with a nut filling, and because of a classmate’s measurement error, the result turned out far too sweet and heavy. After that experience, I dreaded them for quite a while.
Luckily, my mum came up with a clever solution: she filled the Palatschinken with Letscho, a paprika and tomato stew. Suddenly they were savoury, balanced, and delicious — and just like that, Palatschinken won me over again.
And then, many years later, the story came full circle: during my pregnancies with my sons, I had regular cravings for Palatschinken. Sweet, savoury, or simply sprinkled with sugar — they became a true comfort food again.
Ingredients
For the dough
- 250 g plain flour (Weizenmehl, glatt)
- 500 ml milk
- 2 medium eggs
- 1 pinch of salt
- A dash of oil (or butter for the pan)
For sweet fillings
- Granulated sugar
- Nutella or other chocolate spread
- Jam or marmalade (apricot is classic)
- Nut Filling (Nussfülle)
- 150 g ground hazelnuts or walnuts
- 60 g sugar
- 50–80 ml milk (just enough to bind)
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- Optional: a dash of rum or rum aroma
Savoury Fillings
- Fill with Ham and cheese
- left over Bolognese Sauce
- Letscho
- 2 tbsp oil
- 2 onions, finely sliced
- 2–3 peppers (red or yellow), sliced
- 3–4 tomatoes (or 1 tin chopped tomatoes)
- 1 tsp sweet paprika powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
UK Sourcing Tips
Flour: UK plain flour works perfectly for Austrian “glattes Mehl”.
Jam: For a real Austrian touch, apricot jam (Marillenmarmelade) is traditional. Brands like Darbo are often sold online or in continental delis.
Letscho: You can make it from scratch (see below), or find jars in Eastern European shops or online.
Prep: 10-20 min
Cook: 20-25 minutes
Serves: 5
(10 Palatschinken)
Method:
Prepare the Palatschinken
- In a bowl, whisk together flour, milk, eggs, and salt until you have a smooth batter.
- Let the batter rest for 20–30 minutes.
- Heat a lightly greased non-stick frying pan.
- Pour in a ladle of batter, swirl to cover the bottom thinly, and cook 1–2 minutes until golden.
- Flip and cook the other side briefly.
- Repeat until all batter is used, stacking the Palatschinken under a tea towel to keep them warm – or stack between 2 plates.
Nut filling:
- Warm the milk gently in a small saucepan.
- Stir in sugar and cinnamon until dissolved.
- Add the ground nuts and mix into a spreadable paste. If too dry, add a splash more milk.
- Spread on freshly made Palatschinken, roll up, and dust with icing sugar.
Letscho
- Heat the oil in a saucepan and sauté onions until soft and golden.
- Add peppers and cook for 5 minutes until softened.
- Stir in tomatoes and paprika, season, then simmer for 15–20 minutes until thick and saucy.
- Use warm as a filling for savoury Palatschinken.
More Classic Fillings
For a classic Filling like Jam, Nutella or just sugar, spread a bit of sugar on your plate, before placing the Palatschinke on it. Spread the filling on it and then roll those up to fine rolls. You can then add a dash of icing sugar on it.
For a Yorkshire Twist: why note use lemon juice or golden syrup as fillings!!
Whether sweet or savoury, Palatschinken are proof that sometimes the simplest recipes are the most versatile. For me, they carry the flavour of Sundays with my dad, the memory of my mum’s clever savoury rescue, and even the cravings of pregnancy — true comfort food in every sense.
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