Flavors · Ilhas Åland

ålandspannkaka

Oven-baked pudding made from semolina or rice porridge with milk, eggs and cardamom, served in squares with dried plum cream and whipped cream. The islanders of Åland chose it as the dish of the century.

Traditional sweet from Ilhas Åland

Also known as: Ålands pannkaka, Ahvenanmaan pannukakku

Updated November 2026

Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.

Click a photo to enlarge it.

ålandspannkaka — Ilhas Åland, Finland — ålandspannkaka

ålandspannkaka — Ilhas Åland, Finland

Despite the name, which means Åland pancake, the ålandspannkaka is a baked pudding. The base is a semolina or rice porridge cooked in milk. After it cools, beaten eggs with sugar, a little wheat flour, salt and ground cardamom — the spice that defines the flavor — are added. The batter is poured into a baking pan in a layer about 2 cm thick with small pieces of butter on top, and baked until golden.

Åland tourism says the dessert probably originated in the eastern isles of the archipelago as a quick recipe for entertaining unexpected guests with little in the pantry. Written records are scarce, and the debate over the original recipe, semolina or rice, continues among locals. In autumn 2021, during the centenary celebrations of autonomy, the Ålanders chose the dish of the century in an open vote among nine finalists, and the ålandspannkaka won. The islands’ tourism office published the recipe in the official contest brochure.

It’s served in squares, warm, with a spoonful of dried plum cream (sviskonkräm) and whipped cream, which on the islands is nicknamed snömos, “snow puree.” Cold, it loses its appeal, the local tourism office warns. Almost every café in Åland has it on the menu, and on Autonomy Day, June 9, it is often served in the square in Mariehamn.

Share: WhatsApp

Where it comes from

Ilhas Åland
The Åland Islands named ålandspannkaka the dish of the century, and it is served in almost every café across the archipelago.

Ingredients

Milk, semolina or rice, wheat flour, eggs, sugar, salt, cardamom and butter. For serving: dried plum cream and whipped cream.

How it is eaten

Cut into squares, warm, with dried plum cream and whipped cream. Sometimes served with fruit jam instead of the plum.

When it is eaten

Year-round in the islands’ cafés. On Åland Autonomy Day, June 9, it is commonly served in the square in Mariehamn.

Your questions

Questions about ålandspannkaka

What is ålandspannkaka?

An oven-baked pudding from the Åland Islands, made from semolina or rice porridge with milk, eggs and cardamom. It is served warm with dried plum cream and whipped cream.

Is ålandspannkaka a pancake?

Only in the name. It is baked in a pan and cut into squares, with a pudding-like texture — closer to a creamy tart than to a skillet pancake.

Where to eat ålandspannkaka?

In almost every café on the Åland Islands, in Mariehamn and across the archipelago. On Autonomy Day, June 9, it is often served in the square in Mariehamn.

Flavors of Finland

Discover other flavors of Finland

Dish · Finland

lohikeitto

Salmon soup with potato, carrot and leek, in a broth finished with cream and fresh dill on top. It’s a nationwide dish, served in lunch restaurants, cafés and homes, almost always with rye bread.

Sweet · Finland

mämmi

A dark Easter sweet made from rye flour and rye malt slowly cooked until they sweeten on their own, with bitter orange peel. It is served cold with heavy cream and sugar, and appears throughout the country before Easter.

Dish · Finland

ruisleipä

Dark, dense, sour bread made from whole rye flour and natural fermentation, formed round, with or without a hole, or dried. It appears at almost every meal and was chosen as Finland’s national food in a 2017 public vote.

Drink · Finland

sahti

Traditional farmhouse beer made from barley malt and other cereals, filtered over juniper branches in a wooden trough without boiling the wort. Its production method is protected by the European Union and it is included in Finland’s inventory of living heritage.

Dish · Carélia do Norte

karjalanpiirakka

Open, oval pastry made with a thin rye dough, with pleated edges and filled with rice porridge, potato or barley, served with egg butter. It comes from Karelia and its method of preparation is protected by the European Union.

Sweet · Kainuu

Kainuun rönttönen

Small round open tart made with a rye crust, filled with mashed potato sweetened by the potato itself and crushed lingonberry. It is the specialty of the Kainuu region and has a protected geographical indication from the European Union.

Dish · Kuopio

kalakukko

Rye dough bread filled with lake fish and pork belly, baked for hours until the crust darkens. It’s the food of Kuopio’s market square, sold hot, and its method of preparation is protected by the European Union.

Dish · Lapônia

poronkäristys

Sliced reindeer meat, sautéed with onion and butter and simmered in broth or beer, served with mashed potatoes and lingonberries. It’s the dish most associated with reindeer herding in Lapland.

Dish · Lappeenranta

vety

Fried meat pie, split open and filled with ham and boiled egg, with mustard, ketchup and cucumber salad. With only one of the two fillings it’s called atomi. It’s the snack sold at the market square and harbour stalls in Lappeenranta.

Dish · Lemi

Lemin särä

Lamb and potatoes slow-roasted for hours in a wood-fired oven in a long birch wooden trough called särä. It is Lemi’s traditional food in South Karelia, served with barley bread.

Sweet · Porvoo

runebergintorttu

A small cylindrical cake made with almond and cookie crumbs, moistened with rum or punch and topped with a ring of icing with raspberry jam in the center. It is named after the national poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg, who lived in Porvoo.

Dish · Savonlinna

lörtsy

Thin, flattened half-moon pastry, fried in oil, filled with meat or apple jam. It’s Savonlinna’s specialty, sold at the market square next to the steamboat passenger harbor.

Dish · Tampere

mustamakkara

A black sausage made from blood and pork with ground cereal, sold hot at Tampere’s market squares and served with lingonberry jam. The city’s tourism board calls it Tampere’s emblematic dish.

All the flavors of Finland