Äggakaka, egg cake, is the farmhouse dish of Skåne, Sweden's fertile southernmost province, where it has been cooked for centuries in a heavy pan over the fire. It is something between a thick pancake and a soft omelet: a rich batter of eggs, flour and milk set slowly until it puffs up golden, then cut into wedges and served with crisp slices of pork and lingonberry jam. It was once made for farmworkers, because it could be wrapped up and carried out to the fields. Traditionally it is turned over in the pan; we finish it in the oven instead, which spares the beginner a heavy and very hot flip.

It is cheap, filling and remarkably easy, and it suits a crowd. The sweet and sour berries, salty pork and soft, eggy cake make an unexpectedly perfect plate, the sort of combination that seems strange right up until the first bite. For a Swedish race weekend, it makes a fine late breakfast before the cars take to the track.

The pork

Ingredients

• 12 oz (340 g) salted pork belly or thick cut bacon

Method

1. Lay the pork in the cold second skillet, set it over medium heat and fry for 8 to 10 minutes, turning once or twice. Drain on paper towels. Keep 1 tablespoon of the fat.

The egg cake

Ingredients

• 6 large eggs
• 2/3 cup (85 g) all purpose flour
• 2 cups (480 ml) whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 tablespoon (15 g) butter

Method

1. Whisk the flour, salt and about half the milk in the bowl until completely smooth. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, then the rest of the milk. Leave to rest for 10 minutes.
2. Heat the butter and the reserved tablespoon of pork fat in the ovenproof skillet over medium heat until it foams. Pour in the batter and cook without stirring for 4 to 5 minutes, gently lifting the set edges with a spatula and tilting the pan so raw batter runs underneath.
3. Move the skillet to the oven and bake for 18 to 22 minutes.

To serve

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup (180 ml) lingonberry jam

Method

1. Cut the egg cake into wedges in the pan. Serve each with slices of crisp pork and a good spoonful of lingonberry jam.

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