In Icelandic, what is a crêpe called?

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In Icelandic, a crêpe is called pönnukaka.

The word pönnukaka refers to an Icelandic crêpe-like pancake, with the plural form pönnukökur. It belongs to a wider family of thin pancakes found across Europe, but Icelandic pönnukökur have their own serving traditions and vocabulary. The name is related to the idea of a pan-cooked cake: pönnu means “pan,” while kaka means “cake.”

Pönnukökur are traditionally thin and are often rolled with sugar or folded around jam and whipped cream. In cafés, they may also be served with ice cream. This makes them closer in style to a French crêpe than to a thick, leavened American pancake.

The language comparisons in the choices are easy to confuse. Pannekake is Norwegian, pandekager is Danish, and pannkaka is Swedish. They are cognate words from neighbouring Scandinavian languages, but Icelandic uses the distinctive spelling pönnukaka, including the accented ö. Iceland also has thicker pancake-like foods, such as lumma or skonsa, which are separate from pönnukökur.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026

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