Years ago I was introduced to aebleskiver, a Danish holiday breakfast food that's best described as a spherical pancake. (Aebleskiver is Danish for Apple...uh... Skiver.) The little balls are made using a special cast-iron pan with half-spherical hollows, called an Aebleskiver pan or sometimes called a monk's pan. Dough is put into a hot hollow, and soon forms a crusty half-ball with still uncooked dough in the middle. Then the ball is flipped over using a knitting needle (traditional) or wooden skewer (my style) and the remaining dough flows into the hollow and forms the other half of the ball.
Last year I picked up an aebleskiver pan and tried making some aebleskiver for Thanksgiving breakfast, following the recipe that came with the pan. They were awful — the outsides were charred and the insides were rubbery. I take it as a sign that my family truly loves me that they ate any at all. So I went to the Net and downloaded some different recipes, and tried again at Christmas. (One advantage of having to split your holidays among parts of the family is you can repeat experiments like this on an unsuspecting audience.) This one was better, but the rubbery after-texture remained.
So then I got serious. Being a scientist at heart, I solicited aebleskiver recipes from anyone who knew someone with a Danish grandmother, downloaded more off the Net, and picked a set of five that fairly well spanned the space. Like most folk recipes, they varied widely — some called for low heat and some for high, some for lightly mixing the ingredients and some for thoroughly mixed, some for baking powder, some for buttermilk, some for yeast, and one called for beer. Then I invited a friend over and we set out to make micro-batches of aebleskiver, taking careful notes along the way.
They were all bad. Every last one. Only two of them weren't rubbery in the middle, and those had a bitter after taste. Experimentation had failed; it was time to resort to theory.
We pulled out The Cook's Bible, a great cookbook done by the editor of Cook's Illustrated, and started browsing the index. This led to a discussion on the science of waffles, full of tidbits like the fact that a waffle is fried on the outside and steamed on the inside, that browned waffles are more flavorful than just tanned ones because of the Maillard reaction, that buttermilk and baking soda is the key to a good thick batter and baking powder leaves the batter thin and bitter, and that you want to mix liquid and dry ingredients with a very light touch so you don't burst the CO2 bubbles formed by the buttermilk's lactic acid reacting with the baking soda. Best of all, it had a master recipe for waffles that took all these principles into account. We tried it, and the aebleskiver came out perfect!
Here's a synopsis of the master waffle recipe described in The Cook's Bible, modified only slightly for aebleskiver. I find I still have to sacrifice a batch or two to the skiver gods when I'm using a new oven to get the right pan temperature, but this recipe has yet to let me down. (Note to Danish grandmothers out there: if this recipe goes against all that is holy about a proper aebleskiver batter, just chalk this up as yet another example of American ignorant hubris and ignore it.)
Ingredients
Directions
Enjoy!
Update 6/20/06: I was recently at The Little Mermaid, a Dutch restaurant in the tourist-town Solvang, California, and asked how they made their (very tasty) Aebleskiver. The woman serving us leaned in conspiratorally and whispered "Bisquick Pancake Mix — it works every time." She also mentioned you should turn the balls just a quarter turn at a time (which takes up to 15 minutes to fully cook), and this clever trick: instead of buttermilk, use 7-Up! This still provides the acid to react with the baking soda, but also provides Carbon Dioxide for extra froth. Oh yes, and don't spare the cardamom (they used quite a bit). I haven't tried any of these tips yet, but I plan to give it a whirl the next batch I make.
Posted by bug to at September 29, 2004 9:40 PM | TrackBackThank you for the recipe. I have been searching for years to find the recipe that my stepfather, who was Danish, cooked for us whenever we visited. Of all the recipes out there, yours is the first to include applesauce in the center or, for that matter, apples of any kind, which is amazing since they are "apple pancakes" when translated from the Danish.
Posted by: Betty at June 6, 2005 2:54 PMFound an aebleskiver pan at a flea market recently. Never having seen one before, I had no idea how one would use it. Ran across your website and wasn't encouraged to use it at all.
After thinking about it, though, I came up with another use. Having a six muffin pan only, I thought of using the aebleskiver pan to use up the rest of a store bought chocolate chip muffin mix. The six in the muffin pan turned out fine, the seven in the aebleskiver were fantastic. A completely different, much lighter texture than regular muffins, a nice crumbly consistency and they tasted terrific. You might give it a try. I highly recommend it.
Dan S.
Glad to have found your site. As I started searching for recipes I didn't even know how they were spelled. My Grandmother used to make them for us but I'm not sure she even knew exactly what they were called as she married a Danish man late in life. Took me a lot of trial and error to find the right spelling.
Posted by: at January 16, 2006 1:07 PMMy family has a tradtion of makeing these. Here is my recipie
Aebleskiver or Ebleskiver
Pancakes balls of Scandinavian origin. The name translates as Apple Pancake.
Dry ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp soda
2 Tbs sugar
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground cardamom or cinnamon (optional)
Wet ingredients:
2 cups buttermilk
3 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
Beat till stiff:
3 egg whites
Filling (otional):
1 Apple chopped to ¼ inch pieces
½ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp sugar
Directions: Mix dry ingredients and set aside.
Mix or blend wet ingredients together and add all at once to dry ingredients. Mix till just combined. Gently fold in beaten egg whites with a spatula, do not stir.
Place cut apples for filling in a small bowl and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar; toss to coat well.
Cooking: Heat aebleskiver pan; Brush each cup generously with oil (use a twisted up paper towel) , Fill about 2/3 with batter and place about a teaspoon of filling on top or pour ¾ full if no filling is being used. Using a knitting needle or equivalent slightly push the filling down into the batter. Using the knitting needle, turn each aebleskiver 90 degrees (or more) in its cup when it is nicely browned. Turn again when browned to make spherical. Oil cups before each batch. Aebleskivers cook using medium to low heat in a cast iron aebleskiver pan.
My family traces our tradition of making aebleskiver from Inez Tennant Swenson who was taught by her mother in law, Adena Hannah Warnick Swenson, who was taught by her mother, Christine Marie Larson Warnick who emigrated from Denmark with her family as a young girl. Surly the tradition goes back further with our Danish/Swedish ancestors since I have a vague recollection that my great grandfather’s family was reported to have made aebleskivers too. I use my grandmother’s, Adena Hannah’s Aebleskiver pan having received it from my father after my mother passed away. The family does not remember how far the recipe dates back and a quick search of the internet shows this general recipe is common. I never remember my mother making them with filling but I often do for my family. –Charles Swenson, February 2006.
I used to be married to a man who was part Danish. He would make aebleskivers for holidays, and my family LOVED them. I dumped him, but kept his aebleskiver pan!! I'm so glad to have found a recipe!! I just put up my summer preserves, so I think this is the perfect time to use your recipe, and his...oops...MY pan. Thanks.
Posted by: Marisa at June 20, 2006 11:28 AMsince 1900 my family has lived in Solvang...My great-great grandfather help founded the quaint DANISH village.I have had alot of different versons of the round pancake balls !!! and as you said the lady at the Little Mermaid restaurant has shown you a secret short-cut....but they are all good with lots of powdered sugar and raspberry jam
Posted by: Ann at November 15, 2006 7:12 AMMy wife is a full blood Dane and the recipe above is very close to the one we use that was handed down to her. Just before adding the batter to the pan, put a half a teaspoon of cooking oil in each of the cups of the the pan. This is important if it is an Iron pan. Also make sure the Iron pan is seasoned. Pans can be purchased at stores in Elkhorn Iowa or ordered from Nordic Ware in Mpls, MN.
Posted by: Tom & Deb at November 25, 2006 12:14 PMI have made Eble Skivers all my life and they are wonderful. Some of the recipes you mentioned really sound hard, so here is a slighly easier one. Oh, this one is of Dutch origin.
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 Cups Flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 Cups Milk
6 eggs seperated
Beat egg whites with 1/2 tsp. cream of tarter (sometimes I leave that out if I don't have it on hand). Beat eggs yokes, add sugar, then alternate milk and dry ingredients (1/2 cup milk, 2/3 cup flour repeat and so on). Then fold in egg whites.
Cook on medium heat turning once.
Very happy to find this as I am looking for an aebleskiver pan and cannot find a discussion on whether cast iron is better than non-stick heavy aluminum. I am cooking on a gas stove, if that makes a difference. I would appreciate your comments. Thanks.
Posted by: Sheryl at January 5, 2007 1:37 PMI do like using my cast iron pan and don't have any problems with sticking so long as I put a bit of butter or lard in the bottom. I've never used aluminum though, so I can't really compare.
Posted by: Bug at January 5, 2007 2:02 PMI recently purchased the Nordic Ware pan sold at Williams-Sonoma. The display in the store included a picture of delightful-appearing chocolate ebelskiver pancakes dusted with powdered sugar. I bought the mix (which is Chocolate Chip pancake/waffle mix). It made great nice round pancakes when I followed the recipe on the container. The entire mix makes about 30.
There is also a recipe in the Williams-Sonoma February 07 catalog. The ladies in the store raved about how good it is, posted below:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 Tbs. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
Zest of 1/2 lemon
3 egg yolks
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
3/4 ricotta cheese
5 egg whites, beaten to stiff peaks
2 1/2 Tbs.unsalted butter, melted
7 Tbs. cherry jam, or as needed
In bowl, whisk together flour,baking soda, baking powder, granulated sugar, salt and zest. In another bowl, lightly whisk egg yolks. Whisk in buttermilk and ricotta. Whisk yolk mixture into flour mixture until well combined; the batter will be lumpy. Gently stir in egg whites in two additions.
Put 1/4 tsp. butter in each well of filled-pancake pan. Heat over medium heat until butter begins to bubble. Pour 1 Tbs. batter into each well. Place heaping 1/2 tsp. jam in center of batter; top with 1 Tbs. batter. Cook 3-5 minutes. Using 2 skewers, flip pancakes over; cook 3 minutes more. Transfer to plate. Repeat with remaining better. Dust pancakes with confectioners' sugar. Makes about 20.
Just found this, as I am looking up recipes to use for the aebleskiver brunch I'm planning next weekeend. My G-father was Danish, so this is a traditional special-occasion brunch in our family. While I don't have our recipe on hand right now, I agree that the batter is much like a waffle batter and is much better made with buttermilk than with regular milk - it's also important to not overfold the egg whites --- batter should be very lumpy after these are added.
That said, we don't cook them with jam or apples inside - we've found that they tend to stay doughy when this is done. Instead, we make them plain and eat them hot out the pan, by spliting them almost in half with our thumbs and filling the space with jam. Then we smush the halves back together and eat. The best fingerfood.
To cook, we fill the pans 1/4 - 1/3 with oil before adding the batter. They are basically deep-fried, then filled with one or more of the 5-6 types of jam that we put on the table.
Regarding the question of pan metal -- there isn't much difference between cast iron and aluminum except that aluminum tends to heat faster and you need to be more cautious not to burn. What is more important is that the base of the pan be the proper size for your burner element - whether it is gas or electric. If the pan is not balanced nicely, it may topple from the element and you will get a nasty burn.
Pans with only indentations/holes that touch the bottom of the burner tend to be the most unstable (esp. if they are light aluminum). Pans with solid bottoms or a ring around the bottom of the pan tend to balance better (as long as the ring is wide enough to be bigger than your electric element or the gas grate - otherwise, these might also fall off the burner)
Pans with a lip at the top of the pan are also good to keep the oil/batter from spilling over the stove.
Posted by: kammy at January 4, 2008 11:37 AMYUMMY!!
Aebelskiver filled pancakes are so good! What a lovely treat on a cold winter morning. My husband and I were shopping after Christmas and came upon a Norpro Aebelskiver pan. We used the recipe that was attached to the pan which is the same as above. The lemon, buttermilk and ricotta cheese give the pancakes such an interesting flavor. We filled with Granny Smith apple bits and a touch of apple butter (my favorite right now). My son loves the bananna and chocolate chip filled. I can't wait to try fresh peaches and blueberrie filled ones. If you are reading this blog and do not have a pan you can purchase them on Ebay.
Life is to short not to enjoy a brunch with this wonderful treat that originated in Denmark!
Susie
Posted by: Suzie at January 12, 2008 12:16 PMIf you really are in the market for an aebleskiver pan, or whatever you might call it, you should go to the website: www.aebleskiver.com to find the largest selection of the pans for any type of stove you might have. You will also find all the items you might need to get started, There is also a video there showing you how to properly make them. They will answer any question you might have and give you help for free.
They are also coming out with an all electric aebleskiver pan sometime this summer. It should be a hit when it comes.Go there, you will like it.