:: When I Made Æbelskiver

Subtitle: I also learnt how to do the Æ (on a Mac keyboard it’s SHIFT and OPTION and APOSTROPHE all pressed together!) Also, I think Æbelskiver is the plural. I hope I’ve used the word correctly!

I’d seen Æbelskiver (Danish pancakes) around the place on Pinterest and on some nice blogs. I thought I would study up and make my own. They are a bit like the Dutch pancakes, but slightly larger and rounder, in case you were wondering.  (I haven’t made those before, though.)  You cook them in a pan on the stove top, frying one side (gently) until golden. Then tipping them on their side… and flipping them over so their uncooked batter-y side can cook too.  (Before you tip you can add fillings or not!)

First, I researched where to find an Æbelskiver pan. I found mine at Wheel and Barrow, making the trek to Highpoint for the very first time.  They are on backorder at Williams-Sonoma too. (I quite fancy THIS pan from the W-S US site!)

Then I read about batters. Some had buttermilk. Some didn’t. Some added apples and other great stuff. Some didn’t.  I decided to start with a basic batter and build on that.  Here’s how I made them:

(makes about 20)

One Æbelskiver pan
One pastry brush

2 eggs, separated
1 tsp vanilla – optional

Beat the egg whites until stiff.

Meanwhile, beat the yolks, vanilla and milk together.
Mix the flour, sugar and baking powder together too.
Add the yolky milk mix to the dry ingredients.

Fold in the stiff whites.

Butter your pan really, really well. Have it over a medium/low flame. When it’s nice and hot plop spoonfuls of batter into each indentation. You need the holes to be about 3/4 full.

When the batter starts to bubble, wriggle a knife or skewer down the side of the Æbelskiver. See if it’s nice and golden. If it is, tilt it to the side and then flip it over to cook the other side.  OR do one clever flip! Don’t worry if the batter goes a bit wonk, it’ll all work out in the end.

Flip all your Æbelskiver so they are uncooked side down in the pan. Cook for a minute on the other side and then take them out of the pan and plonk onto a serving plate.  You can then sprinkle them with icing sugar, if you like! Or toss them in caster sugar if you are super crazy.

Repeat the process.  You should get about 3 panfuls from this mix.  Make sure you butter the pan well EVERY TIME.

We cut ours in half and had them with jam or Nutella or golden syrup. YUM!  If you google around, you can find more traditional Æbelskiver recipes with apple in them. Or even chocolatey ones. YUM!  Sorry for all the yums!!  Have you ever made these?!

x Pip