Home > Everyday Gourmet > Archives > 2009 > September > 18 > Entry
Have You Ever Eaten Ebleskiver or Aebleskiver?
One of my “left coast” cousins was married at a vineyard in the Santa Ynez Valley. The Miller Clan from Waco was well-represented at the wedding. (We stayed at the famous - or infamous - motel in Solvang where Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church stayed in the movie Sideways.)
As we wandered around in the charming Danish settlement about 115 miles from Los Angeles, we encountered a food new to us small-town Texas types - Aebleskiver (spelling varies according to source). I grew up eating pancakes. It was a Sunday morning ritual in our family right after “The Banging of the Pans” which was Mom’s way of getting us out of bed. Pancakes with syrup were my father’s favorite breakfast. He often said, “I like a little pancake with my syrup.” Mother has made countless pancakes for him, my siblings, and me, my daughter, my nephews, anyone who ever entered our doors at breakfast time - and sometimes even Sunday at supper time. Even now all of her grandchildren ask from Grandmom’s pancakes. (I seldom make them because, as my daughter says, “I don’t want to hurt your feelings, Mom, but Grandmom’s a just a little bit better. I’m not bitter, really.)
My family’s cultural background did not include aebleskivers; so, when offered the opportunity to eat a Danish pancake we jumped at the chance.
According to Wikipedia… “Aebleskiver (Danish meaning apple slices) are traditional Danish pancakes in a distinctive shape of a sphere. Somewhat similar in texture to American pancakes crossed with a popover. Aebleskiver are solid like a pancake but light and fluffy like a popover.” (More about how to achieve this later.)
What is their origin? One theory found on Solvang restaurant website says the following:
Back in the good old days when the Vikings were roaming up and down the coasts of Europe and the waters of the Atlantic, one band of these Vikings had been hard hit in battle; so, when they got back on their ship with their horn helmets and shields all dented and banged up, they decided to have one of their favorite dishes to help them regain their strength - pancakes! In those days they did not have modern conveniences such as frying pans; so, they greased their shields and poured the pancake batter on them over the fire, and, voila! AEBLESKIVER!
Nowdays they are cooked on the stovetop in a special pan with several hemispherical indentions in the bottom of the pan. The pan is cast iron or some other metal that holds heat well. Wagnerware still makes the cast iron type. Nordic Ware (go figure!) makes a cast aluminum aebleskiver pan.
Sharon Boysen Morrow, a Gourmet Gallery regular, has her mother’s aebleskiver pan. All of her children own an aebleskiver pan as well. She grew up in San Luis Obispo, CA. There was a large Danish poulation there and her family, the Boysens, were a part of that. In her words, “Aebelskiver were always a treat growing up. They were made on special occasions. My mother put raisins in them and we dipped them in sugar. Often we had a contest to see who could eat the most.”
Regarding the recipes, Sharon offers the following advice, “Most aebelskiver recipes do not call for many eggs, but the eggs are the secret of being light and fluffy. They are known as Danish pancakes. They are generally filled with fruit and served with sugar and Loganberry jam.”
This first recipe accompanied the pan Sharon received from her mother.
Danish Aebelskiver
4 eggs
1 T sugar
2 c cake flour
1/2 t salt
1 t baking powder
1/4 c melted butter
Scant 2 c milk
Beat egg yolks until light. Add sugar and beat until thickened. Sift together dry ingredients and add alternating with butter and milk. Beat egg whites until soft and fold into batter. Fill each cup of Aebelskiver pan 2/3 full, cook over medium heat until bubbly, turn with fork and cook on other side until brown. Serve with syrup, honey, or jam. If desired, a small piece of cooked apple or thick plum sauce can be pressed into each cup of batter before turning.
Sharon modified this recipe from a Bisquick cookbook. She suggests holding back some egg whites to fold in for the later batches.
Danish Aebleskiver
1 1/2 c Bisquick
1 c milk
6 egg yolks, unbeaten
6 egg whites, well beaten, but not dry
Beat Bisquick, milk and egg yolks with rotary beater until well-blended. Fold in egg whites. Place small amount of butter in each cup of Danish cake pan. Heat pan slightly; fill 2/3 full of batter. Cook until bubbly. Turn carefully with metal skewer; finish baking on other side. Remove from pan onto paper towels. Sprinkle confectioners’ sugar over top and serve with lingonberry jam. Makes about 42.
With apple centers: Fill each cup 2/3 full of batter, add 1/2 t well-drained apple mixture (2 medium pared and finely grated apples, 1 T sugar and 1/4 t cinnamon) and cover with very small amount of batter. Bake as above.
Oh, and you’ll need your knitting needles to turn the pancakes to keep them round. Just got ride of knitting needles? Try metal skewers or ice picks.
Thank you, Sharon, for sharing your aebleskiver/aebelskiver/ebelskiver - hmmm - your Danish pancake memories and recipes. I’m going to start making these for my young pancake eater. I bet mine will be better than her grandmother’s!
For photos of the pan, see Gourmet Gallery Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Waco-TX/Gourmet-Gallery/78558491610?ref=nf.
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Comments
By Doug
October 27, 2009 5:49 AM | Link to this | Report comment abuse
We made a brief stop in Solvang on a family vacation in 1981. It was memorable for three reasons: my mom got a job offer over a pay-phone, we ran into John Travolta (he chatted with us for a full 15 minutes), and the hot, delicious aebleskivers.
By tj
November 11, 2009 9:42 AM | Link to this | Report comment abuse
Happy Birthday, gourmet gal!
By Debbie H
November 14, 2009 4:36 PM | Link to this | Report comment abuse
I grew up eating this wonderful treat. My maternal grandfather was from Denmark and it has always been a part of my past. I have both my own Aebelskiver pan and my mother’s…which makes it nice when you are making a batch! Thanks for bringing some Danish culture to central Texas!