A Recipe for Aebleskiver, a Breakfast Favorite

The Aebleskive is from the Danish culture, and I learned about them when I was very young. To put it simply, they are like a pancake, but in a spherical shape. They are a cross between popovers, which I love, and pancakes. They are served with powdered sugar, syrup, or jam or preserves usually, but can be served in many ways. I always liked having syrup or jam with mine.  They have become a breakfast favorite in places like Solvang, in the United States, even if they are not technically a "Danish breakfast favorite." 

Just the idea of alone of aebleskiver takes me way back to when I was a little girl, going on trips with my family. We would go to a little place called Solvang, in California. They had many good pastries and danishes in that little town. We would go hiking, enjoy nature, the culture, restaurants and swimming, etc.

My grandmother purchased an aebleskiver pan to make her own aebleskivers. That has been passed on to me since she has been gone, which I am very thankful for. It is super heavy cast iron pan, but they make great aebleskiver!

The alternate way to spell it, is ebleskiver, or ebleskive in the singular.

The pan even looks really neat, and makes perfect aebleskiver in their round spherical shapes if done well. They bake in the oven, in the heavy cast iron pan, which allows for great results. There are gas and electric versions for cooking aebleskiver, but I have not ever had any cooked that way so cannot speak on those. I am sure they turn out alright though, and are somewhat easier.

Traditionally, they were cooked with apples or applesauce, thus their name, but you won't find it prepared that way very often anymore. I happen to love apples in baked goods, and think its very tasty. As far as ingredients you will see they are not that different from other breakfast breads, though you can spice them up a bit. I think the fun with these, is their shape, and the technique which turns out a beautifully done aebleskiver. On top of the regular types of ingredients and eggs, you will find lemon zest, cinnamon and cardamom. Some add yeast to get a better aeration in the batter.

One unique thing to know, is that it is handy to have a knitting needle to turn these tasty little spheres in their pans. You can also use a skewer or fork, but I think its so cool to use a knitting needle. One lady has said, she has much better results since she started using her knitting needle instead of trying to turn them with other things.  A very neat technique for sure. 

While on its own, aebleskiver aren't very sweet, you can definitely add you own "sweet".  Since many take out the apples and applesauce, you can imagine that what was originally sweeter, will now be less sweet.  Why not add small apple chunks?  Some of the best jams or preserves you can eat with aebleskiver are strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, and lingonberry, on top of the powdered sugar of course. They would be great though, with apricot, and blueberry preserves as well, or any of your favorite jams.

If you do buy the fried and frozen aebleskiver in the market, just know they may not be as good as cooked fresh, like other things. Its great to get an idea of what they are about though, and would be better to have them that way, than not at all

I will also give a link to many other recipes. Many places sell the aebleskiver mix. 

Aebleskiver

Two egg whites

Two cups of buttermilk

Two cups all purpose flour

Two teaspoons baking powder

One tablespoon sugar of choice

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup of melted butter

Directions: Mix the dry ingredients together, then stir the buttermilk in. Whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form, and gently fold them into the batter. Then add your melted butter.

When your pan is hot you can add a little bit of cooking oil to each hole. A good temperature may be around 390 degrees. Let the oil get somewhat hot, and pour in a couple of tablespoons of the batter. You will want to turn them periodically with either knitting needles or skewers or some other tool. Keep baking until they are baked all the way through.

I love them with a little butter, powdered sugar, and blackberry jam on top.

For the more traditional way of serving, add some diced apples, or even dried apples to the mix.

For a completely different kind of tase, add pieces of crumbled bacon or sausage, and a little of your favorite cheese.

Strawberries, and whipped cream is another idea.

Honey, or cinnamon sugar would be good

My favorite was the way I always had it with powdered sugar and jam.