Have you ever wondered what a pancake, crossed with a cloud, crossed with a doughnut, crossed with a dream, would taste like?
My very specific friend, this is your lucky day. Because that is EXACTLY what an aebleskiver tastes like.
Now, before you get too excited, I have to break the bad news to you. You will need a special piece of equipment. An aebleskiver pan. Mine is made of cast iron and set me back $24.95.
If you’re the kind of person who objects to single-use items in the kitchen, then admittedly this is not for you. But if it helps, it’s a very small piece of equipment, and the joy it will bring to your kitchen is totally disproportionate to the amount of space it will take up. That is; it takes up a little space, but it will bring you A LOT of joy.
The batter comes together very easily, like most pancake batters do. I like to add a healthy squeeze of vanilla bean paste, which I am absolutely passionate about, and a good grating of fresh nutmeg as well.
Nutmeg, in large quantities, is a hallucinogen. In small quantities it makes your pancakes taste like doughnuts and brings a wonderful sense of cosy calm to the kitchen.
There’s only a little bit of baking powder in this mix, so we’re relying on whisked egg whites for a lot of the rising power. I can whisk two egg whites to stiff peaks by hand, and I count that as an arm workout, so it makes me feel very deserving of pancakes.
I also love the way they look like snowdrifts floating slowly melting as you stir them into the batter. When you live somewhere where Christmas falls in the middle of Summer, you take your snow-dreamz where you can get them.
The cooking of these little guys does require some dexterity. Actually, scratch that, it’s really not hard – it just takes a little practice. The batter goes into the hot pan, with a little melted butter in each indentation, and then they need to be flipped over to form that bauble shape. The uncooked batter will spill out into the pan, and form the bottom round of the pancake, and the top will stay domed and round.
Real aebleskiver experts use a thin skewer or a chopstick to do this. I started out with a little metal palette knife, then graduated to the knife and a chopstick and by the end of the first batch, I was working on full chopstick mode. So just test it out and see what works best for you!
I really am a sucker for pancakes, but especially something like this which is so traditional, so special and which seems like such a celebration food. This is the perfect thing to make any day seem extra special.
I can imagine these being perfect for breakfast on Christmas morning, or as a special treat on Christmas Eve. Or for snacking on while you trim the three, or with hot chocolate, or listening to Christmas carols….oh man, I have Christmas fever.
Playing off the doughnut vibe, I love to serve these dusted with sugar and with a dollop of raspberry jam. A squeeze of lemon juice is perfect over the top.
You can also easily stuff these babies either with fruit – chunks of apple, cherries or cranberries would be gorgeous – or with dollops of jam or better yet, nutella! Whatever you do, just make these and feel the joy!
xx Sarah.
- 1 cup (150g) flour
- 2 tsp sugar
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- ½ tsp nutmeg (optional)
- 2 eggs, separated
- pinch of salt.
- 1 cup (250ml) milk
- butter, to cook
- jam, powdered sugar and lemon, to serve
- Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, vanilla bean paste and nutmeg into a large mixing bowl. Add the egg yolks into the dry ingredients, and place the whites into a separate bowl with the salt.
- Begin stirring the yolks into the flour mixture, adding the milk as you go to create a batter - don't worry about lumps.
- Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks, and then fold them through the batter.
- Heat your aebleskiver pan over a medium heat, with a tiny piece of butter in each hole. When the butter is just melted, use a brush to coat the inside of each hole.
- When the butter is bubbling, add enough batter to each hole to fill it to the top, and leave to cook until the edges look set. Then use a chopstick, a fork or a metal palette knife to flip them over. Cook for another minute or so, and then place onto a serving platter. Continue, adding more butter between batches, until all the batter is used.
- Serve the aebleskiver dusted with icing sugar, with a squeeze of lemon and a dollop of raspberry jam.
I’ve never seen anything like this before! Such a nice snack!
Yum – they look delicious! I have been contemplating buying one of these pans – and now I will. Thanks for sharing!
yummy these look divine I have the pan just never used it before .yours look sensational ..they are Danish i believe :-)
They sure are!
Yes yes yes, I have one of these and they are so delicious and fluffy!!!
I was always fascinated by the pan for these in the kitchen catalogs, so I totally want these rightnow!
ME TOO! In the end I had to have it! And it was so worth it.
they are just like the Dutch ‘poffertjes’, the pan is also the same but the batter a little different. Google them, they are super yummmm as Well!
Hey Mascha! Yes, totally similar! I think I’ll have to get onto perfecting my poffertje batter as well!
GAH – love these. I used to work with a Danish women and she would have us over her house and make these. It really was like a dream. So so good!
That DOES sound like a dream! Can we track this woman down and go hang out with her please?
I cannot get over how freakin’ adorable these things look. And since they’re tiny, the calories don’t count.
Yes. Absolutely correct.
Will this recipe work in an electric cake pop maker. Got one a while back and it’s easy to use. Wouldn’t have to flip the baubles. Can’t wait to try! Thank you for the recipe!
Hey Lori – I don’t have an electric cake pop maker, so I can’t be sure. But this is a pretty darn easy-going batter, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it worked just fine! Let me know how it goes if you try it!
My parents have one of these pans! We make aebelskivers sometimes (although I’ll admit I never knew how to spell them). We keep meaning to try a savory version, too- herbs in the batter and stuffed with goat cheese would be tasty.
The spelling took me many googles to confirm, Sarah! And that savoury version sounds absolutely gorgeous.
A really delicous savory version you should try: remove the sugar, vanilla and nutmeg, and replace the milk with coconut milk plus add some shrimps. Eat it with chilisauce and fine cut spring onions. It’s really delicous.
Also the correct spelling is “æbleskiver” (æbleskive in singular) , it’s spelled with a special Danish letter usually translated to ae. And also fun fact: it actually means “apple slices”.
Hi Signe! Fun fact about me: I can’t stand shrimp! But I can definitely get behind a savoury little pancake. And yes, I had heard about the translation to apple slices. I absolutely cannot wait to visit Denmark one day.
these are the CUTEST little guys! they remind me of japanese imagawayaki, which are pancakes filled with red bean filling – funny you talk about how to flip these lil guys, i’ve seen imagawayaki being made and they use these pokey metal stick things – ! tried to find a pic but couldn’t … oh man your aebleskiver look delicious and i love the photos/styling, sarah! ^__^
I’ve never heard of imagawayaki, but I love red bean! I’m definitely going to check that out. I kept thinking of Takoyaki as I was making them…I guess it’s not just a single-use pan after all!
I came here to say that you could use a takoyaki pan to make these. ?
Hey Kellie – that’s absolutely right! Thanks!
I love these! My family makes them for Christmas morning every year, with a cinnamon filling and cream cheese frosting. They’re amazing!
That sounds gorgeous!
We have these whenever we go to Solvang, CA…a wonderful Dutch Village town. I have the pan & will be making these. A special Jam is so important.
That’s awesome Debbie! I think the Dutch version are called Poffertjes, but I say potato, you say potato, let’s all eat tiny pancakes!
Makes my heart sing! These remind me of Dutch poffertjes :)
Wow! These look so good. I can’t believe I haven’t heard of these things before. Thanks for sharing!!
Hi
Do you think I can drop the batter by spoonsfuls on a skillet?
Thanks!
Hi Vivian – It’s quite a runny batter, so they would turn out pretty tiny and thin. But it would definitely work, just not as well.
xx
Sarah
Helllooo dulche de leche + these = party in my mouth!
Oh amazing. I love your dscription and yes, I have wondered what that would taste like :)
Aebleskiver translates directly to “appleslices” in Danish. The traditional way of making them is to put slices of apple inside them (as the name suggests), though today most people don’t. I love them in the traditional way, but being allergic to apples i can’t eat it like that. Your idea of using other fruits inside them is really good though, and i feel like trying them out with other things inside. Cranberries would be nice i think.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much for commenting! I had no idea it translated to Apple Slices, but that makes complete sense! I hope you get the chance to try this non-apple version.
xx
Sarah
I’m danish and i’v never known how to make these. I just buy them frozen at the grocery store and it’s pretty common here in Denmark to do that. But I really wanna try making them now!!
That’s fantastic! You should definitely try them out – fresh from the pan they are completely delicious. And the recipe is super simple!
I can’t wait to get this pan so I can make these. They look so good!
urgh, these look sooo good but I am definitely opposed to buying single-use items (mainly for monetary purposes, but also kitchen space is limited). I might have to go op-shopping and see if I can get my hands on one of these pans, then I won’t feel so guilty.
They sound amazing! Would be fun for a party. The savoury ones sound good too