Note: My recipes here are copied from the original cards used by my Mom, Marianna Olson. I added the commentary.
What?
An Aebleskiver is a round pancake ball baked with lingonberry filling. You use an Aebleskiver Pan, which is a type of cast-iron pan having seven hemispherical pits for the Aebleskivers. You pour batter into each pit, and rotate the Aebleskiver by quarter turns as it bakes. A little fruit (or sausage) should be poked into the batter immediately after pouring. It takes some practice to get it right. Right is whatever suits your aesthetic sense for how a pancake ball should look. I consider excellence to be a perfect cannonball shape, but the pictures in books often present them as clam-shaped.
Aebleskivers are also good with Swedish Fruit Soup (sorry, no recipe.) Be sure to have some sort of fruit preserves, on the side, to stuff inside baked Aebleskivers. You want something to add in case they're dry.
Aebleskivers do not keep well, even in the refrigerator. They are apt to get fuzzy quick.
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Pouring The Batter
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Turning The Aebleskivers
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4 eggs yolks 2 tbls sugar 1/2 tsp salt 2 cups buttermilk 4 egg whites (stiffly beaten) 2 cups flour 1/2 tsp nutmeg 1 tsp soda 1 tsp baking powder vanillaBeat egg yolks with sugar; add rest of ingredients, folding in beaten egg whites last. Cardamon may be used for flavoring. Bake in greased Aebleskiver pan, using shortening and part butter. (Or just margarine.)
1/4 tsp salt 2 eggs Flour to make medium thick batter 2 cups buttermilk or sour milk 1 tsp soda 1 tsp baking powder 2 tsp melted butter 1 tbl sugarSeparate eggs. Cream yolks, sugar and shortening. Add salt, milk, soda, baking powder, and flour enough to make a medium thick batter. Fold in beaten egg whites last. Bake in butter in monk's pan. When half done, turn and finish baking.
A word about electric and gas ranges: I have had more consistent results on electric ranges than with gas. The flame tends to cook the central pit too quickly, and the outer pits too slowly.
IT'S GREAT TO KNOW AEBLESKIVERS HAVE WORKED THEIR WAY ONTO THE INTERNET. Aebleskivers (My family's recipe)
I timed myself and was able to make these (first batch on pan) in just under 15 minutes!
Here's what you'll need:
1 1/4 cups flour 1/2 tsp salt 2 1/4 tsp baking powder 2 Tbsp sugar 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1 egg, beaten 2 Tbsp butter 1 cup milk Peanut Oil for pan ( or melted butter, margarine ) Skewers for turning.My family recipe says to sift the flour, but I just put it in a bowl and stir in the other dry ingredients. Then I take the egg and put in a small bowl, beat it and set it aside. Next I take the 2 Tbsp butter and Microwave* it. Combine butter with milk, then add beaten egg. Now pour this mixture onto flour mixture and whisk it til batter is smooth. Batter should be a bit thick, not runny.
Make sure pan is heated,( i use med-lo setting on my electric ) and brush each cup lightly with oil.
Fill each cup about 3/4 full.
In about 30 seconds a thin shell will form on the bottom of each aebleskiver. Stick a skewer into baked portion and gently pull shell almost halfway up so inner batter flows out.
Continue to rotate each pancake ball about every 30 seconds or so until they form balls.
My brother likes to fill them when they are half way cooked, sealing the Jam in the middle.
I prefer to break them open afterwards and fill them.
Bacon, Sausages and Fruit are good to serve along with.
* if you want, you can melt the butter for the recipe in one of the cups while the pan warms up! when melted, carefully pour into bowl and by that time it will be cool enough to add.
enjoy!
Thanks, Thom!
I have been looking for a place to get one for several days and just found a store that carries them. It's called Sur La Table and I think it's a chain because I've seen stores with the same name in other cities, though the store where I will buy my pan is in San Francisco, CA. The phone number is 415-732-7900.
Also, there are a couple of internet sites where you can order pans online. One is at http://www.intercenter.com, then you have to click on "home store" then on "kitchen & cooking" then on "scandanavian". There are 2 pans available on that page.
One last thing, another town with a large Danish population that you could add to your list is Poulsbo, WA. I know you can buy aebleskiver pans there and I wish I had done it when I had the chance.
Go To Scandinavian Cooking Items at The InterCenter
I do want you to know that it is lingonberry season in Alaska and we are privileged to live where they are part of our landscaping or should I say natural ground cover. I add lingoneberries to my quick fudge recipe and they are very popular with my coffee group. Happy aebleskivering.
My father has been making aebleskivers every year for Christmas since I was a little girl. A few years ago, I decided I wanted a pan for myself, as my father lives out of state. I have been looking for one ever since. I finally got so frustrated this New Year's after returning home from my father's (I checked in almost every gourmet cooking shop known to man!) that it dawned on me to look on-line. I found a Scandinavian shop in Texas called "The Wooden Spoon" which retails cast iron aebleskiver pans; one is a nine-inch for $19.95 (I think) and the other a seven-inch for $9.95. I do believe they add a $5 charge for shipping, but considering I've been looking for one for several years, I was more than willing to pay top-dollar, and was suprised to find such a reasonable price!! Just thought you might be interested to know another retailer.:)
Happy Cooking
Lodge Cast Iron makes a wonderful Aebleskiver pan. I have one myself that I bought at a local import store, in their kitchen dept. Any place that sells Lodge cast iron products will be able to order a pan for their customers. They aren't expensive either. Cost runs around $20 or less. Remember to season in first. Lodge includes instructions on proper seasoning.
One of the other sites I found gave this internet source for Aebleskiver pans (cheap, but I don't know how good they are), among other Danish cookware: Scandinavian Cooking Items at The InterCenter
In addition, I found out by accident that an ironworks company in South Pittsburgh, Tennessee (right on the Alabama border, of all places--and I have actually been there--only about 100 people in the whole place) makes them. The store I saw them in up on the Cumberland Plateau (the Cumberland General Store in Crossville, TN) charged about $30.00. Sorry, I can't recall the name of the ironworks company. It looked to be a very solid, well-made pan.
And you can find pans in antique stores all over Wisconsin (and nearby states), naturally! Those run $40 on up. (Way up!)
Moral: If your kid takes Aebleskivers to school he had better have a thick skin.
My Aebleskiver Pan was a Christmas present from Mom. I had asked to take one to college.
Another time, Mom bought an extra pan on a trip and tried to take it on the airplane in carry-on. I have done that without incident, but the airport security stopped her and the pan at the X-ray machine. Never having heard of any such thing as an Aebleskiver pan, they were however satisfied with an explanation and the picture on the outside of the box.
