Monday, May 18, 2009

Ebelskivers? Aebelskivers? Whatever. They're Delicious.

EbelskiversMy sister and I had a conversation a week ago about cooking for our families and I wish I could have recorded it to play here for you because I'm imagining more than a few of you would be nodding your heads and saying, "YES!" to many of our comments.

One of the things we agreed on was that with six people to cook for it is pretty much guaranteed that at every meal at least one person won't like what you've fixed. (Well one if you're lucky--two is par for the course).

We moaned about how tough it can be to find a meal that everyone will eat but I'm telling you this latest menu item of ours would be that one-in-a-million event.

They're called ebelskivers and I'd kind of vaguely seen them mentioned here and there but it wasn't until I saw my good buddy Julie at Thinking About eating them that I decided to really get serious about making some.

First, they're Danish. I believe they can be spelled "aebelskivers" or "ebelskivers" from the Danish word for apple slices and they're basically a Round Little Pancake of Joy. Not merely pleasure or happiness but absolute and complete joy.

You use a simple pancake batter (I'll give you my recipe at the end) and fill each of the seven little cups in your ebelskiver pan about halfway, add a drop of filling, then flip the circles upside down in the cups with a pair of wooden skewers (I used the bamboo kind that I keep for kebabs or satay) and let them cook up nice and golden brown.

The possibilities for filling are really quite endless. You can try sweet stuff like pudding, pie filling, jam, peanut butter, fruit, chocolate chips, whatever you want to find as a surprise in your mouth. I've wanted to try some savory options too like a bit of cheddar and ham or bacon or a piece of sausage. Those could also be very very satisfying.

When I decided to buy an ebelskiver pan I went down to Allen and Peterson, a local kitchen store, and found an aluminum ebelskiver pan by Nordicware for about $34 which wasn't dirt cheap but for the kind of thrills I was anticipating I figured I'd splurge.

I got halfway home before slapping my forehead in an "ARRRRGH!" because I'd forgotten that I own a Diva induction cook top which will only work with pans that can carry a magnetic current. Or in other words, I can only use iron or pans with a ferrous core. Stainless steel, aluminum, glass, copper--all of those won't work because they won't allow the magnetic field to pass through the pan and heat up the surface.

Ebelskiver Pan from NorproI'll spare you the finer details, I've really meant to do a follow up post on how much I love my induction cooktop that I got two years ago (you can read the initial review at "Induction Cooktops by Diva de Provence") but the whole point is that it meant that the aluminum pan I'd just purchased wouldn't heat.

So I went online to find a solution. I found a cast iron pan from Norpro for $12.99 and with shipping it ended up costing me just under $16. What a bargain.

I'm sure it's not as slick and non-stick as the aluminum version and I'm sure I end up using more grease with the cast iron version but it works well and the heavy iron pan gives a nice golden crust to the little guys that is probably tastier than what their aluminum-formed brothers can offer.

So here's a video of the ebelskiver action to give you a better idea of what you have in store should you decide to purchase a pan for yourself. You get the added bonus of hungry commentary from my film crew.

Here's the pancake recipe I use though Bisquick would also work fine too. I wonder if you could use a cornbread style batter?

1 cup flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 eggs
2 tablespoons canola oil



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30 comments:

The Source said...

Those look yummy...will have to try them out soon!

Jennifer said...

You had me at Nutella!

Carol @SheLives said...

Look/sound delicious! Wish they didn't need a special pan, though. I can't see myself making them often enough to warrant the pan.

OR

Maybe if I buy the pan I'll make them more often? MMMmmm.....!!

Chrisbookarama said...

I've made these. I love them! I have Danish roots so my Mom has a big old cast iron pan. I borrow it occasionally. I just started making them with applesauce in the center. Yum!

Sheri said...

We love aebleskivers in our house, too. My 15yo son is actually the one that usually cooks them up for us and they are scrumptious. I actually love them without any filling, but rolled in powdered sugar. YUM!! I use an actual aeblskiver recipe - but i'll have to try your pancake recipe in it.

Pam D said...

On TV, they're running an ad for "Pancake Puffs"... sounds like exactly the same thing (and oh boy, does MY boy want me to get that pan!!!). Check out this link:https://www.pancakepuff.com/flare/next . Now that I actually know of someone who's done it and likes it, I may have to give it a whirl!

Anonymous said...

It's a pancake puff pan! And, Pam D, totally worth it. My oldest son (now 8)got one for his birthday last spring from grandma, after he tried to order one off the tv...in the middle of the night while we slept. LOL! They are a little time consuming to make, but are delicious and are fantastic in lunches (I make bento-style lunches in Laptop Lunches boxes). Hm. Need to make more and freeze for later! ;)

TJ said...

my mom has made these for us before. they are pretty good, but are a little time consuming to make.

Maddy said...

Ah where to begin? So do they make those pans for 8 by any chance?

Look at you with your digity touch screen hob, dead jealous. There again that wouldn't work around here due to the filth.

Lastly, I took a sharp intake of breath when I read 'diva cup.' Then I exhaled as I realised I was in entirely the wrong category. Try it! Do google search on DivaCup and it's top of the list........or maybe you shouldn't.
Cheers

Shelly Wildman said...

Perfect!! I just bought a filled pancake pan last week and haven't had the guts to use it yet. My kids will thank you.

Elisa said...

I love Skivers! My mom used to make them for us for breakfast! YUM!!

Anonymous said...

Yum. I guess I need an ebelskiver pan now. Just when I thought I had it all.

They look delish, thanks!

April Mack said...

The video didn't work for me, but judging from the sound of it this is a sweeter version of takoyaki. In Japan, they use an unsweetened, pancake-like batter with bits of pickled ginger and seaweed flakes mixed in, and fill the center with a piece of octopus. Sounds gross but tastes delicious!

I bet you could use a takoyaki pan (many come as plug-in/electric) for this. It'd be another gadget in your kitchen, but then you could do it at the table and not have to stand at the stove. They also tend to have eight or more holes, so you could make more at once! :)

Here's a tutorial on how to make takoyaki and she mentions where to get the pans.

Nicole said...

Ha!! Michelle! I was just invited to a friends for dessert last night and she served these!! Her family is danish, she's had her pans a long time, probably passed down from her mother. My daughter was asking if we could get a pan and make them! You are on our same wavelength! Thanks for the info!! :)

PS she puts a light dusting of powdered sugar and homemade butterscotch syrup with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.... yum!

Sucharita Sarkar said...

This is such a coincidence - my sister-in-law, who is a South Indian, has gifted me a similar cooking pan, called Panniyarkkal, in which we make small fried cakes and idlis (powdered rice-cakes). I'll try out the ebelskivers in it!

Unknown said...

This is pretty interesting. I now want to try these!

jacjewelry said...

Never heard of them but they look and sound great!

Melissa said...

We got the Pancake Puff from our local Target (in the "sold on tv" section). It works well and the kids love it!!

Unknown said...

I LOVE THESE BAD BOYS. Seriously. I haven't thought about them in years and now my obsession has been rekindled. Must. Find. Ebelshivers. Pan.

SabineM said...

i tried some at William Sonoma's once!
YUMMY!

Flea said...

Oh MY. Those look divine!

Blend said...

Quite interesting, want to try one....

threesidesofcrazy said...

I want one of these soooooooooooooooo bad, but my stove top came with specific warnings not to use any pan without a FLAT bottom so I'm leery of trying it.

Anonymous said...

My Danish grandm made ebelskivers for us everytime we went for a visit. She made such a huge deal of it that I thought it was so hard to do. Thanks for showing me that I can actually do it. I'm going to order the pan and give it a try all by myself. Yummy.
kris

Anonymous said...

Yes, they're Danish. They are yummy. My grandma (Andrew's great-grandma) Nelson (changed from Neilson at Ellis Island) made them all the time when I was a child. MOMM

J said...

So what did you fill them with? I haven't watched the video yet, because I'm multi tasking and don't want the sound. ;) I'm assuming by commenter #2 (Jennifer) that you used Nutella? We only tried jam, and while I liked them a lot, Maya said she prefers regular pancakes. I wonder if she would feel differently if we used Nutella? Hmmm.

* said...

I think I've seen these weird (cool) pans @ yard sales & thrift stores. I **now** know what to look for. And can almost taste 'em now...ummmmm.

Sam said...

I LOVE these little treats!! I have only had them once - in Denmark - and have simply not found a pan to make them in!! (not unless I get it shipped over from Denmark for a small fortune!!)

I am sure that I will suddenly come across a pan one day!

J said...

OK, I just watched the video. Mmmm...I think nutella would be awesome inside! We went out for gelato the other day, and Maya had Nutella gelato, which was really good.

The instructions I had for the ebelskivers was slightly different than yours...it had you put 1/2 batter in, then filling, then the other 1/2 batter on top. Either way, though, they look (and taste!) delicious.

BurkeAndEmily said...

We've eaten ebelskivers in my family for generations and let me telly you, you made the right choice - cast iron is the ONLY way to go for the pans.