This fall I met Chad and his partners at the Mill City Farmer’s Market in Minneapolis. My co-author and I did a bread presentation from our book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. When I came off the stage, there was Chad and these funny round pans, which were filled with little cakey spheres. I’m not sure what pastry rock I have been living under, but this site was completely foreign to me. I had to run off to do a wedding cake that day so I couldn’t stay to see Chad’s explanation or try one of these donut/dumpling/cake/crepe like creations. The following week I went back to find him and his spheres and found out they were called aebleskivers. Here’s what I learned:
They are a traditional Danish treat. The recipe they serve at Aunt Else’s has been in the family for over 100 years. They fry them in cast iron pans made just for this purpose. (I must say I’m in love with this pan and WILL find additional uses for it!) The perfectly patinaed pans they use at the Farmer’s Market have been passed down in the Andersen & Henriksen family for generations. They were given to the current owners by none other than Aunt Else, along with the family recipe. They won’t share the secret recipe, but they do sell an organic whole wheat Aebleskiver mix and the pan, so you can make your own! Chad and his partners, after I spent the better part of a morning watching them in action at the market, they agreed to give me a pan and some of their mix to try out. My kids and I loved them so much that I want to share it with you!
They are so simple to make, even my 7 year old son was able to master the Aebleskiver, with lots of stove top supervision! Just follow the instructions on the bag for mixing the batter, then
heat the pan over medium-low heat. Drop a 1/2 teaspoon of neutral flavored oil in each of the wells.
Fill each well about 3/4 of the way full with the batter.
Let them cook until they start to bubble just a little, or until you see them turning golden on the edge.
With a chop stick or a skewer, turn the Aebleskiver by pushing down along the side of the well and scooping the batter up slightly. Turn it 1/4 and let it cook again. If the Aeblskiver is ready to turn this will be quite easy. If you have to fight it to turn than give it another few seconds to cook. Like anything, it may take a couple of skivers to get comfortable. Just keep in mind that my 7 year old can do it, no problem! 😉
After you have turned them all, then start back at the first one and give them another 1/4 turn. It is traditional to put a slice of apple in the center at this point. Aebleskiver means “apple slice,” but you can put anything you like in there. We’ve tried ham and cheese, chocolate, pears, cherry jam, sausage, bacon, bananas. Go crazy!
Repeat until they are completely cooked. You can poke one with a skewer to make sure they are all the way done through. Pick them up with a pair of tongs and repeat!
My friend Sue Zelickson, the Minneapolis Food Maven, was at the market and she enjoyed Aunt Else’s Aebleskivers with me! They serve them dusted in powdered sugar with a few different flavored syrups or preserves.
Several people have asked me what products they should put on their Christmas wish lists this holiday, here are my ultimate must haves in your kitchen to bake breads and pastries! And my camera equipment, for those of you that can’t bake without taking pictures of your food. It happens to the best of us! Am I missing anything??? What is your favorite piece of equipment?
Breads:
Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day – But you knew I’d say that! 😉
Baking Stone
Pizza Peel
Oxo Good Grips Pastry Scraper
Taylor Oven Thermometer
Round Storage Container 6 Quart Clear
Escali Measuring Scale
Pastry:
KitchenAid 5-Quart Stand Mixers
Spatula Set – different sizes for different jobs
Nonstick Silicone Baking Mat
Microplane Grater/Zester
Wüsthof Le Cordon Bleu 10-Inch Serrated Super Slicer
Piping Bag – Featherweight – 18″
Pastry Tip Set
PASTRY BRUSH SET
8 by 3-Inch Round Cake Pan
Marble Rolling Pin I like the weight of this pin and that the marble stays cool
The Simple Art of Perfect Baking
Baking with Julia Savor the Joys of Baking with America’s Best Bakers
Cookwise and BakeWise:– food science made fun!I love cookwise and have just started reading bakewise. I’m loving the food science more than the recipes.
On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen
Photography:
Canon Digital Rebel XSi Camera with 18-55mm Lens (Black)
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens
Happy Holidays and I hope you get everything on your wish list!
***Here is a nice piece that Rick Nelson did recently on my Granny’s Brown-Butter Shortbread Cookies for the Star Tribune Website. He used a picture of me from 8 years ago when I was pregnant with my youngest son, the Aebleskiver maker I mentioned above! 😉
I’ve seen Aebleskivers profiled before, they look sooo yummy!! Especially the ones that have jam inside
Hi Meredith,
That is a great question! I’ll ask Chad if the pans they use at the Farmer’s market are larger? You should also note that Sue is extremely petite and that Aebleskiver is bigger than she is! 😉
Zoë
These look fabulous! I have to try them! The one your friend is eating looks much larger than the ones you’re cooking. Trick of photography or is the home pan creating smaller spheres?
These little treats look amazing. I have never had one, but I can see myself loving them. I have gotten back into cooking with my cast iron, and I think it is one of the most amazing materials ever to grace a stove/oven. I recently made a 3 layer cake in my cast iron skillets. I know it is probably just my imagination, but I think the cake tasted better and was definitely more interesting.
Happy holiday season!
Oh my gosh… I need to eat some of those right this very minute! When will we be able to send tastes through the internet? Soon, I hope.
I need my mixer the most. I don’t think I have enough strength to do all my bread dough by hand.
This needs to go on my kaboodle list.
As always Zoe they look amazing. It would be so much fun to have these as an appetizer with savory fillings.
Thanks for a great website. Yum
Those look so good! Filling them with other things like bananas, or chocolate, or sausage… such a good idea.
Yum!
I tried these little bites of heaven in a store demo and they served it with lingonberry preserves…they are over the top good! They look like fun to make too!
Those pans are adorable, I’ve been lusting after them for months now. And thanks for reminding me that I promised myself new cake pans a year ago!
I work at Williams Sonoma and we sell a ton of these pans! We’ve also got special Ebelskiver mix at the store. (we spell it without the A) 🙂
This looks amazing! I saw one of these pans once, and have always wondered how to use them, now I can’t wait to try it out myself!
these look so yum! my seven year old would adore these and if he can make them himself, all the better…
My mom saw this kind of pan on a TV commercial and wants it on her Christmas list! I’d love to be able to win an authentic one…the spheres look great!
Wish there was an outlet around here where they had the pans and mix……..
These look really good – perhaps something like a round pancake to taste. Maybe I’ll win!
That pan looks exactly like a special Japanese takoyaki pan my friend bought me! and which I um, haven’t used yet. I imagine I could make these little sweet in them too! Looks delicious!
This would be a fantastic Christmas morning treat! I would love the pan and have wanted one for a while now! Thanks for the chance.
I love aebleskiver. I just saw a recipe that had a cinnamon filling, and then they were drizzled with glaze, so were much like cinnamon rolls. Not very traditional, but sounded absolutely delicious.
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/recipedetail.cfm?objectid=45A68789-9F60-A9C9-7E61604749ADD8E4
Hi!
I saw this pan once in another blog, but the result of your stylized pancake is increadible! I wish to have this as Christmas present! It would be nice to blog about this experience too! 🙂
XOXO
I wish I could say I’ve tried these, after a semester in Norway, but I can’t. Almost Denmark…but not quite!
I’ve never seen them before and I’m quite sure from the pictures and tutorial that I’ve been sheltered and neglected all my life!
Oh WOW! Looks so good, would love to try them, of course I would need to win the pan first…
Oh my! This is such a great pan! And the Aebleskivers look so delicious!
Here in Germany you can get a similar thing at all the christmas markets. It is from the Netherlands and called “Poffertjes”. They are made the same way but more flat and without a filling.http://www.poffertjes.com/ Also very yummy sprinkled with Nutella!
Bianca from Germany!
I’ve been eying up the Aebelskiver stand at the Mill City Farmers Market all summer, but didn’t take the plunge because of the addictive cardamom donuts at the Chef Shack. Now I wish I had!
I saw a great filling for these: a gooey cinnamon sugar paste that melts after the turn. Cast iron would be a perfect medium for these!