Ebelskiver (Danish Pancakes)

Hello!  I bet you’ve nearly forgotten about me; it’s been about six months since I last popped up in your inbox, but I’m still here, I swear!  I’m just in a new, skylit apartment on the top floor of a little building with trees out every window.  Here I am with stupid morning hair in our new, little kitchen.

I’m still making breakfast (almost every day, even!), and I can make all the excuses in the world to you, but they don’t matter.  What matters is that I’m here and writing again, and that I’ve whipped up something special for you all today with a nifty new pan a friend found for me at an estate sale.  She walked into our housewarming party last Sunday and said “ebelskiver!”   And I said “bless you?” and we laughed a little (but only a little because it wasn’t really that funny).

She held up a pan that looked like this:

I was intrigued and confused and excited (a combination of new kitchen equipment and housewarming champagne) and she told me it was a special pan for making Danish treats that are kind of like doughnuts and kind of like pancakes.  Obviously, I was instantly in love.  One week later, I was determined to track down a recipe and whip some of these puppies up.  It was an adventure, for sure, but surprisingly easy once I got the hang of flipping the little buggers.  I learned that ebelskiver are traditional Danish pancakes usually filled with something great, like lingonberry jam or what have you.  I stuffed mine with chopped spice apples, which took them in an apple pie kind of direction.  I’m plotting away for making savory ones, maybe ones filled with shrimp or squid like Japanese takoyaki balls (which are surprisingly similar, but not really a breakfast food).  Anyway, here’s my recipe for apple-filled ebelskiver.  Feel free to substitute a ready-made jam or jelly or any other filling you can imagine!

Apple Spice Filled Ebelskiver (Danish Pancakes) – makes about 16 pancakes

Filling:
– 1 apple, peeled and finely chopped
– a few dashes each of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove
– the juice of 1 lemon
– 1 tsp sugar

Ebelskiver dough:
– 1 C all-purpose flour
– 1/2 tsp baking powder
– 1/4 tsp salt
– 2 egg yolks & 2 egg whites (you’ll use the yolks and whites separately)
– 1 1/2 tsp white sugar
– 1 C milk
– 2 Tbsp melted butter, plus extra for the pan

1. Combine all filling ingredients in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until apples are soft and fragrant and liquid is slightly reduced.  Set aside.

2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.  Set aside.

3. Whisk together milk, melted butter, and egg yolks in a large bowl.  Set aside.

4. Using a standing mixer or hand mixer (or a whisk with a good arm), add sugar to egg whites and beat into soft peaks.

5. Whisk the dry ingredients into the milk mixture.  Lumps are okay, don’t overmix!

6. Then GENTLY fold your beaten egg whites into your batter.  This will add necessary lift and fluff to your ebelskiver.  Also be sure to say “ebelskiver” as often as possible for good luck.

7. In your ebelskiver pan over medium-low heat, add a little brush of melted butter to each divot.  It should sizzle immediately.  Add 1 Tbsp of batter to each divot.

8. Add 1 tsp of your desired filling to each batter ball.

9. Add 1 Tbsp batter on top of each one to cover the filling.  Let them cook for a few minutes until the bottoms are fully cooked and golden brown and the sides begin to set.

10. CAREFULLY sneak under them with a fork or a chopstick or a teeny spatula, and using another instrument, flip them over onto their backsides.  Let them continue to cook until golden brown on both sides.  This is tricky, but you’ll get it after the first couple.  I used two forks, but honestly, use whatever makes it work for you.

11. Keep them in a warm oven while you cook the rest.  Then dust with powdered sugar and serve with maple syrup and the rest of the apple filling if you so desire.  Eat them forever and smile and tell all your friends that you can make ebelskiver and they’ll think you’re SO COOL or insane, but that’ll be awesome either way.

Let’s hope this is the first in a series of triumphant returns to publishing things on this blog.  I miss you guys.

~BB