Aebleskiver
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: about 7 minutes each
Keywords: pan roast breakfast dessert egg flour Danish
Ingredients (makes 18 aebleskiver)
- 1 large egg, possibly from pastured poultry
- 250 ml / 1 cup + 1 tablespoon buttermilk, well stirred; as usual, I use my homemade kefir instead of buttermilk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 25 g / 1 ounce whole-wheat pastry flour (a personal choice, to add nutritional value)
- 100 g / 3.5 ounces all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tablespoon / 7 g sugar
- 1 teaspoon / 4 g baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon / 1.6 g baking soda
- A pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon / 14 g / 1/2 ounce unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- Powered sugar, for topping
Instructions
Special equipment: an aebleskiver pan (with slots 2.25 inches / 5.7 cm in diameter) that works well with the type of stovetop you have and a couple of bamboo skewers.
Break the egg and pour the white into a small bowl. Let stand to bring to room temperature. Add the yolk to the buttermilk or kefir and whisk in. Do the same with vanilla extract.
Place all the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk to aerate and blend.
Place aebleskiver pan on the stove and heat up on medium heat. Oil the slots. I use sunflower oil for this, rather than butter, and a pastry brush to ensure the slots are well oiled (the bristles burn a bit, so I will need to replace the brush at some point).
Beat egg white until stiff peaks form.
Pour the liquid into to the bowl with the dry ingredients and add also the butter. Stir until just combined. Add 1/3 of the egg white and fold in delicately, then repeat with the rest of the egg white. The batter will not be homogeneous: that's ok.
Make sure the pan is well heated and each slot well oiled. Pour about 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of batter in each slot. The batter should reach just below the rim: if it overflows, turning the aebleskive will be more difficult.
The batter will puff up. When a thin crust has formed on the bottom of each aebleskive, insert the skewer down into the batter close to the rim until it hits the side of the mold, then slide the aebleskive up about 1/3 of the way, as in this video. If the slot was well oiled, the aebleskive will easily slide. [If not, do not force or you'll tear the crust. Instead, run the tip of the skewer around the inner side of the rim to separate the aebleskive (and next time remember to oil more).] The still fluid batter will flow into the freed area of the slot.
Then again, when a thin crust has formed, use the skewer as before to slide each aebleskive up another 1/3 of the way. Again, the still fluid batter will flow into the empty area of the mold. Finally, use the skewer to roll each aebleskive forward so that the still crustless section is at the bottom (see photo above). This ensures the aebleskive becomes a sphere.
Turn the aebleskiver often to ensure even cooking. It takes several minutes. Be patient and stay next to the pan. Makes sure the aebleskiver cook but don't burn. Adjust the heat if the pan becomes too hot. Check doneness with a toothpick: if it comes out clean, the aebleskive is ready. Transfer to a plate.
Oil the empty slots and repeat until all the batter is used. At the beginning, you may want to do 3-4 at a time so you can become familiar with turning the aebleskiver. Also, start with the amount of ingredients I specify: it is a manageable batch for a beginner. Then double it to accommodate more guests.
Dust aebleskiver with powdered sugar. Serve with apple sauce or fruit preserves.
Aebleskiver are best eaten as soon as they are made. Should you have leftovers, re-heat them in the oven before serving them.
