How to Make Aebleskivers (Danish Pancakes!)
Everyone say it with me!
Aebleskiver!
Aebleskiver…?
(pronouned: A-ble-shhhhhh-kiver)
So so fun to say. So SO fun to make.
And freakin’ delicious to eat.
No, not Paleo at all.
Yes, contains flour, sugar and butter.
And yes, I’m eating them because they’re so rewarding to make, I have to try what I’ve produced.
It’s worth mentioning that you should consume aebleskivers with a side of both high-quality lingonberry jam and lemon curd. Why? Because it’s freakin’ delicious! And that’s the traditional way. You can’t break tradition, can you?!
You should also use your handy GoPro or iPhone to do time-lapse video of aebleskivers in the making because wow… it’s so cool to watch!
That’s all, it’s just cool to watch. 🙂
My new obsession is absolutely aebleskiver making.
Why?
Just watch this fun video below!
Upon visiting Portland, Oregon, twice in three months, my boyfriend and I found a great little Scandinavian restaurant for brunch that we dined at several times during our two trips. Since then, I’ve become fascinated with this type of cuisine and their great little Aebleskivers that were a hugely popular item on the menu.
Thus, I went in search of how these round little fluffy balls came into existence and how I could replicate them at home.
Turns out, all you need is an aebleskiver pan and some time!
Traditional Aebleskivers (Danish Pancakes)
Makes 20-25 Danish Pancakes
- 250 g all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 3/4 cup buttermilk –> almond milk/milk of choice + 2 tbsp vinegar (let sit for 30 minutes to curdle slightly)
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp sugar, divided
- 50 g butter, melted but cooled
- 3 eggs (whites and yoke separated)
Directions:
The Batter:
Separate the egg whites and the yokes in separate bowls.
In the egg yoke bowl, add the flour, salt, baking soda and 1 tablespoon sugar. Set aside.
In the egg white bowl, add the other tablespoon of sugar and using a hand mixer, whisk or beat the egg whites on high speed until fluffy and stiff* (about 3-5 minutes). It’s doable with just a whisk and your hand but man, you’re arms get tired!
*Make sure your egg whites do not get any water in them. Even a drop of water can make egg whites impossible to stiffen.
Set your egg white bowl aside.
Whisk together your egg yoke and flour mixture until just mixed. Add vanilla extract and half of the buttermilk. Mix again until just incorporated, then add the remaining buttermilk. Whisk or mix with a hand mixer until batter is almost completely smooth.
Gently whisk in the melted and slightly cooled butter.
Using a wooden spoon, slowly mix the stiff eggs into the batter.
The Cooking:
Heat a dedicated aebleskiver pan on medium-high heat. Once heated thoroughly, turn down to medium heat and add a touch of butter or oil to each hole. Fill each hole a heaping 3/4 with aebleskiver batter.
When edges start to get firm and bubbles form on the center, using chopsticks, turn the aebleskiver 90 degrees and let the batter flow into the pan.
Add a tablespoon or so more batter and turn another 90 degrees to the cooked, round part is facing up – completely flipped and closing the hole.
Continue to heat your aebleskivers, turning slightly throughout the cooking process, as desired, until all sides have a golden crust – about 5-8 minutes total.
Plate your aebleskivers and start over with the next batch.
Dust with powdered sugar using a sift and enjoy immediately.
Plate with sides of lingonberry jam, lemon curd, or applesauce. You can even make these babies filled with jam or dotted with chocolate chips!
Below is my Valentine’s Day table filled with aebleskivers, smoked salmon and sweet potato hash, greens, Portland based Coava coffee and all the jam and lemon curd you could want. Best. Breakfast. EVER.
[…] salmon. (see above photo for Smoked Salmon Scramble plated and with an incredible side dish of Dutch Pancakes, Aebleskivers, for when you’re not on Figure or Bikini Prep! – Absolutely incredible […]
They look very good, but these are definitely not Dutch! I think they are actually Danish. Please don’t confuse Dutch and Danish; it’s like calling someone from Canada an American. There is something that looks similar from The Netherlands called “poffertjes” that you might want to look at…
Hi Erik, absolutely great point! Thank you for the comment! I’ll check into this. I found these from a Scandinavian restaurant while traveling and on their menu they wrote out ‘Aebleskivers (Dutch Pancakes)’ so I assumed that’s exactly what they were. I’ll do a little more research on this!
Thank you!
These look cute and delicious! Pinned!