Aebleskivers – Scandinavian Pastry
Growing up, Aebleskivers were a staple on Christmas morning. We’d have Aebleskivers, scrambled eggs, and either sausage or bacon. Since I became an adult and am now responsible for Christmas morning breakfast, I quickly realized just how time consuming Aebleskivers are. So we’ve changed this Norwegian family tradition to suit our timeline. We have them for Christmas Eve breakfast and then again for New Year’s Eve breakfast.
Aebleskivers are essentially pancake balls made in a semi-odd shaped cast iron skillet. Some times people like to fill the pastry balls with fresh fruit or fruit jam, we like to keep it simple; plain Aebleskivers served with a sprinkling of powdered sugar and then eaten with fresh fruit and/or jam on the side.
The technique of flipping the Aebleskivers varies for everyone. My mom tries to be super delicate and keep the form of the pastry as round as possible. I am WAY more aggressive; I like to use a kabob skewer and stab the inside toward to top and then flip the dough over.
My current aeblskiver pan came with fancy flipping tools, which I am just not coordinated enough to use. While Aebleskivers are a holiday tradition in my family, we do make them often throughout the year. We are so obsessed with them that I am now on my third Aebleskiver pan since getting married. The last time I made them, we quickly realized we’ve reached the point in our family that 1 batch isn’t enough to feed 4 growing boys and their frazzled parents.
Aebleskivers
Equipment
- Aebleskiver pan
- cooking spray oil
- electric mixer
- kabob skewers
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 cups whole milk
- 2 tbsp distilled white vinegar
- 3 large eggs yolks separated
- powdered sugar
- jams and jellies
Instructions
- Before anything, preheat the Aebleskiver pan while making the batter.
- In a large bowl, add the all-purpose flour, salt, and baking soda. Whisk to combine. In a glass measuring cup, measure out the whole milk then add in the vinegar. Stir to combine and then let stand for 7-10 minutes.
- Separate the egg whites from the yolks. The yolks will go in with the flour mixture, and the whites will go into an electric mixer. Add in the milk vinegar mixture into the flour and egg yolks. Whisk to combine.
- In the electric mixer, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. You will need the egg whites to be as light and fluffy as possible. This will add air to the batter to create light and fluffy pastry balls.
- Pour the beaten egg whites into the batter and gently fold in until combined. Do not mix aggressively because you will lose all of the air that was beaten into the egg whites.
- In the preheated pan, spray cooking oil in each Aebleskiver hole then pour the batter in until just slightly below the top.
- When the air bubbles in the batter begin to pop, take the kabob skewer and flip the Aebleskivers over to allow for the rest of the dough to cook and for the ball shape to take place.
- When the Aebleskiver balls are thoroughly cooked, take out of the pan and place in a large bowl. Cover with a clean towel to keep the heat in and absorb extra moisture. When finished cooking all of the batter, sprinkle the Aebleskivers with powdered sugar. Serve immediately with fresh fruit and jam or jelly.
- Personally, I think Aebleskivers are not good saved and reheated, but if you don’t mind leftovers then store in an airtight container for up to a week.
Nutrition
You can totally substitute the milk/vinegar mixture for 2 cups of buttermilk. I am just super lazy and hardly e ver have buttermilk in my fridge, or when I remember to pick some up from the grocery store, they are usually all out. So I’ve grown accustomed to substituting 1 cup milk to 1 Tbsp vinegar as a substitute for 1 cup of buttermilk.
Have you ever had Aebleskivers? Or something similar? I’ve had numerous individuals tell me they have the same tradition, but their culture calls them something else than Aebleskivers. Either way, the method of baking pancake type batter in a pan with divots in it is a common practice in European countries.
Hope y’all are having an amazing week and holiday season. Stay safe, be kind, and hug your loved ones.
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