Sunday, January 11, 2009

Sunday Supper - Aebleskiver

I found this great pan in the local kitchen store and thought Tom would like it for Christmas. What a success it has been. Essentially, the Danish aebleskiver pan makes round, puffy pancakes which you top with any of the usual toppings you'd use for pancakes or crepes - maple syrup, butter, confectioners sugar, lemon juice, chocolate, jam, on and on. You can use any pancake recipe, and tonight we're using one from At Grandmother's Table carrying on the Scandinavian theme.

Grandma's Finnish Pancakes

2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar

The notes from the book say:

These light, thin pancakes are the Finnish version of crepes suzette. They are quick to make, and most cooks have the ingredients on hand. This recipe makes 4-5 pancakes. To make 15-20 pancakes, increase both the milk and flour to 1 1/2 cups, but keep all other ingredients the same.

We did make the larger amount, and this worked just great. We ended up with 3 batches, 21 little aebleskivers.





Now, onto this nifty new kitchen pan. You grease the individual cups, pour in the batter, and then you do something different and interesting. Some people use a skewer or even a knitting needle, but not having either, we used one of the forked ends of a little knife. You kind of lift up the batter to make an edge, and then you move it around in the cup a bit, while it is cooking at medium heat. Because if I were reading this, I wouldn't have a clue what I was talking about, here is a you tube that shows you just what to do. Pancakes have never been so much fun!

21 comments:

  1. I have never seen anything like this. Looks interesting!! Just have your hubby make a few extra and ship them out to me!! I like mine with butter and syrup :)

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  2. Nan, They're really cute. They remind me of little popovers or something. How fun!

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  3. Hi Nan: Oh you are so lucky to have an Aebleskiver pan. I have been scouring kitchen stores up here for one, but to no avail. Someday when I visit the U.S. I think a kitchen store will be my first stop on the journey. I'll bet your supper was delicious.

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  4. What time do I come over tomorrow morning? ;D

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  5. Goodness, those little pancakes look exactly like the little batter puddings my granny used to make in dariole moulds in the oven. I used to make them when the children were small and serve them with jam. And of course, they're much the same as an individual Yorkshire pudding, also done in the oven.
    These easy, fast and inexpensive dishes seem to be known to women everywhere!

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  6. How intriguing - I've never heard of these, but they'd be fun to do ... I was struck by how thick her batter was - much thicker than any I'd use for plain pancakes. I'll have to look out for a pan

    Joanna

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  7. I've never seen anything like that!
    Great video, too. I'll have to look for that pan next time I'm in a kitchen store. It would be a fun twist on the pancakes my family loves!

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  8. These look SO delicious and fun to make! I have never seen pans like this before,I must keep a look out for one.

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  9. Many Thanks for the recipe and the excellent video Nan!
    It's just what we needed.
    We got the Jotul /Norwegian version of this pan a while back (off ebay actually)but we only have one handwritten recipe that came with it but no 'how to' instructions..
    Now we can use it properly! Excellent.

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  10. We love Aebleskivers. My husband and I received a cast iron pan for Christmas a few years ago. His father has Scandanavian roots. You can fill the Aebleskivers, too, with various sweet or savory fillings. We've done applesauce and jam. You put a dollop of the filling of your choosing in after pouring the batter in the cups. Can you imagine: peanut butter filled aebleskivers??? *swoon* Fun post! Thanks!

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  11. Thank you for each of your comments. I loved reading them, and am so pleased you either already know about them or have been introduced. They are such a fun food!! Even though the video had a special sort of mix, remember you can use any pancake recipe you want!

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  12. I've seen a pan like this advertised in Williams-Sonoma's catologue. I believe my mom & stepdad have one, but I've yet to sample one of these yummy pancakes. I think they'd be great filled with raspberry jam. Mmmmmmmm!!

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  13. I just watched the YouTube clip and had to tell you I've been to Solvang! Haven't eaten in that restaurant, but I've been to the town. :)

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  14. Oh, Les, I never knew that you had been there! I'd say, buy one of those pans! Rod would love them, as would you.

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  15. Those are adorable! They remind me of popovers and my new popover pan!

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  16. Tara, they do look a little popovery but the taste is much more pancakey. :<) I'll be so interested to hear how your popovers come out. We gave up our pan because they just didn't work. We use custard cups now, but it is still hit or miss. Same recipe, same flour, same everything but they hardly ever come out the same.

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  17. Nan, the first batch turned out great! I used the recipe from the Cook's Illustrated folks, from The New Best Recipe. The recipe seems pretty basic, but they have you leave the batter at room temp for 30min before baking, and you have to heat the pan as well. My family loved them, and were surprised too, since they didn't realize what popovers were.

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  18. Tara, I'm going to email you for the recipe! Thank you for writing back.

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  19. Nan, I never thought to come across Abelskivers on a blog. I had some a few years ago when we visited friends in California and discovered Solvang, a town that celebrates its Danish heritage. Indeed it was founded by Danish immigrants to protect that heritage. the Abelskivers were delicious.

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  20. Lucky you, Pat! I'd love to go there.

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