Ebelskivers: A Danish Pancake

Several years ago Stephen’s sister, Jennifer, gave us an Ebelskiver for Christmas. Since then, it has become a tradition to make a different Ebelskiver recipe each year for Christmas breakfast. Williams Sonoma has been so helpful in that regard, as every year they print a new recipe in their Fall catalog. Ebelskivers are a traditional Danish pancake. They are small like a pop-over but have the texture of a pancake. They can be filled with a variety of fillings or left plain.

My brother’s wife, Emily, sent me her family’s traditional Danish Ebleskiver recipe along with a wonderful story of how they came across the recipe.

“I would like to say that Danish Ebleskivers started with a distant aunt from Denmark, but in our family the preparation of Danish Ebleskivers dates to 1962. In that year Joe, Evelyn, and I traveled to Seattle, Washington to attend the World’s Fair.

On April 21, 1962, President John F. Kennedy, Jr. pressed the key of a gold-nugget-encrusted telegraph key sending the message to Seattle and the world, “Let the Fair begin!”

More than 10 million visitors came to the fair April 21 through October 21. To my recollection, we came in the summer when school was out, probably in June. We had relatives that lived near Bremerton, Washington, across Puget Sound from Seattle and we stayed with them.

One of the great delights of the fair was an International Food Market which still exists at Seattle Center. Joe was always interested in different foods. One item he noted at the fair that struck his fancy was Danish Ebleskivers. These were round doughballs, cooked in a unique Ebelskiver pan. In the center of the ball might be jam, pineapple, berries, etc.

When we returned from the fair, Joe mentioned the Ebleskivers to a friend of his, Ken Rummel. Ken
owned a metal foundry and based on Joe’s description, he made several Ebleskiver pans out of cast iron, giving one to Joe.

We have since made Ebleskivers using the following recipe as well as just using pancake mix.”

Basic Ebelskiver Batter:
2 eggs, separated
2 cups buttermilk
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. soda
2 tbs. sugar
4 tbs. Melted butter

Separate eggs; beat egg whites until stiff. Mix all the other ingredients together at one time and beat until smooth. Fold in egg whites.

Heat pan on low to medium heat. Put 1/2 tsp. butter, oil or shortening in each cup. Pour in batter near top but not filling cup. If desired, put 1/2 tsp. of jam, a piece of pineapple, blueberries, raisins, etc., in batter. (If fruit is added, reduce the amount of batter initially placed in cup. Add fruit and cover with a small amount of batter.) When bubbly, turn ball with a fork or skewer. Continue cooking until toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm with powdered sugar or syrup.

Fillings:
Source: Williams Sonoma

Spiced Apple With Maple Whipped Cream:
1 tbsp unsalted butter
3 tbsp firmly packed light brown sugar
3 granny smith apples, peeled, grated
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 ground ginger
1/8 freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 ground cinnamon
juice of half a lemon
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 tsp salt

In a saucepan over medium heat, cook 1 tbsp butter, brown sugar, apples, ginger, clover, nutmeg, 1/4 tsp cinnamon and lemon juice for 30 minutes. Drain liquid. Beat cream, maple syrup and salt to soft peaks. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. In a small bowl combine the confectioner’s sugar and 1/4 tsp cinnamon.
To cook: brush wells of pan with butter. Pour 1 tbsp of batter into each well. Cook about 2 minutes. Spoon 1/2 tsp apple filling into centers; top with 1 tbsp of batter. Cook 2 minutes. Flip and cook for about 3 minutes longer. Remove. To serve, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and serve with maple whipped cream.

Banana – Graham Cracker:
4 oz graham cracker, broken into pieces
3/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
5 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs, separated
1 3/4 cups buttermilk
6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 bananas, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 cup heavy cream
maple syrup for serving

Place graham crackers in a blender, blend on high until powdery. Add flour, soda, powder, 3 tbsp sugar and salt. Pulse to combine. In a large bowl, whisk egg yolks and buttermilk. Whisk in flour mixture; batter will be lumpy. Beat egg whites on high speed until stiff but not dry peaks form, 1-2 minutes. Gently fold egg whites into batter in two additions.

In a cup, combine cream and 2 tbsp sugar. Whip until thick and combined.

To cook: pour 2 tsp batter, place three banana pieces in the centers of each pancake; top with 1 tsp batter. Serve with maple syrup and whipped cream.

My Favorite – Maple Banana Walnut
Bananas, sliced
Walnuts, broken
Maple Syrup

Heat bananas in a little butter. Add the walnuts and syrup. Heat through.