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Aebleskiver is a delicious Danish treat that my husband introduced to me when we got married. It’s like a doughnut hole and a pancake rolled into one perfect pastry.
I love it because it tastes so good, but I also love it because it’s so easy! You can make it in under 30 minutes and you can do it with ingredients that you probably already have on hand. If you haven’t tried Aebleskiver yet, give them a shot! These are great for entertaining guests on game nights when you’re trying to be fancy but don’t have time to cook anything else.
Danish Aebleskiver
We love having Aebleskiver around Christmas time (as do many Danes) but of course you can enjoy it ANY time of year! Aebleskiver, or Danish pancakes, or Danish pancake balls, are little snack desserts that are spherical, cooked, dough balls that have a similar consistency to pancakes in the United States. They taste like a combination of a doughnut and waffles or pancakes. The name “Aebleskiver” directly translated means “apple slices” because traditionally they are cooked with apple slices in the middle.
A True Danish Favorite
This is a TRUE Danish recipe, straight from Denmark. My husband lived in Denmark for a couple years and he fell in love with all the Danish food and rich traditions. He always loved visiting with the Danes, who shared the family recipe with him. When we started dating, he was so excited to make them for me. After I popped the first one, I was hooked. Once we got married, it quickly became one of our own family traditions to make aebleskiver on Christmas Eve and throughout the Christmas season.
What Do You Need To Make Aebleskiver?
You will need a good cast iron aebleskiver pan to make these. A cast-iron aebleskiver pan really isn’t that hard to find. We found several types of iron pans on Amazon (click here) for around $20. These make for GREAT gifts, by the way. For easy flipping, you can use skewers, chopsticks (the easiest way) or a fork.
Ingredients in Danish Aebleskiver
Despite it being a Danish recipe, you can easily find all the ingredients anywhere. Here’s all you need:
- Eggs – you’ll need to divide the egg whites and egg yolks in separate bowls
- Flour – regular all purpose flour works great. Combine with other dry ingredients, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Butter – melted. Set aside some for greasing the pan, and some for the recipe.
- Buttermilk – you can make your own buttermilk mixture by combining regular milk with a teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice. Give it a good whisk and you have buttermilk!
The Authentic Danish Way
Traditionally, aebleskiver is served as a dessert. If you really want to be traditional, once you have the batter in the pan, place a little apple slice in the batter before flipping (so you have a hot apple center). Our favorite way of serving them is with raspberry jam and powdered sugar.
More Toppings for Aebleskiver
There are so many toppings to eat on top of these fluffy little bites. We love raspberry jam and powdered sugar but here are some other ideas to try:
- Chocolate sauce
- Maple syrup
- Raspberry syrup
- Honey butter
- Fresh raspberries
- Whipped cream
- Apple butter
More Traditional Danish Recipes
If you Danish, have Danish heritage, or just want to try out some tasty recipes from Denmark, give some of these other traditional recipes a try!
- Frikadeller (Danish Meatballs)
- Brunede Kartofler (Danish Caramelized Potatoes)
- Ris A La Mande (Danish Rice Pudding)
- Danish Red Cabbage
- Danish Goulash
Aebleskiver
Video
Equipment
- Aebleskiver pan
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs divided into egg whites and egg yolks in separate bowls
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 Tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 Tablespoon butter melted
- 2 cups buttermilk
- melted butter for greasing pan
Instructions
- In a medium-sized bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until they can hold a stiff peak. Set aside.
- Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, sugar, egg yolks, 4 Tbsp. melted butter and buttermilk and beat until smooth.
- Gently fold in the egg whites last.
- Using a pastry brush, brush the bottom of each aebleskiver pan cup with melted butter and heat until hot.
- Pour in about 2 tablespoons of the batter into each cup. As soon as they get bubbly around the edge, flip them over (In Denmark they typically use a knitting needle to flip, but you can use a chopstick or a fork).
- Continue cooking, turning the ball until is is golden brown all the way around and is cooked through (like a pancake). It might take a couple tries to get the feel for it, but once you do you will be flippin' aebleskiver like it's nobody's business!
- Serve with jam or syrup and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Notes
Nutrition Information
We love these with icing sugar, syrup and jam, and have started experimenting with adding apples and cinnamon or orange zest and chocolate chips. Might try lemon zest and cranberry next! 🙂
if you do not have the pan can you prepare like a pancake and then roll them
These were great! We “stuff” ours with a few chocolate chips for a sweet treat.
So it is true that the æbleskiver is called that because of apple slice in it however that (the modern) style of æbleskiver has not traditionally had apple in it. The ones that had apple in it are much older (18th/19th century) and more like a fritter where an apple slice is dipped in batter and then deep fried. Usually in pig lard.
Perfect!
This is so delicious and so yummy! I can’t wait to make these again! My family loved them!
Loving these sweet little treat ideas! Thanks for sharing!
Aebleskiver is the best. Our restaurant in Solvang sell Aebleskiver year round and our online store can help you with all the supplies you need for Aebleskiver. We even have a delicious homemade jam (Bedstermor’s Raspberry Jam) https://www.solvangrestaurant.com/ You can find us on pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/solvangrestaurant/pins/
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWNuoF-YJsfyxlfMDOuKkSA/playlists
instagram @solvangrestaurant Facebook @solvangrestaurant
A picture of the special pan would be good. Where do you buy a pan? There is a tradition of adding sliced thinly or cubed cut apples. What kind of apples?
I think the direct translation is Apple Slices
Here is a link to what the pan looks like: https://www.amazon.com/Norpro-Nonstick-Stuffed-Aebleskiver-Ebelskiver/dp/B000ZUAFL4
Usually pink lady or honey crisp apples are my favorite to cook with!
I know they sell the pans at Williams Sonoma. But Amazon is good too
Here is a terrific video on how to properly make Aebleskiver.
https://youtu.be/xWxISl1dpyI
Thanks for sharing our video. We are hoping to update it soon. We also have a website and sell pans and Aebleskiver mix. https://www.solvangrestaurant.com/
I am married to a Dane and love these little treats! My mother-in-law gave me the pan as a gift many years ago. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
We make Aebleskivers. We love them in the summer with fresh strawberries and whipped cream on top. My parents made them for us and they gave each of us pans so that we were able to make them for our kids.
~Cheryl
Aww… my grandma used to make these, and then my dad a few times. I’ll have to go find a pan so I can make it for my boys. Thanks!!
I THINK MAYBE YOU BAKE THESE, OR DEEP FRY BUT NOT SURE, NO INSTRUCTION, WHAT TEMPERATURE? I HAVE HAD THEM MANY YEARS AGO IN A DANISH RESTUARANT IN VISALIA CA DELICIOUS!
These are cooked on top of the stove in a special pan.