18 March 2011

Ode to Avagardnerskivers (aka Aebleskivers)

Ah, the aebleskiver, why do I love you so?  Some people call you pancake balls , some people call you a pancake doughnut - me,  I call you a little round ball of love -  fluffy tasty goodness. Hot out of the pan with sugar and raspberry jam ( this is when double dipping is allowed! ) , buttery , eggy with a hint of cardamon - oh! so , so , so good!

I grew up eating aebleskivers , it is hard not to when you grow up in a Danish house hold.   Sometimes we would get crepes with sugar and jam for special occasions , but the aebleskiver was always the special treat! When I was very young I had trouble saying aebleskiver - so I choose to call them avagardnerskivers - it has stuck to this day.

Avagardnerskivers are easy to make , all you need is an aebleskiver pan, a knitting needle or bamboo skewer and of course a recipe, sugar and raspberry jam.  I prefer cast iron , put now you can find all different types of pans from cast iron to cast aluminum , you can actually get the mix , the pan and an " aebleskiver filled pancake tool" at Williams Sonoma!  Go figure!  http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/6126122/?cm_src=rel

This is my pan, it was either my mormor's (grandmother) or my oldemor's (great grandmother's pan), it  is old and heavy and my friend when I get the urge to make my avagardnerskivers.  Following is the only recipe I have ever used , with great thanks to my mor and my mormor.

aebleskivers - aka avagardnerskivers

2 c buttermilk
2 c unbleached flour
3 eggs seperated
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp cardamon
pinch of salt
a mixture a melted butter and oil for cooking

Beat egg whites to stiff peaks, set aside.  Beat yolks with sugar, salt, cardamon, and buttermilk. Mix in flour, baking powder and baking soda. Fold in egg whites.
Heat your pan ,  pour a small amount of the melted butter and oil mixture into each hole.  Using a small ladle or spoon fill each hole.  When the edges are bubbling and are starting to look golden brown use your knitting needle to turn the aebleskiver upside down.  Continue to cook the the aebleskivers till they are brown all over.  You can use a toothpick in the center to make sure they are cooked thru.  It is best to eat them right away , but they can be kept warm in an oven.
Serve with sugar and raspberry jam or your favorite jam.

turning the aebleskivers with skewers



the finished product!

6 comments:

  1. Hej Lille Laura, greetings from your Mor (Mother)
    Great Blogg. The pan you have was your Grandmothers and the pan you will get someday,
    was my great grandmothers, so that makes it your
    great,great grandmothers all they way from
    Danmark. You are not getting it till I check out and I am not planning to do that any time soon.
    A tip: you can use grated lemon peel instead of
    cardemom, I actually prefer it that way. I also melt 1 stick margarine with 4oz of canola oil in a pot and poor it into the pan as needed. love you, MOM

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  2. Dear Laura,
    Æbleskiver is the absolute best, thanks for sharing your recipe. I will add it to the ones I already have in my book.
    Laura, you do not know me, but I am an old friend of your Mom’s, we grew up in Denmark together. You visited me in Camarillo many years ago, do you remember that?
    Best wishes….. Thyra Kemper

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  3. Thyra-
    I do remember you well and I was just asking about you awhile back. Are you still in Camarillo? I go up there quite a bit from Hermosa, our best friends live there - hope to stay in touch!
    -laura

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  4. Thank you for posting this. I inherited this same pan and have never know what to do with it!

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  5. Laura, just surfing and came across your note. No, we do not live in Camarillo any lnger, we moved up north to Auburn (near Sacramento) almost 2 years ago now. It would have been nice to see you though, we are still hoping to get your Mom down here for a visit. Take care..... T

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  6. Thank you for the good information that was shared to us to read. Looks delicious and very interesting. Thanks for sharing. There are a lot of recipes and how to make them good. Thank you for posting this.
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