Æbleskiver

Æbleskiver
Dessert, snack, breakfast
Æbleskiver
Place of origin:
Denmark
Serving temperature:
Hot
Main ingredient(s):
Wheat flour, buttermilk, milk or cream, eggs, sugar
Recipes at Wikibooks:
Æbleskiver
Media at Wikimedia Commons:
Æbleskiver

Æbleskiver (/ˈeɪ.bləˌskiː.vɜr/; Danish meaning apple slices [singular: æbleskive]), also called "appleskives"^[1] are traditional Danish pancakes in a distinctive shape of a sphere. Somewhat similar in texture to American pancakes crossed with a popover, æbleskiver are solid like a pancake but light and fluffy like a popover. The English language spelling is usually aebleskiver or ebleskiver.

In the United States, a version of æbleskiver is sold with a commercially repackaged pan, branded as "Pancake Puffs".

Æbleskive pan

Top view of an æbleskive pan.

Æbleskiver are cooked on the stove top by baking in a special pan with several hemispherical indentations. The pan exists in versions for gas and electrical stoves (the latter with a plain bottom). Pans are usually made of cast iron, allowing good heat conduction. Traditional models in hammered copper plate exist but are today used primarily for decoration.

Preparation

An æbleskiver with red jam

The batter for æbleskiver usually includes wheat flour, which is mixed with buttermilk, milk or cream, eggs, sugar and a pinch of salt. Some recipes also include fat (usually butter), cardamom and lemon zest to improve taste, and a leavening agent, most often baking powder, but sometimes yeast, to aerate the batter.

Batter is poured into the oiled indentations and as the æbleskiver begin to cook, they are turned with a knitting needle, skewer or fork to give the cakes their characteristic spherical shape. They were traditionally cooked with bits of apple (æble) or applesauce inside but these ingredients are very rarely included in modern Danish forms of the dish. Æbleskiver are not sweet themselves but are traditionally served dipped in raspberry, strawberry, lingonberry or blackberry jam and sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Æbleskiver can be bought fried and frozen at supermarkets, only needing heating in an oven.

Traditions

A man making æbleskiver at Danebo, the Danish-American Cultural Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota

In Denmark, æbleskiver are common before Christmas. In December, they are often served with gløgg, Scandinavian mulled wine. In Norway, warm waffles have much of the same function as æbleskiver in Denmark.

They are also often sold at charity markets, Scouting functions, local sports gatherings and similar, or served at children's birthday parties, due to their popularity and easy preparation. Voluntary associations can gain profit from preparing them from the pre-fried, frozen stage and selling them, usually three at a time with the usual condiments.

In North America, there are several annual events that celebrate æbleskiver and Danish culture:

• Founders Day, June 19 of every year, New Denmark, New Brunswick, Canada (the country's largest and oldest Danish community)
• Constitution Day, First Saturday in June, Sunset Villa, Puslinch, Ontario, Canada
• Scandinavian Festival, April, California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, California^[2]
• Scandinavian Autumn Fest and Marknad Celebration, September, Agoura Hills, California^[3]
• Aebleskiver Breakfast, Palm Sunday Christ Lutheran church, West Covina, California^[4]
• Aebleskiver Days, July, Dickson, Alberta, Canada, at the Danish Canadian National Museum^[5]
• Danish Days, third weekend in July, Viborg, South Dakota^[6]
• Aebleskiver Days, fourth weekend in July, Tyler, Minnesota^[7]
• Scandinavian Festival, second weekend in August, Junction City, Oregon^[8]
• Danish Festival, third weekend in August, Greenville, Michigan
• Askov Fair & Rutabaga Festival, featuring an æbleskiver stand, last weekend in August, Askov, Minnesota (Old Danish colony town)
• Tivoli Fest, Memorial Day Weekend, Elk Horn, Iowa^[9]
• Danish Days, September, Solvang, California
• Æbleskiver Supper, September, Trinity Lutheran Church, Blooming Prairie, Minnesota
• Danish Smorgasbord, first Saturday in November, Immanuel Lutheran Church, Easton, California
• Julefest, Thanksgiving Weekend, Kimballton, Iowa
• The Christmas Bazaar, November, Danish Lutheran Church, Toronto, Ontario
• SVYM Christmas Brunch in Boulder Creek, California
• Yule Fest and Viking Days at the Nordic Heritage Museum in Seattle, Washington
• Æbleskiver Dinner, Night before Ash Wednesday, St. Stephen Lutheran Church, Urbandale, Iowa

See also

• Danish cuisine
• Popover
• Unni Appam, a similar dish from Kerala that is made in both sweet and spicy styles.
• Neyyappam, a similar sweet dish from Kerala used mainly as prasadam in temples.
• Paniyaram, a similar dish from the south of India that comes in sweet and savoury varieties.
• Oliebol, a similar Dutch dish that is sweet.
• Poffertjes, a similar Dutch dish that is sweet.
• Takoyaki, a savoury Japanese version that features octopus.
• Gai daan jai, a similar Chinese dish.

Notes

External links

Wikibooks Cookbook has a recipe/module on Æbleskiver

• The Story of Aebleskiver (Solvang Restaurant, Solvang, California)