Saturday mornings are the BEST mornings. Leisurely, pajamaful and cozy; my favorite time of the week hands down. When it comes to Saturdays don’t even try to make plans with me that begin before 1 PM because I will not sacrifice my Saturday mornings. There is actually time to make a hot breakfast from scratch, so unlike my work week habits of grabbing a yogurt or relying solely on coffee to see me through to lunch.
This Saturday I made ebelskivers. If you haven’t met, allow me to introduce you!
How do you do?
Ebelskivers hail from Denmark, and it is quite clear that Danes know their way around filled pancakes.
In order to explore the endless sweet and savory possibilities awaiting you in ebleskiverland some special equipment is required:
I like them even MORE because tools are required!
This eblelskiver pan and the special turning tongs came from William Sonoma and were a gift to me from my grandma.
The recipe is pretty basic. You do need to separate eggs and there is some egg white whipping involved, but don’t panic! These are skills everyone who likes to bake should master and this batter is more forgiving than your favorite sweatpants so where better to practice than here?
1 c. All purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. Sugar
1/2 tsp. Baking powder
1/4 tsp. Salt
1 c. Milk (or buttermilk if you’re feeling it)
2 T. Melted butter (use the real thing if your morals allow you to)
2 Lg. eggs
1/2 tsp. Pure vanilla extract
Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
Soft as a cloud.
Separate the egg yolks from the whites. Combine yolks, milk, melted butter and vanilla, whisk untill blended. Add these wet ingredients to the dry ones and stir with a wooden spoon until well blended but still lumpy.
Now, the egg whites. Take your hand mixer, stand mixer egg beaters or a fork and some elbow grease and whip those egg whites until they are stiff and lovely without forming dry peaks, thusly:
Fluffy egg whites are sexy, no?
Fold about 1/3 of this fluffy astonishment into the batter, ever so gently:
Use your rubber spatula.
Once that is incorporated, fold the rest in and get ready for the awesome to begin! Heat up your pan and melt some butter in the bottom of each well:
Real butter, accept no substitutes!
OK, if you are using a filling, you will place about 1 T. of the batter in each well, then 1 tsp. of filling, then top it off with another T. of batter. For unfilled version, just fill the wells with 2-3 T. of batter.
Just like pancakes, when bubbles begin to form you turn them over with the little turners:
Bubbly goodness!
Here is the action sequence as photographed by my 4 year old son:
In just about 2 more minutes, your ebelskivers are ready! Dust with powdered sugar and serve!
Heavenly!
If you decide to explore the universe of savory ebelskivers, omit the vanilla extract from the basic recipe and go to town!
These little round pancakes are full of sumptuous potential, enjoy your adventures and feel free to share your favorites here!
