Danish Pancakes - Ebelskiver (Aebleskiver)

I have been telling my kids for years about my mom making Ebelskiver (Danish round pancakes) when I was growing up. I remember visiting my grandmother (mormor) in Denmark as a kid and having Ebelskiver in Tivoli Gardens. So when I opened one of my Christmas gifts this year and found an Ebelskiver pan, I instantly went back to my childhood and couldn’t wait to have my kids experience these delightful round pancakes filled with jam and fresh fruit.

My wife whipped up the following recipe that came with the pan and they were delicious. The recipe is for making 40 round pancakes and we decided to cut the recipe in half but what a mistake. They went so fast we regretted not making the whole batch.

The Ebelskiver Pan

The pan from Williams Sonoma is made of heavy cast-aluminum, has a stay cool cast stainless steel handle and seven deep wells for the pancake batter. The Nordic Ware company started making Ebelskiver Pans back in 1950. This family owned business from Minnesota joined up with Williams-Sonoma to make this updated version with a nonstick coating to help release the pancakes from the pan.

I read on the Solvang Restaurant web site (see below) a little history of the pan. They say the Aebleskiver pan comes from the Viking days when after a long day of battle, the warriors were hungry and would go back to their viking ships and make a type of pancake using their shields in lieu of pans. I’m guessing the design of the shields included wells for the batter. This may just be a good story but I like it.

Danish Pancakes In Solvang, CA

I just happen to be in Solvang, California, a small Central Coast community in the San Ynez Valley that was originally founded by a group of Danish educators back in 1911. The town’s architecture has been modeled in a Danish style and you can find restaurants, bakeries and stores selling Scandinavian goods although I was told by one local that there aren’t many Danes left in town.

One morning we enjoyed breakfast at the Solvang Restaurant - home of Arne’s famous “Aebleskiver” on Copenhagen Drive. The restaurant was bright and decorated for Christmas and the servers were friendly. We could tell the locals were in there early like we were because when the tourists arrived in town around 10 am, you couldn’t get near the place.

We all ordered three of Arne’s Aebleskiver served with raspberry jam and powdered sugar. I was thinking they wouldn’t be enough after watching my kids devour 20 Ebelskivers at home on Christmas morning but these were much bigger and in my opinion a little too “doughy”. My wife’s Ebelskiver following the recipe below were much better. They were moister and had a richer flavor perhaps because of the fillings but maybe from the higher egg to flour ratio.

If there are any Danes out there reading this blog, please post your recipe for homemade Ebelskiver in the comments below.

Danish Filled Pancakes

Adapted from the recipe that came with the Williams Sonoma pan

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 4 eggs, separated (yolks and whites)
• 2 cups milk
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for cooking
• Fillings for the pancakes - jams, fresh fruit, chocolate

How to Make Danish Ebleskiver (Aebleskiver)

In a bowl big enough to hold all the above ingredients with room to whisk, mix the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. In a separate smaller bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the milk and 4 tablespoons of the melted butter. Add this mixture into the flour mixture until blended together. Don’t worry if the batter looks lumpy.

Using a hand held electric mixer, beat the egg whites on the highest speed until they become stiff but you do not want dry peaks to form. This should take about 3 minutes. Then fold the egg whites back into the flour mixture.

Getting the Pan Ready for cooking

Put the pan over medium heat, add 1/4 teaspoon of butter to each well in the pan and heat until the butter begins to bubble. Add 1 tablespoon of batter to each well of the pan, then 1 teaspoon of filling and top with 1 tablespoon more of batter.

You cook until the bottoms of the round pancakes are golden brown and a little crispy. This should take about 4 minutes. Using a coupe of wooden skewers, flip the pancakes over and cook until the other side is golden brown.

Remove the 7 ebelskiver and repeat with the remaining batter until all the batter is cooked. Serve with maple syrup and powdered sugar.

If you don’t want to add filling, that’s fine. Just serve them with jam or syrup on the side.

Pumpkin Pie - Three Ways

The Thanksgiving “to do” list is often so long we might feel as if, for one day at least, we are working in a professional kitchen. For most people, the Thanksgiving centerpiece around which everything revolves is the turkey. For many people, though, the crowning glory to a bountiful Thanksgiving feast is the pumpkin pie.

(Be sure to check out my Thanksgiving Survival page with tips and techniques for cooking Thanksgiving dinner.)

Since time is at a premium on Thanksgiving, here are three levels of pumpkin pie you can serve this holiday:

1. I Need To Make This Quick Pumpkin Pie
2. Who Needs To Make A Crust - Give Me Some Filling Pumpkin Pie
3. I’ll Make It From Scratch Pumpkin Pie

“I Need To Make This Quick” Pumpkin Pie
Dress up a store bought pie: whip some cream or crème fraiche with brown sugar or maple syrup, a pinch of salt and a little pumpkin pie spice; buy some candied pecans (or make your own, but we’re trying to save time, here), chop them and sprinkle them over the pie. Gently warm some store bought egg nog and glaze your plates with it. It’ll be like serving a nutmeg-spiced crème Anglaise with your pie.

“Who Needs To Make A Crust - Give Me Some Fillin’ Pumpkin Pie
If you don’t want the hassle of making it, there are some very good commercially produced pie crusts out there. Get the kind that you have to fit into your pie pan, not the kind already in a pan. Line the crust with some plastic wrap, fill it with beans, and blind bake it for 10 minutes.

Carefully remove the wrap and the beans and bake for 10 more minutes before adding the filling. The plastic wrap will not melt in the oven, so don’t worry. Just make sure that it is not touching the edge of the metal pie plate, because it will melt if it’s in direct contact with metal.

Use the recipe on the side of the Libby’s can. It has been around for years and years and has been perfected for this application. This is the traditional pumpkin pie served at many Thanksgiving dinners. Here are just a couple of modifications you can try, if you have the time or the inclination.

1. Let the filling mixture sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before pouring and baking. The rest makes for a more creamy end product.

2. Lose the clove–it’s a flavor that can overpower the delicate pumpkin. Replace it with up to 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, or just leave it out entirely.

3. Increase the salt by half, from 1/2 teaspoon to 3/4 teaspoons. The additional salt will highlight the pumpkin flavor.

“I’ll Make It From Scratch” Pumpkin Pie
First, the buttery pastry. You can’t go wrong with the French pate brisee and let’s spice it up a bit, for the holidays.

Ingredients:

• 2 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 t. salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• Pinch of ground ginger
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, cold
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup ice cold water

Combine flour, salt, sugar and spices in the bowl of your food processor. Cut the cold butter into 1″ chunks and process until it looks like coarse meal”a few pea-sized pieces of butter is just fine, too.

With the processor on, add 1/4 cup of ice water slowly through the feed tube. Process just until the mixture holds together when pinched (even though it still might look crumbly”if it passes the pinch test, you’re done). Add a bit more water if necessary. Total processing time should not be more than 20 seconds or so.

Divide the dough into two pieces. Put each piece between two pieces of parchment paper, flatten out and then roll to about 3/16″ thickness. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or so for the flour to completely hydrate.

Extra Rich Old Fashioned Pumpkin Pie Filling

• 3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
• 1 15 oz. can of pumpkin
• 10 oz. heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• Pinch of cinnamon and ground ginger

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Strain and let sit at room temperature while you pre-bake your crust.

Line a 9″ pie pan with one of your dough disks. Line the crust with some plastic wrap and then fill with beans. Bake the crust at 325 degrees for 10 minutes or so. Carefully remove the wrap and beans and bake for 10 more minutes.

While the crust is baking, cut leaf shapes out of the dough scraps and the other disc of dough. If you don’t have a leaf cutter, just cut out simple leaf shapes with a knife. Score in some “veins.” Make 10 leaves (in case 1 or 2 break). You’re going to place one on each piece of pie, so make each one so it will “just fit” on a wedge of pie. Place them on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Brush these little leaves with an egg wash made from 1 egg and 2 teaspoons of water, beaten well. Sprinkle liberally with cinnamon sugar.

Pour the filling into the par-baked pie crust, and put the pie onto a cookie sheet.

Place in a 325 degree oven. Put the leaves on the rack below. Your leaves will be done in 20 minutes or so. Take them out when they are golden brown and delicious. In a low oven, the pie could take upwards of an hour to bake. Be patient, and don’t turn up the heat. The lower temperature helps to ensure a creamy filling.

When the pie is done, a knife inserted about 1 inch from the center should come out clean. If the very center is still a little jiggly, it’s okay. It will continue to cook and set up once it’s out of the oven. Cool for two hours on a rack. Serve immediately”place a leaf on each wedge of pie. Serve with any of the accompaniments from “Help, I’m Out of Time” Pumpkin Pie.

I hope these ideas have inspired you to make the very most out of your pumpkin pie, no matter how much time you have!

Related Thanksgiving Posts on Reluctant Gourmet

Let’s Talk Turkey

Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner Tips

Turkey Basics

How to Roast a Perfectly Moist Turkey

Turkey Gravy for Thanksgiving or Anytime

Turkey Gravy in a Hurry

Leftover Thanksgiving Day Turkey Chili Recipe

Deer Valley Chili

Fresh Orange Cranberry Sauce

Roast Turkey Soup with Winter Vegetables

How to Roast the Perfect Thanksgiving Turkey

Turkey Cartoon

Budino al Cioccolato

Chocolate might not be the first flavor that comes to mind when considering Italian desserts. It’s more likely that the phrase “Italian dessert” will bring to mind the light Marsala-flavored custard, Zabaglione, over fresh fruit, or perhaps the espresso kick of tiramisu or the light fruit flavors of a granita. Chocolate tends to be more of an accent rather than a focal point in Italian desserts - a light dusting of bitter cocoa powder as a foil to sweet mascarpone cream or perhaps a drizzle of tempered dark chocolate on crunchy-crumbly hazelnut biscotti.

In Budino al Cioccolato, however, chocolate stands front and center. Italian for pudding Budino al Cioccolato is Italian Chocolate Pudding. Like most desserts, budino can mean different things to different people. Some budinos are akin to French baked custards, like pots de creme. Some are cooked on the stove top. Some recipes have crumbled cookies added as the thickener.

My favorite type of budino is the kind that is like a flourless cake - a thin crisp crust, moist cake and a gooey, almost liquid center. There are budino recipes for everything from vanilla to butterscotch to lemon, but, in a nod to America’s love affair with chocolate, I give you Budino al Cioccolato. (Serves 12)

Ingredients

• Vegetable spray for greasing the pan
• Individual cupcake liners - the metallic kind are cool
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 4 oz (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces best quality bitter-sweet chocolate
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 and 1/3 cups granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup neutral vegetable oil (for added moistness/tenderness)
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (maybe a bit more, to taste)

How to Prepare at Home

Preheat the oven to 300 degree F. Put the cupcake liners in the greased pan, and preheat the pan, too.

Combine the butter and cream in small saucepan over medium-high heat. Chop 5 ounces of the chocolate and put it in a medium bowl. Cut the remaining 3 ounces into 1/4 ounce chunks and reserve. When the cream mixture comes to a simmer, pour it over the chocolate and mix gently to incorporate the ingredients. Let cool. (This is a ganache).

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, oil, cocoa powder and cornstarch until the sugar has dissolved. Pour the cooled ganache into the egg mixture and gently mix just until the batter is smooth. Scoop about 1/4 cup of the batter into each mold (about 3/4 of the way up the sides). Tuck a 1/4 ounce chunk of the reserved chocolate into the center of each cupcake.

Bake until the edges are set and the center still looks a little moist, about 40-45 minutes. Cool the pan on a rack for 10 minutes and then unmold them. Dust them with powdered sugar, and serve warm.