Recipe: Aebleskivers (Danish Doughnuts) (5) for Joan, Pacific Northwest

Hi Joan :-) Here are several recipes that were previously posted here at recipelink. Some of the recipes call for yeast and some do not. I have not tried any of the recipes since I do not own an Aebleskiver pan but I have eaten them at a Danish Festival in Junction City, Oregon. Yum :-)!!

Danish Aebleskiver Recipe
Makes about 2 dozen

2 eggs
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
4 tablespoons butter
Confectioner's sugar
Optional: apple slices or other fruit

Beat egg yolks until light and fluffy, then add the sugar and salt.

Sift the flour with baking powder and baking soda, then add it to the egg mixture, alternating small amounts with the addition of the buttermilk, as you continue mixing.

Beat the egg whites until stiff, then gently fold them into the batter.

Heat the Aebleskiver pan. Place approximately 1/2 teaspoon of butter in each cup and heat until foamy.

Drop batter into cups, filling each about 2/3 full.

If you wish to use apple slices or other fruit, drop a slice in the center of each cavity.

Cook over medium heat until browned and crisp on bottom.

Turn each cake with a fork to cook the other side.

The Aebleskiver is done when a toothpick, or cake tester, inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove cakes from pan and sprinkle with confectioner's sugar, if desired. Best when served warm.

Variations:

They are often served with ice cream, powdered sugar, bananas, chocolate sauce, and other sweets.

They are nice as a snack with hot chocolate and whipped cream. Also great as a dessert with liqueur and ice cream.

You can also fill the inside by pouring some batter in the mold, adding a teaspoon of your filling, and covering with another layer of batter.

Sweet fillings can include: Jam, raisins, pieces of apple, marzipan (almond paste), pieces of banana, pieces of chocolates.

Savory fillings can include: Butter cheese with herbs, grated old cheese, strips of bacon, strips of salami.

Aebleskiver

2 egg whites
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
tablespoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter, melted
2 cups buttermilk
vegetable oil

Note: You will need an aebleskiver pan to cook these properly. Beat the whites stiff.

Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, sugar, melted butter and buttermilk at one time and beat until smooth. Gently fold in the egg whites last.

Put about 1tablespoon of vegetable oil in the bottom of each aebleskiver pan cup and heat until hot. Pour in about 2 tablespoons of the batter into each cup. As soon as they get bubbly around the edge, turn them quickly (Danish cooks use a long knitting needle, but a fork will work). Continue cooking, turning the ball to keep it from burning.
Makes 30 aebleskivers

DANISH AEBLESKIVER (apple donuts)
The flavorful dough may be fried with a piece of apple stuck in the center or served with applesauce or apple butter. An 8 inch diameter cast iron pan with seven round indentations fits over a stove burner and fries the cakes to golden perfection. This pan is called an aebleskiver pan.

2 eggs, separated
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Dash cardamon (optional)
1 cup buttermilk
4 tablespoons butter
Apple slices or other fruit
Confectioner's sugar (optional)

Beat egg yolks until light; add sugar and salt. Sift flour with baking powder, baking soda, and cardamom; add to egg mixture alternately with buttermilk.

Beat egg whites until stiff. Fold into batter gently.

Heat aebleskiver pan. Place about 1/2 teaspoon of butter in each cup and heat until foamy.

Drop batter into cups, filling each about 2/3 full. Place apple slice in center of each cup. Cook over medium heat until browned and crisp on bottom.

Turn each cake with fork to cook other side. Aebleskiver is done when wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Remove cakes from and pan and sprinkle with confectioner's sugar. Best when served warm.

Danish Aebleskiver
Servings: 2 dozen

Comments:
What are Aebleskiver? A traditional Danish sweet. Aebleskiver are often called "Danish doughnuts," but unlike doughnuts they are not deep-fried. They are traditionally prepared from a batter flavored with beer, spices, and citrus zest, that is leavened with baking powder (as well as eggs). Aebleskiver are cooked on top of the stove in a special pan known as an "aebleskivepande". The pan has deep individual half sphere indentations that form the aebleskiver as they cook. The batter is added to the indentations in the hot buttered pan, filling each about two-thirds full. Once the "doughnuts" have set on the bottom they are turned over and cooked on the other side, producing a round ball at the end of the cooking process. The traditional "old-country" way to turn the aebleskiver in the pan is to spear them with a knitting needle or a metal skewer. A small amount of jam or a slice of apple is sometimes inserted into the center of the Aebleskiver before turning them. The name aebleskiver translates to "apple slice." The cooked pastries are served warm, dusted with powdered sugar.

2 large eggs, separated
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting tops, or if desired, use granulated sugar for rolling aebleskiver in.

Special Equipment:
You will need an Aebleskiver Pan

Aebleskiver pans may be purchased online at: Happycookers.com, at Cooking.com, at Solvangmall.com, or at specialty cooking stores.

Optional Fillings:
Sliced apples
Applesauce
Jam
Jelly
Preserves

Beat egg yolks until light and fluffy; add the sugar and salt. Sift the flour with baking powder and baking soda; then add to the egg mixture, alternating small amounts with the addition of the buttermilk, as you continue mixing. Beat the egg whites until stiff, then gently fold them into the batter. On stovetop, preheat the aebleskiver pan on medium heat. Place approximately 1/2 teaspoon butter in each cavity and heat until butter is foamy. Pour a little batter into each cavity in pan, filling each about 2/3 full.

*Note: If you wish to fill the aebleskiver with a little applesauce or sliced apple, jam, jelly, or preserves; spoon a small amount (1-2 teaspoons) into the center of each cavity at this point in cooking.

Cook aebleskiver over medium heat until golden brown and crisp on bottom. Turn each aebleskiver with a fork to cook the other side. The aebleskiver is done when a toothpick, or cake tester, inserted in the center comes out clean. The total cooking time is about 2-3 minutes.

Important Note:
Add a little more butter to the aebleskiver pan cavities after making each batch. Remove aebleskiver from pan and dust with confectioners' sugar, or roll them in granulated sugar. Serve while still warm with jam or applesauce.

Tips:
You can add a small amount of cinnamon, cardamom, vanilla, grated lemon or orange zest to this recipe if desired. Aebleskiver may be refrigerated and are delicious re-warmed in the microwave for 25-35 seconds. Makes approximately 2 dozen aebleskiver.

Aebleskiver (Danish Doughnuts)

1 cake compressed yeast of 1 package dry yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1 3/4 cups milk
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom or nutmeg or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Add yeast to water. Let stand for a few minutes, then stir until dissolved. Use very warm water (105 to 115 degrees F) for dry yeast; use lukewarm (80 to 90 degrees F) for compressed. Heat milk to lukewarm. Add yest to milk; add butter, sugar, salt, and 1 cup of the flour. Beat well with rotary beater; cover and allow to rise in a warm spot until bubbly. Beat eggs, add with remaining flour and the flavoring; again let dough rise until bubbly. Heat aebleskiver pan and grease very generously so that a small amount of the shortening remains in the bottom of the pan. Spoon batter into individual depressions, having each one about three-quarters full. Stand ready with a skewer, or, as the Danes do, with a steel knitting needle, and as soon as the pancakes show signs of browning around the edges, turn them. Turn them again if necessary to brown evenly on both sides. Serve at once with a shaker of powdered sugar or with jam or jelly. Makes 3 dozen, or 4 to 6 servings.

Variations: Often a cube of cooked apple, a couple of raisins, or a piece of cooked prune is dropped into the dough as soon as the depression is filed. (The literal translation of aebleskiver is "apple slice: so fond are the Danes of the additon of apples to their doughnuts.)

Note: You'll need a special aebleskiver or monks pan for these delicate little pancake balls, or you can bake them in a muffin pan.

From The Woman s Day Encyclopedia of Cookery Vol. 4 1966

Editor's note:
Aebleskiver Pan

Aebleskiver and More: A Sampling of Danish Recipes - Search Inside the Book