Photo: Great grandparents at their farm in Blandinsville, IL, with five of their six children .. my grandpa was yet a twinkle in grandma's eye. Stable boy and governess also pictured. Hodges farm, circa 1903-4

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Danish Heritage Cooking

I've recently started making a few heritage recipes given to me by my Danish cousin, Egon.  I remember having ableskivers on my honeymoon with Mr. Mac thirty years ago in Solvang, California.  On a recent thrift store outing, I was able to purchase a new ableskiver pan.  Here is the family recipe:

Æbleskiver
(Danish “doughnuts”)
This is possibly one of the most famous Danish desserts. To make æbleskiver requires a special
skillet called an “æbleskivepande”. Usually, you are able to find an “æbleskive-pande” at the
Scandinavian gift stores in the area.
2 cups flour
2 cups buttermilk
3 eggs, separated
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼1/4 teaspoon salt
Melted butter or margarine for frying.
Separate the eggs and set aside the egg whites. Mix the remaining ingredients in a bowl. Beat
until it forms into a thickened, smooth batter. Let the batter rest for half an hour in the
refrigerator. Beat the egg whites until very stiff. Fold the egg whites into the cool batter. Pour the
batter into a pitcher. Melt the butter for frying.
Pre-heat the æbleskive skillet. Pour a little melted butter in each hole. Then fill the holes 3/4 with
batter. Fry the æbleskiver at medium heat. When a shell has started to form turn the æbleskiver
around with a (wooden) knitting needle or a meat skewer. Keep on turning the æbleskiver until evenly
“baked”.


When done remove the æbleskiver from the skillet and keep them warm. Decorate the æbleskiver
with powdered sugar. Served with jelly and sugar.
- Enjoy

7 comments:

Rebecca said...

It's LOTS of fun watching you work! They sound and look delicious.

Mama Rachael said...

We are trekking up to the in-laws for Christmas, where there are lots of folks with Dutch ancestry (Hubby's fam included). Maybe I can find this pan up there? Anyhoo, these look like a ton of fun, and I very much want to try them!

Mary said...

Oh, those look wonderful! Solvang, California, used to be one of our favorite places to go when we were stationed in California. A beautiful little town.

Linda said...

Hi,
These look so yummy! I want to try these!
Have a lovely day.
Blessings and hugs.

Dani said...

Oh, yummy Mrs Mac. Love the Ableskiver pan - pity we can't get it here! But perhaps I should Google and see if Amazon has one..?

Mery Christmas Mrs Mac :-)

Ruth Trowbridge said...

darn that gluten, but those look awesome, am going to look for my own pan - peace
and Merry, Merry Christmas to you

ps word verification was "chill"

LynnS said...

Awesome dessert -- betcha can't have just one!! That pan is a beauty and I've never seen one before. Not too many Danish in this area, did they all migrate westward ho?

Hope your Christmas preparations are finishing up. Today I will wrap the rest of the gifts.