Ebelskiver, anyone?
Not quite a doughnut and not quite a popover, an ebelskiver (pronounced “able-skeever”) is a light, puffy, filled pancake cooked in a special pan on the stovetop. With summer coming, it’s the ideal way to prepare homemade pastries without heating up the kitchen.
“It’s not a heavy pancake. It’s airy and can be filled with just about anything,” said Camilla V. Saulsbury, author of “150 Best Ebelskiver Recipes” (Robert Rose, 2013). Sweet ebelskivers can be served as a dessert or breakfast pastry, while savory types can be appetizers or meal accompaniments.
Ebelskivers are of Danish origin and are popular in parts of the U.S. with sizable Scandinavian populations.
Although there is a legend about how the first ebelskiver was cooked over a fire in a Viking’s dented armor, Saulsbury said the Danes weren’t the first to cook pastries in a pan with wells for the batter.
In Japan, the takoyaki pan is used to make takoyaki, puffed pancake balls stuffed with octopus. In India, the paniyaram pan turns out puffed rice flour breads called kuzhi paniyaram. Hong Kong egg cakes are made with a similar pan in China, and in Thailand, the cooking method is used to make the street food snack kanom krok.
A metal ebelskiver pan has a long handle and seven deep wells to hold the batter. Thanks to a publicity campaign by kitchenware retailer Williams-Sonoma, the pans have gained popularity in recent years. Besides that store, the pans usually can be found at Bed, Bath & Beyond, Target, Walmart, housewares stores and online at Amazon.com.
Novices may want to make a test batch, advised Saulsbury, a Nacogdoches, Texas, mom and fitness instructor who made about 3,000 batches of ebelskivers while developing recipes for her book.
“Sometimes you have to throw away the first crepe. This is the same. Don’t worry if it overflows or gets too brown. Make two or three to get the hang of it,” she said.
The author uses a small, 1 1/2-tablespoon spring-loaded ice cream scoop to get the batter into the pan wells. After cooking for a few minutes, the puffs need to be flipped, so have wooden skewers, chopsticks or knitting needles handy.
Ebelskivers – made with a batter lightened with whipped egg whites – can be filled with fruit compote, jam, nuts, cream cheese, dried fruit, chopped vegetables or other mixtures, or they can be made without fillings.
“They’re really pretty simple,” Saulsbury said.
“Kids love to make them and eat them. It’s a great way to get a little sweet without turning on the oven.”
These recipes, which call for a seven-well ebelskiver pan, are from “150 Best Ebelskiver Recipes” by Camilla V. Saulsbury (Robert Rose, www.robertrose.ca).
Raspberry Blintz Ebelskivers
Filling:
1⁄2 cup ricotta cheese
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1⁄4 teaspoon vanilla extract, divided
Ebelskivers:
1 1⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
3⁄4 teaspoon baking powder
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 large eggs, separated
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla extract, divided
Vegetable oil
Powdered sugar
Raspberry Sauce:
1⁄2 cup raspberry jam, at room temperature
1 cup fresh or thawed frozen raspberries
Filling: In a small bowl, stir together ricotta, sugar and vanilla until blended. Cover and
refrigerate while preparing the batter.
Ebelskivers: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, egg yolks, milk, butter and vanilla until well blended. Add the egg yolk mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just blended (the batter will appear slightly lumpy).
In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat egg whites until frothy. Increase speed to high and beat until stiff, but not dry, peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, gently mix one-third of the egg whites into the batter. Gently fold in the remaining whites.
Brush wells of pan lightly with oil. Set pan over medium heat. When oil begins to sizzle, add 1 tablespoon batter to each well. Place 1 teaspoon filling in the center of each well and top with 1 tablespoon batter. Cook for 2 to 4 minutes or until bottoms are golden brown.
Using two skewers, flip the puffs over. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until bottoms are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a bit of filling and moist crumbs attached. Remove pan from heat and transfer puffs to a plate. Let pan cool slightly.
Repeat with the remaining batter and filling, brushing wells with oil and reheating pan before each batch.
Sauce: In a small bowl, whisk jam until loosened. Add raspberries and crush with the tines of a fork, mixing them into the jam.
Dust ebelskivers with powdered sugar. Serve warm, with raspberry sauce.
Makes about 21.
Mayan Chocolate Puffs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1⁄4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder
1⁄4 teaspoon baking soda
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1⁄8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, separated
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1⁄2 teaspoon almond extract
3⁄4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
Vegetable oil
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cayenne.
In a medium bowl, whisk together brown sugar, egg yolks, milk, butter and almond extract until well blended. Add the egg yolk mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just blended (the batter will appear slightly lumpy). Gently stir in chocolate chips.
In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat egg whites until frothy. Increase speed to high and beat until stiff, but not dry, peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, gently mix one-third of the egg whites into the batter. Gently fold in the remaining whites.
Brush wells of pan lightly with oil. Set pan over medium heat. When oil begins to sizzle, add 2 tablespoons batter to each well. Cook for 2 to 4 minutes or until bottoms are crisp-firm to the touch. Using two skewers, flip the puffs over. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until crisp-firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Remove pan from heat and transfer puffs to a plate. Let pan cool slightly.
Repeat with the remaining batter, brushing wells with oil and reheating pan before each batch. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Makes about 28.
Kathryn Rem can be reached at 788-1520.
