Aebleskiver Danish Pancakes
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Aebleskiver Danish pancakes are delicious mini pastries traditionally enjoyed during the Christmas season. Crisp on the outside, tender in the middle, they’re brushed with melted butter, sprinkled with powdered sugar, and served with jam.
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🥞 Why We Love This Recipe
- During cold-weather months, we all want easy comforting recipes. These aebleskiver Danish pancakes feature a light batter made with whipped egg whites. It takes only 5 minutes to assemble the mixture.
- They’re absolutely delicious. Hot off the stove, the crisp pancake balls are brushed with melted butter, then sprinkled with powdered sugar. We plate them the traditional way, in groups of 3. We top them with our favorite jam.
- I enjoy serving aebleskivers as breakfast pastries. But in Denmark, they’re a symbol of Christmas hospitality – enjoyed midday with a cup of coffee, or served as a snack or dessert. They’re often sold by street vendors, or at open-air markets.
- You can fill aebleskivers with a savory filling like crispy air fryer bacon crumbles (or tiny bits of pan-fried ham), cheddar cheese and herbs. Enjoy them with a savory dipping sauce like this homemade Chick-Fil-A sauce, or honey mustard sauce.
- They can also be filled with something sweet like mini chocolate chips. Serve with jam, honey, lemon curd, salted caramel, melted chocolate or hot fudge.
- They’re just plain fun to cook and eat! After a brief learning curve, aebleskiver Danish pancakes are easy to turn within the holes of an aebleskiver pan. When you bite into one, it’s pure Christmas joy. You reach for a second.
👩🏻🍳 Best Aebleskiver Pan
Aebleskiver pans have a long handle and 7 deep round wells. This is the exact cast-iron aebleskiver pan highly recommended by a Danish vendor at an outdoor market. He was selling Aebleskivers Danish pancakes, and the pan to make them. I bought the pan and love it.
The pan I’ve recommended come with a set of aebleskiver turning tools which are very helpful. But if you don’t have a set of turning tools, use chopsticks, toothpicks, bamboo skewers, long knitting needles, or cake pop sticks for the first turn. For the second rotation use a soup spoon.
🛒 Ingredients
For Aebleskiver Danish Pancakes
- Large Eggs: The yolks add richness to the batter. The whites are whipped until stiff peaks form, then folded into the batter to help make the aebleskivers fluffy.
- Whole Milk: Or you can use buttermilk instead. But do not use low-fat milk or the batter will be too thin.
- Vanilla Extract: Enhances the flavor of the butter and sugar.
- All-Purpose Flour: Provides strength and structure for the pancake batter.
- Baking Powder: Provides leavening for fluffy, airy pancake balls.
- Kosher Salt: Balances the flavor of the other ingredients.
- Butter: Provides rich delicious moisture, and a delicious buttery flavor for the batter. We also use it to grease the aebleskiver pan to prevent the pancakes from sticking.
For Brushing, Dusting & Serving
- Butter: For Brushing over the freshly-cooked aebleskivers.
- Powdered Sugar: For dusting the tops of the Danish pancakes.
- Raspberry Jam: For topping the aebleskivers. Or try honey, chocolate or caramel.
Recipe Note: Scandinavians prefer Lingonberry Jam. It’s the same traditional condiment that’s served with Swedish meatballs.
📖 Recipe Steps
Assemble the Batter
RECIPE PREP: Heat oven to 200°F. Melt butter in 2 ramekins. Take out 2 skewers, a soup spoon, a baking tray, and a damp cloth.
- In a large batter bowl, whisk egg yolks, milk and vanilla.
- Add flour, granulated sugar and salt. (Don’t add baking powder just yet!) Mix well. Add melted butter. Whisk until fully incorporated. Add baking powder. Whisk again, but don’t over-mix.
- In another bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer at high speed for 2 to 3 minutes until stiff peaks form.
- With a rubber spatula, gently fold egg whites into the batter.
⏲ How to achieve fluffy Danish pancakes: Let the batter rest 15 minutes before cooking. This gives the baking power time to react. And the flour will have time to absorb liquid from the mixture and become thicker.
Make Danish Pancakes
RECIPE TIP: Contrary to popular belief, cast-iron does not heat quickly or evenly. If using a cast-iron pan, preheat it in the oven while prepping the batter. Once on stovetop, it’ll cook your mini pancakes more quickly, and the batter is less likely to stick to the pan.
- Heat pan on stovetop. In general, for cast-iron pans: low heat. Non-stick pans: medium heat. Brush wells of pan with a generous amount of melted butter.
- With a small metal scoop, fill the wells until almost full. Cook 3 to 4 minutes or until bubbles form on the surface of the raw batter and start popping, the balls rotate easily, and bottoms are golden.
- With 2 skewers, flip balls 180°. The raw half should face down, with the cooked half facing up. Gently tuck the ends under. Between rotations, wipe skewers clean on a damp cloth. Cook 3 minutes.
- At this point, abandon the skewers and use a soup spoon to rotate the balls. It’s easier to work with. Let Aebleskiver cook until they’re golden on all sides. Remove from pan.
Stovetop Temperature for the pancake balls: I have a gas stovetop with cast-iron grates. My aebleskiver pan is cast-iron as well. I cook my Danish pancakes over a low flame, because if the temp was any higher, they’d scorch.
🧑🏼🍳 Recipe FAQ
These are the most commonly-asked questions for making the BEST Danish pancakes from scratch, and the most helpful answers for recipe success.
Practice makes perfect. Start with 1 to 2 test batches of 3 Danish pancakes per batch. After that, you’ll get the hang of the process: how to rotate the balls turning cooking.
Rather than separating egg whites and beating until stiff, add whole eggs to the batter. The Aebleskiver will be a little less fluffy, but still really good!
Transfer batter to a squeeze bottle. This is especially helpful when making perfectly round mini pancakes, turning them halfway and filling in the gaps with batter.
Keep a damp cloth nearby. Between uses, wipe them down to remove batter.
This takes some skill. When rotating a ball, rather than flipping it over 180°, turn it 90° so the seam of the cooked part is vertical to the pan. Quickly fill in the the gap with more batter. Continue the rotation so the cooked half faces up and the raw batter faces down. Tuck in the edges.
Traditional Scandinavian aebleskivers are spiced with ground cardamom, a 50/50 mix of ground cinnamon and ground cloves. Instead, I often add 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon or nutmeg to the batter.
Jam, chocolate, Nutella, cream cheese, or lemon curd. Fill the wells of the pan halfway. Add 1/4 teaspoon of the filling, then pour batter on top to seal it in.
For evenly-browned pancake balls, fill the wells of the pan in a clockwise direction. Rotate balls in the same order.
Transfer mini pancakes to a baking tray. Store them in a warm oven until serving time.
🎄More Christmas Treats
These easy recipes are festive and delicious. Put them on rotation during the holiday season. Take them to church socials and holiday parties. Pair them with these Christmas hot chocolate bombs. View our full collection of Christmas recipes in our Christmas category.
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Aebleskiver Danish Pancakes
- Total Time: 30 Minutes
- Yield: 25 Aebleskivers 1x
Description
Aebleskiver Danish pancakes are delicious mini pastries traditionally enjoyed during the Christmas season. Crisp on the outside, tender in the middle, they’re brushed with melted butter, sprinkled with powdered sugar, and served with jam.
Ingredients
For the Pancake Batter
- 2 large eggs (at room temp), yolks and whites separated
- 3/4 cup whole milk or buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
For greasing the pan: 2 tablespoons melted butter
For sprinkling: Powdered sugar
For Serving: Raspberry jam, lemon curd, or maple syrup
Instructions
RECIPE PREP: Heat oven to 200°. Melt the butter in 2 ramekins. Take out 2 skewers, a soup spoon, a baking tray, and a clean damp dishcloth. Put them next to the stove.
- In a large batter bowl, whisk egg yolks, milk and vanilla. Add flour, granulated sugar and salt (don’t add baking powder just yet!). Mix well. Add melted butter. Whisk until fully incorporated. Now add the baking powder. Whisk again, but don’t over-mix.
- In another bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer at high speed for 2 to 3 minutes until stiff peaks form. With a rubber spatula, gently fold egg whites into the batter.
- Heat aebleskiver pan on stovetop. The level of heat will depend on the pan (cast-iron or non-stick) and your stovetop (electric, gas or induction). In general, for cast-iron pans: low heat. Non-stick pans: medium heat. Brush wells of pan with a generous amount of melted butter.
- With a small metal scoop, fill the wells until almost full. Cook 3 to 4 minutes or until bubbles form on the surface of the raw batter and start popping, the balls rotate easily, and the bottoms are golden.
- With 2 skewers, flip balls 180°. The raw half should face down, with the cooked half facing up. Gently tuck the ends under. Between rotations, wipe skewers clean on a damp cloth. Cook 3 minutes.
- At this point, abandon the skewers and use a soup spoon to rotate the balls. It’s easier to work with. Let Aebleskiver cook until they’re golden on all sides. Remove from pan.
- Brush mini pancakes with melted butter. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve with jam, lemon curd, Nutella, or warm maple syrup.
Notes
- Practice makes perfect:There’s a small learning curve for cleanly rotating the balls. If you’re new to making aebleskiver, it’s important to practice first. Start with 1 or 2 test batches of 3 mini pancakes.
- How to make pouring the batter into the pan easier: Transfer batter to a squeeze bottle. This is especially helpful when making perfectly round mini pancakes, turning them halfway and filling in the gaps with batter.
- Turning tools: If you don’t have a set of wooden turning tools, use chopsticks, toothpicks, bamboo skewers, long knitting needles, or cake pop sticks. For the second rotation use a soup spoon.
- Keep the turning tools clean between uses: While cooking, keep a damp cloth nearby. Between uses, wipe them down to remove the batter.
- How to make perfectly round pancake balls: This takes some skill. When rotating a ball, rather than flipping it over 180°, turn it 90° so the seam of the cooked part is vertical to the pan. Quickly fill in the the gap with more batter. Continue the rotation so the cooked half faces up and the raw batter faces down. Tuck in the edges.
- How to make this recipe faster: Rather than separating egg whites and beating until stiff, add whole eggs to the batter. The Aebleskiver will be a little less fluffy, but still really good!
- Prep Time: 10 Minutes
- Cook Time: 20 Minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Danish
Aebleskiver Danish Pancakes 👉🏻 Join the Convo
Have you ever tried Danish pancakes? Were they sweet or savory? What do you think about this traditional ebleskiver recipe? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Can regular pancake batter be used in an Aebleskiver pan?
Hello Connie. Yes, you can use regular batter in an Aebleskiver pan. They’re so fun to make, and delicious to eat!
So delicious! I love aebleskivers. Perfect family weekend brunch!
This is a great, fun recipe! My kids absolutely love these! Thank you!
This looks so delicious and tasty! My family is going to love these! Can’t wait to make this!
A special breakfast or snack. Perfect for kids. They will love the combinations. Delicious.
These are delicious! It’s fun to make and needs some practice, but it’s a nice feeling when you finally get the perfect shape. :D
These mini pancakes look so delicious and I have all the ingredients. I can’t wait to try these.
This is pure bliss! I need to buy the gadget to be able to make this at home. So yummy!
My kids LOVE these! Such a fun way to start the day.
Not only are these delicious, but they’re also so much fun to make! My entire family loves them!!