Holiday Ebleskiver

Years ago my daughters bought me an ebleskiver pan for my birthday and I was thrilled. They know I love gadgets and different shapes and sizes of baking dishes. Trust me, I had big plans to use this fancy pan on every holiday.

By the way, I’ve also seen the spelling as ebelskiver and aebleskiver. But however the spelling, ebleskiver are round, filled pancakes that are Danish in origin. And they’re fabulous. Although I’ve only made them once.

The following Christmas I decided to make ebleskiver for the family on Christmas morning. The recipe I used came from a Williams-Sonoma catalog. This photo is from the W-S website.

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The pancakes I made were filled with a dried cherry filling. The recipes for the batter and the filling are easy. But I had no idea what I was in for…

Two hours after starting these pancakes, I was finally done. They were stunning and delicious. And I think I’m the only one who ate any of them. One hates carbs, one just wanted a protein shake, one decided they didn’t pair well with bloody marys, and one is a vegetarian. (There is no meat in ebleskiver.)

So I think I learned my lesson. Making these is truly a lot of work, only because they are time consuming, and you really have to park yourself at the stove for a long time. Plus, the pan only makes 7 pancakes at a time.

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So take my advice and don’t make these on a busy holiday, when you’d rather be hanging out with your family.

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But this year, I wisely decided to make these ebleskiver the Sunday before Christmas, and freeze them. That way, I can thaw and heat a few at a time, and any non carb-haters who want a delicious pancake bite can enjoy them, which might just be me. I know for a fact that they will pair perfectly with a mimosa.

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So here’s the somewhat adapted recipe from Williams-Sonoma. The filling I used was leftover cranberry jam mixed with dried cranberries. Any kind of jam, jelly, cranberry sauce, or cooked fresh or dried fruit can be used as the filling.

Ebleskiver
Makes 3 dozen

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
3 egg yolks, lightly whisked
1 1/3 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup ricotta cheese or yogurt cheese
1/2 teaspoon orange oil, or orange zest
5 egg whites in a large bowl
Unsalted butter
Cranberry filling, make sure it’s quite thick

Begin by sieving the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl; set aside.

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In another bowl, combine the egg yolks, buttermilk, ricotta cheese, and orange oil. Whisk well and set aside.

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Using an electric mixer, whisk the egg whites until stiff.

Using the same beaters, whisk the buttermilk mixture until smooth, if it’s lumpy.

Have the ebleskiver pan on the stove heating over low to medium heat. Have butter on hand, and the filling with a teaspoon. Also have a platter for the finished ebleskiver.

Begin making the batter by incorporating the flour into the buttermilk mixture. It will almost look like biscuit dough.

Then gently but forcibly fold the egg whites into the batter. Place a spoon in the batter and set the bowl near the stove.

Add about 1/2 teaspoon of butter to the indentations in the pan. Notice I just did a few to start. I really couldn’t remember how challenging the whole process was, and I didn’t want to ruin any.

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Add approximately no more than 1 tablespoon of batter into each indentation. Add a very small amount of filling – about 1/2 teaspoon – on to the top of the batter. Then top with a scant tablespoon of batter.

Let them cook for about 3 minutes. They should not brown more than a golden color, but they might burn slightly if the sweet filling sneaks out.

Now here’s the fun part. The recipe says to use two forks to turn these guys over. Good luck with that. I ended up mostly using my fingers, because I must not have good fork coordination. I even tried with two wooden tools that you can see being used in the top photo, but still no luck. But somehow get them turned over and continue cooking them for another 3 minutes.

I did figure out that instead of worrying about turning them completely over at one time, it can be done gently in baby steps.

So now you can see I’ve become a little braver, and making all seven at one time!

Turn them out to the platter, and continue with the rest of the batter, unless you decided enough is enough and toss the batter and eat your 7 ebleskiver.

Open one up to make sure it’s properly cooked. They should be fluffy – not doughy or dry and tough.

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I purposely omitted putting sugar in the batter, which was in the original recipe, and instead sprinkled a little powdered sugar over the ebleskiver. It just makes them prettier!

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I decided to try them with real maple syrup as well. Really yummy!

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Ebleskiver really are amazing, and the cranberry filling makes them holiday perfect!!!

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And if you decide to buy one of these pans, don’t forget to try them with cheese for a fabulous savory treat! That’s next on my list!!!

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Happy Holidays!

By Published On: December 24th, 201430 Comments on Holiday Ebleskiver

About the Author: Chef Mimi

As a self-taught home cook, with many years in the culinary profession, I am passionate about all things food-related. Especially eating!

30 Comments

  1. spiritedcook December 24, 2014 at 8:14 AM - Reply

    Great story! Yes, back when I had my gigantic kitchen ,I too, had every baking gadget known to Williams Sonoma. We downsized and now just the basics. Well, just the basics to me. Also, how did you get it to snow on your website? I’m not on my computer much, mostly use mobile so I don’t see it there, but it’s adorable and festive. Happy Christmas Eve, Mimi!

    • chef mimi December 24, 2014 at 8:54 AM - Reply

      Merry Christmas to you too Barbara! It’s a WordPress thing. I just clicked on “snow” and it starts December 1st!

  2. The Literate Chef December 24, 2014 at 9:20 AM - Reply

    Have a Merry Christmas, Mimi!

  3. Sadia Mohamed December 24, 2014 at 9:45 AM - Reply

    This looks amazing. Soo festive. I have a pan like this, but it is used to make a dish called kareyappam in india. I will try this in that pan. Looks too good.

  4. Our Growing Paynes December 24, 2014 at 10:08 AM - Reply

    Oh I wish I had more room for things like this. I would have so much fun. These look delicious.

    • chef mimi December 24, 2014 at 11:51 AM - Reply

      It’s fun when you actually remember you own the things!

  5. apuginthekitchen December 24, 2014 at 1:05 PM - Reply

    After seeing this I need to dust off my ebleskiver pan, they look delicious!! Merry Christmas Mimi!!

  6. Johnny December 24, 2014 at 5:11 PM - Reply

    They look and sound delicious, regardless of how difficult they may be to turn (and love the idea of the savoury). I still haven’t cooked anything Christmas-y, leaving that until tomorrow. There’ll be expletives hurled to the wind, no doubt! Until then, Merry Christmas!

    • chef mimi December 24, 2014 at 6:18 PM - Reply

      Hahahahahaha! Well I completely understand. I have to do things ahead, or else I get mad and resentful and my day is ruined! I dont get to make “fancy” things, but that’s fine with my family. They don’t help, so they can’t complain!

  7. Bam's Kitchen December 24, 2014 at 7:14 PM - Reply

    Oh my goodness Mimi, these are just gorgeous and so are your photos just love that action shot of you sprinkling on the powdered sugar!

  8. Vinny Grette December 24, 2014 at 10:48 PM - Reply

    Anything with buttermilk appeals to me. I’d definitely try them out !

  9. Fig & Quince December 25, 2014 at 1:09 PM - Reply

    Dear Chef Mimi: Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas! Season’s Greetings!

    • chef mimi December 26, 2014 at 8:00 AM - Reply

      Thank you so much! And a Happy New Year!

  10. StefanGourmet December 26, 2014 at 5:42 AM - Reply

    Happy Christmas, Mimi! I think you are very brave to fill these. I think it is funny these are called “apple slices” even though there are no longer apples included in them. You could also use your pan to make Dutch poffertjes, quite similar (but not filled and thinner) and easier because they become fluffy from yeast rather than whipped egg whites. I thought turning them was quite easy with a skewer (until I saw Kees do them much more quickly, made me look clumsy in comparison). Perhaps it helped that I distributed the butter with a brush so they just needed a little nudge with the skewer. http://stefangourmet.com/2014/01/03/poffertjes/

  11. chef mimi December 26, 2014 at 8:05 AM - Reply

    A skewer might do the trick. But they’re a little challenging, filling or no filling. Maybe I’m glad this pan only has seven holes! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

  12. Michelle December 28, 2014 at 10:08 AM - Reply

    Those look great! And thanks for teaching me something new. I see now I’m going to have to take up Danish cuisine! Hope you had a lovely holiday.

    • chef mimi December 28, 2014 at 4:29 PM - Reply

      We must try it all, right?!! Happy New Year!

  13. DellaCucinaPovera December 29, 2014 at 5:10 AM - Reply

    These remind me of Dutch Olliebollen… also a holiday treat ! You and your gadgets :)

    • chef mimi December 29, 2014 at 9:05 AM - Reply

      I know, I know. There’s another one coming soon…

  14. eliotthecat December 31, 2014 at 5:38 PM - Reply

    I’ve always thought these pans looked interesting and that these little treats looked delicious, but I don’t think I have the patience. Kudos to you for making them ahead of time this year!

    • chef mimi December 31, 2014 at 6:19 PM - Reply

      They actually thawed nicely. People popped them into their mouths without even heating them!

  15. dianeskitchentable January 3, 2015 at 8:15 PM - Reply

    Whew – 2 hours (after being up at 5:00 am?). I’m sure they were delicious though and I would have been happy to help you out. Vegetarian? Hmmm…

    • chef mimi January 4, 2015 at 8:40 AM - Reply

      It was worse. She was a vegan for a long time. Now she is legally a pescatarian, so that helps!!!

      • dianeskitchentable January 4, 2015 at 1:04 PM

        Well, that makes it a little bit easier but with what I see on your blog, I wouldn’t last as any ‘atarian’ for very long. We just went to my husband’s great aunt’s 100th birthday & my sister in law invited her 2 adult children…then made a big deal out of them both being vegetarians & one being gluten free so could they accommodate them? You know what I would have said? Yeah, you’d guess correctly.

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