E: Ebelskivers

I first heard about Ebelskivers a couple of years ago when I was taking one of my usual walks around the aisles of Williams Sonoma. I saw a peculiar pan that consisted of seven small wells. Propped right next to it was a book about Ebelskivers. I opened it up and read that they are small stuffed pancakes that come from Denmark. If you are aware of the mini Dutch pancakes, Poffertjes,these are very similar except that they are slightly bigger and are filled, traditionally with apples. The book contains a variety of both sweet and savoury recipes. Immediately I fell in love with both it and the pan and luckily for me my birthday was just around the corner!
 
Since then I have hosted the occaisional Ebelskiver event. When you make the batter, you separate the yolks from the whites and blend the whites until they are stiff. This meringue mixture is mixed into the batter which results in a very light and puffy pancake. You can really use your imagination for the filling. Options are jam, fruit, chocolate, leftovers, etc. This time around I experimented with the following fillings:

1. Feta, sundried tomatos, spinach, and pesto
2. Pear, blue cheese, and candied walnuts*
3. Smoked salmon, corn kernals, and dill

My only hesitation with Ebelskivers is that they are very time consuming since you can only make seven at a time. I think I have only made them when I have had other people over. Even though I normally prepare the fillings in advance, it can be a bit challenging to carry out a conversation while making these. If you are planning on making them for other people, it probably would not hurt to make them in advance.

Ideally one would use an Ebelskiver pan for this recipe. The pan has small wells that are deep enough to fit a tablespoon of batter followed by a tablespoon or less of your choice of filling, followed by another tablespoon of batter. If you do not have an Ebelskiver pan you could always try using a metal circular cookie cutter to hold the batter in place but I am not sure how well that would work and it would probably be a little more time consuming. If anyone ever feels like experimenting with that method let me know how it turns out!

      

      

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt (optional)
2 large eggs, separated
1 cup whole milk
2 Tbl unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a small bowl, lightly whisk the egg yolks, then whisk in the milk and melted butter. Add the yolk mixture to the flour mixture and, using a wooden spoon, stir until well blended. The batter will be lumpy.

In a clean bowl, using an electric mixer on high speed, beat the egg whites until stiff, but not dry, peaks form. Using a silicone spatula, fold about one-third of the egg whites into the batter to lighten it, then fold in the rest just until no white streaks remain. Use the batter (enough for 21 pancakes) right away.

To cook the pancakes in an Ebelskiver pan, brush each well with melted butter and heat at medium or medium low. For a stuffed pancake, put 1 Tbl of batter in each well, starting with the centre. Wait for the batter to bubble slightly and then cover with approximately 1 Tbs of the filling. Quickly cover another Tbl of the batter. Using two wooden skewers or chopsticks (try to avoid using metal utensils as they can scratch the pan), flip the pancakes over and let the other side cook for a couple of minutes.

*To make the candied walnuts, just roast walnuts in a pan on the stove, sprinkled with a little bit of sugar. Keep stirring until the sugar has melted and then take off the heat. Place the nuts on some parchment paper to cool.