Ebelskivers by Ellen Britt
A Short History on Ebelskivers
Ellen Britt at Ellen Cooks (ellencooks.ca) writing on Ebelskivers - delicious light homemade pancakes. Ebelskivers have a wonderful history. Although their past is cloaked in mystery and folklore it is thought their origin started with the Vikings. Who would have thought that the Vikings were culinary enthusiasts much like me!! Legend has it that the Vikings were returning from battle where their shields and helmets had been pummelled by the enemy. Exhausted and hunger they decided of course that pancakes were the way to go after a bad day on the field of battle. It appears the Vikings brought with them pancake batter when going to war but sadly they forgot to pack frying pans. Given the complete lack of cooking supplies and a keen desire for pancakes they used their dinted shields and helmets as a pan. I have to hand it to them for their cooking ingenuity. Delicious pancake batter was poured into the spherical dents and cooked into delightful fluffy pancakes. Thanks to the Vikings the Ebelskiver was born!
Much later however the Danish laid claim to the delicious invention and since the Danish took a bit more time to document the creation (because they could write) they are credited with the recipe. Not saying the Vikings were illiterate but it appears they used word of mouth when it came to pancakes.
If you are trying to eat like the Vikings and make Ebelskivers at home and you don’t have a dented shield at the ready you can use a special cast iron frying pan with large, rounded wells. These special pans work well on a gas or electric stove. Batter is poured into the indentations, and you wait unit it starts to bubble slightly on the surface then you turn the pancake very gently so that it cooks on the other side. I use small spatulas or chop sticks for this delicate task. I should mention you can also fill your Ebelskivers with a sweet or savory filling of your choice. I prefer mine plain but as a good second option I sometimes fill them with jam or pie filling.
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This is a wonderful recipe and the perfect way to start your morning!
Ebelskivers - The Perfect Homemade Pancakes by Ellen Britt
Ebelskiver Recipe - a light and fluffy homemade pancake
For the recipe in this feature, I used a recipe from a book by Kevin Crafts titled Ebelskivers (of course). There are a ton of wonderful Ebelskiver recipes in this book along with mouth-watering photos to temp you.
Below is the recipe as written in the book and is perfect whether you choose to make sweet or savory Ebelskivers.
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp sugar
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
2 large eggs separated
1 cup whole milk
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled.
½ tsp Vanilla extra (optional)
In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a smaller bowl lightly whisk the egg yolks then whisk the milk and add the melted butter. Add the yolk mixture to the flour mixture and stir together until blended. The mixture will look lumpy, but it is very important not to over mix. A smooth mixture won’t work as well.
In a large bowl on high speed beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Then fold about 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter until all the egg whites are incorporated. There should be no white streaks when the folding is complete.
Next put the Ebelskivers frying pan over medium or medium low heat. Butter the pan with the melted butter using a pastry brush. Make sure you cover the entire well with melted butter and let it heat for a few moments.
When the butter is bubbling add the batter. As a rough guide you want to add about 1 to 3 tbsp. of batter to each well. If you plan to fill the pancake with a jam or savory choice , use less batter because you will want to put batter at the bottom of the well followed by the filling and again followed by more batter. Because my eyes are bigger than my stomach, I always add more batter than I should when doing filled Ebelskivers. This means I typically have overflowing batter problems everywhere. It’s quite the mess so I don’t recommend you do the same. I just can’t help myself….
Cook the first side of the batter until bubbles start to rise from the center and the pancake is slightly browned on the bottom.
Next flip the pancake. To accomplish this tricky feat, I use either a small spatula or chopsticks. Chop sticks work best in my opinion. Then cook the second side until lightly browned. It should be about 3 more minutes. Once done you are ready to transfer the pancakes to your plate and dust with powdered icing sugar or your favorite topping. Maple syrup is a good option.
We generally make these homemade pancakes for special breakfast occasions such as Christmas or Easter. They can however be made at any time of year of day. Hope you enjoy.
by Ellen Britt at ellencooks.ca
Ebelskiver recipe book for the best ebelskivers ever!
Ebelskivers (The Perfect Homemade Pancakes) by Ellen Britt
Basic ingredients for Ebelskivers
A photo of me separating the yolks and whites
A photo of me separating the yolks and whites
Likely you already have these ingredients at home!
A photo of me separating the yolks and whites
A photo of me separating the yolks and whites
A photo of me separating the yolks and whites
I use my hands when separating the eggs. I want to be extra careful not to get any egg yolks in the egg whites.
Separated egg whites
A photo of me separating the yolks and whites
Photo of me in the process of creating the perfect Ebelskivers!
I have eggs whites in a steel bowl but you can use pyrex - plastic however is not recommended.
Photo of me in the process of creating the perfect Ebelskivers!
Photo of me in the process of creating the perfect Ebelskivers!
Photo of me in the process of creating the perfect Ebelskivers!
The smirk on my face is because my mom takes way too many photos. Still the most important thing about cooking is having fun!
Egg whites are beaten before adding to the mixture
Photo of me in the process of creating the perfect Ebelskivers!
Egg whites are beaten before adding to the mixture
The peaks should be stiff but not dry.
Fold the egg whites into the mixture
Photo of me in the process of creating the perfect Ebelskivers!
Egg whites are beaten before adding to the mixture
Fold the egg whites into the mixture in three segments but be careful when folding to ensure there are no white streaks.
Carefully put the batter into heated wells
Once the batter starts to bubble slightly in the center gently flip your pancake.
Once the batter starts to bubble slightly in the center gently flip your pancake.
Try to put in only 3 tbsp if using the basic pancake recipe. The batter will puff up slightly. If you put too much filling in the wells it will overflow.
Once the batter starts to bubble slightly in the center gently flip your pancake.
Once the batter starts to bubble slightly in the center gently flip your pancake.
Once the batter starts to bubble slightly in the center gently flip your pancake.
In this picture I am using a small spatula but chopsticks work better.
They are starting to look perfect!!
Once the batter starts to bubble slightly in the center gently flip your pancake.
They are starting to look perfect!!
They should be golden brown on the outside.
Ellen Cooks Ebelskiver Creations
Additional Information
These are an amazing sweet treat. Appears I couldn't wait for the photo to be taken without devouring one!!
Hope you enjoy - by Ellen Britt at ellencooks.ca. Also check out my Instagram account @ellenbrittcooks
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By Ellen Britt