The Ebelskiver Pan, the Cookware You Didn't Know You Needed
I first discovered (and blogged about) the ebelskiver pan last fall. Danish filled pancakes, oh my! But, with a small kitchen and too many single-use kitchen products already, I held back on buying one, convincing myself I could live without it. And let me tell you, I could, but that would be such a sad, sad life.
After coming across a few recipes recently, I decided to throw caution to the wind and plunk down $25 for a pan (really not that much, right?). Besides, breakfast has become a big event in our house, now that my one-year-old has got us on a schedule. Plus, he already gobbles down three or four blueberry pancakes in a sitting, so I was sure the ebelskiver would be a hit.
Now, let me tell you, I have only made ebelskiver once, but they are already an obsession in my house. After one bite, my husband maniacally declared: "You MUST make these EVERY DAY." My son had no problem downing four of them. My friend Chris, who didn't even get to try them, declared that I should quit my job and open a shop selling nothing but ebelskiver: "There would be a line around the block!"
My obsession? The infinite possibilities of this "single-use" pan. Sweet or savory? Fruit or chocolate? Plain or with powdered sugar? Pie fillings? International cheeses? Nutella?! For my first round I made a basic pancake batter and baked in a banana-vanilla yogurt filling. Amazingly delicious! With the last bit of batter, I mixed in some cinnamon and blueberries. They came out like little muffin bites!
The nitty gritty on this pan: You don't need any special recipes--you can just make pancake batter (from scratch or a mix) and fill them with fruit or jam, or whatever you have around. You do need butter, and I recommend precutting a bunch of tiny cubes of cold butter, and putting one cube in each indentation for each round. For one of my rounds, I decided to forgo the butter--after all, I'd already used butter, and the pan is nonstick. And while the pan did release the ebelskiver, they stuck just enough to make them a bit touchy to try to turn over. And really, all that butter is good for the soul, right? For turning, I recommend using chopsticks, one in each hand. Don't worry if your turning technique is a little sloppy--they seem to cook up just perfect anyway!
Well, I could go on and on about these fantastic little pancake puffs, but, I will leave you to ponder this delicious ("almost edible!") photo.
--KitchenMaus
Kitchen Maus on January 28, 2009 at 05:01 PM
Arriba--They are best when made fresh, but can be quickly reheated in the oven. The oven's better than the microwave since they'll crisp up a little. Also, you may find it very difficult not to eat them as soon as they're out of the pan! We've stopped bothering to have a formal breakfast with them, and eat them as fast as I can make them! Hope yours turn out well--let us know!
arriba on January 28, 2009 at 05:30 PM
I will! Has anyone used anything other than an ebelskiver pan? I don't want to wait for my order--I have a cast iron muffin pan and thought about trying that on gas cooktop. They won't be as perfect, but I would think should work.
Mrs. E on February 07, 2009 at 10:06 AM
Does anyone recommend a pan? Williams Sonoma has one and of course, it is overpriced at $39.95. Any other suggestions? My husband grew up on these and his mother passed away. I want to make them as a surprise for Valentines Day. Help!?