I was surprised the other day when I commented on another blog regarding a scrumptious looking loaf of bread with these words: I used to be a baker. After my fingers typed the words I paused----I used to be a baker? Logically, it made sense. Yes, I used to wake up in the wee hours of the morning to produce crackling loaves of various kinds of bread and bursting-at-the-seams sweet rolls. I no longer do. My clogs with the ever present coat of flour are now clean---the flour scrubbed off long ago.
The art of baking clung to me like the floury paste coating my clogs for months at a time. When I found baking all those years ago, it was an obsession beyond my other obsessions. I taught myself to make almost every type of bread, start sourdoughs from scratch in a vat of organic grapes, and roll out buttery sheets of homemade puff pastry and danish pastry dough. I idolized the U.S. National Baking Team like the geek I tend to be. I belonged to that starry-eyed back-to-basics crowd that dreamed of owning my own bakery one day. And then I worked as a baker at a small, artisan bakery. Initially, I envied the owner of the bakery. I only worked two days a week during the summer tourist months, allowing her a few days off. But there was one caveat to my baking aspirations: I am not a morning person. In fact, I take to early mornings like a slug takes to a salt lick. And in my third season of baking, I realized my inner clock would never adjust. That same summer, I discovered Aebleskivers. They’re like a pancake taken to the cutesy extreme. A ball of dough baked in a specialty pan with jam in the middle and a faint powdering of sugar---what's not to love here? Of course, my family fell in love. And in my usual obsessive manner, I searched for the best recipe and made them repeatedly until I perfect them (well, as close as I could get). My daughter played along, too---no surprise since she loves anything with jam. Many weekend mornings were spent cranking out these charming balls of dough for friends while they attempted a pronunciation: Eberskeeber? One weekend, my Dad telephoned in the midst of my making them. He laughed a knowing laugh, “Don’t you remember your Grandpa making Aebleskivers when you were young?” When he mentioned it, a memory flashed back to my Grandparent's yellow kitchen, and yes, I faintly remembered. My Dad added, “He used to make them in that pan of his father’s---the pan he was so proud of… Well, you do remember that his Dad, your Great Grandfather, was a baker in Denmark, don't you?”
What?! No, I didn't remember this information at all---though it explained a lot. Not that I probably hadn't heard this information before---it was most likely filed away with all the other apparently superfluous information available during my teenage angst years. So my Great-Grandfather was a baker. In fact, he owned a successful bakery in Denmark before his immigration to America. Well. No wonder. And today, we made Aebleskivers again. Instead of heating them on the electric stove, this time we used my Mom's old wood-stove... I'm also working on a savory Aebleskiver recipe for our Christmas eve hors d'oeuvres... I'll keep you updated! In the meantime, here is our traditional recipe: Danish Aebleskivers You will need an Aebleskiver pan. It is a pan with deep indentations that produce these pancake balls. These pans can be found in many kitchenware stores or even thrift shops! Many people have unique methods of turning the Aebleskivers in the pan. I use a knitting needle to hook the side of the ball and quickly turn it---some people bend a tine on a fork to create a hook or you can use two wooden skewers. Experiment to find your preferred method! 1 C. milk 1/2 C. butter 3 eggs, separated 2 T. sugar 1 1/2 C. flour 2 tsp. baking powder 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon 1/4 tsp. ground cardamom Approximately 1/2 C. jam Powdered sugar **Method: Heat milk and butter on stove-top until lukewarm and the butter is melted. Cool slightly and whisk in egg yolks and sugar. Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and whisk together. Whip egg whites until stiff. Stir the milk mixture into the dry ingredients. Carefully fold in the egg whites.
Heat your Aebleskiver pan over medium heat. When the pan is heated, drop approximately 1/2 tsp. butter into each indentation. With a pastry brush, spread the butter around.
Spoon approximately 1/4 C. of batter into each well. With a small spoon, drop approximately 1 tsp. jam into each Aebelskiver and top with approximately 1 T. more of the batter. When the batter starts to form bubbles, turn the Aebleskiver and bake for another couple minutes.
Remove the Aebleskivers to a plate, dust with powdered sugar, and serve warm.
Recipe makes approximately 20.
No, I’m not a professional baker, but I’m still a baker at heart.
