Aebleskiver
SweetNov to Dec
Æbleskiver suit anyone in Copenhagen in December who wants something warm and sweet with their gløgg, and the trade-off is that many sold at markets and fairs are reheated from frozen. They come three to a plate with icing sugar and jam.
Æbleskiver are round Danish cakes fried in a cast-iron pan with half-spherical hollows. The batter is wheat flour with buttermilk or milk, eggs, sugar and salt, sometimes with cardamom or lemon zest. Cooks turn each ball with a knitting needle or a skewer as it sets, which is what makes them round. They aren't sweet on their own, so the icing sugar and the raspberry, strawberry or blackcurrant jam do the work.
The name means apple slices, and today's æbleskiver have no apple in them. Danish Wikipedia says that around 1700 the word meant thin slices of apple turned in flour and egg and fried in butter, a dish still known on the island of Als. The word in its modern sense first appears in Peters Jul, a book of Christmas poems from 1866, and Hans Christian Andersen wrote of apple-filled æbleskiver in 1872.
Many Danes now buy them ready-fried and frozen and heat them in the oven, and clubs and charities sell them at Christmas markets and fairs three at a time with the usual jam and sugar. English Wikipedia says they're more common at family gatherings than in restaurants.
Worth knowing
- Dip each one in the jam, then roll it in the icing sugar.
- Pair them with gløgg, the Danish mulled wine.
Quick answers about Aebleskiver
Do æbleskiver have apple in them?
Modern æbleskiver don't, even though the name means apple slices. Around 1700 the word meant fried slices of apple, and the round batter cakes kept the name.
How do you eat æbleskiver?
Danes eat æbleskiver three to a plate, dusted with icing sugar and dipped in jam, often with a cup of gløgg.
How do you order Aebleskiver?
They come three to a plate with icing sugar and a spoonful of jam for dipping. Order a cup of gløgg with them, which is how Danes eat them at Christmas.
When is Aebleskiver in season?
Aebleskiver: The Christmas season in Denmark, from November through December.