Ebelskiver - Æbleskiver

Ebelskiver - Æbleskiver

December 8th. today my maternal grandmother would have turned 111. As long as my grandmother lived, the family would meet up at her apartment for gløgg and ebelskiver on her birthday. I loved this tradition, I loved this informal way to get together. So to celebrate my grandma Agnes, I'll share with you the recipe my mom used to make the ebelskiver for these gatherings.  

Ebelskiver is a traditional danish dessert served at christmas time. This tradition is over 200 years old.  

The word Ebelskiver (æbleskiver) means Apple slices. Ebelskiver started as slices of apples dipped in a sweet dough and fried in clarified butter, but evolved to these sphere shaped pancakes. Today ebelskiver is served with confectionary sugar and jam - best of all my moms homemade blackberry jam - yum.

Ebelskiver or Æbleskiver are plural, so no need to put a s in the end. ;0) 

Ebelskive pan

Ebelskiver is baked in a ebelskive pan like this.

This is my moms recipe.

Makes about 30 ebelskiver.

Ingredients:

• 250 g all-purpose flour

• 125 g butter (salted and melted)

• 375 ml milk (1,6 cups)

• 2,5 g salt (just under ½ teaspoon)

• 4 eggs

• ½ teaspoon cardamom

• 4 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 large lemon, the zest of

Directions:

Separate the egg yolks from the whites. Whisk whites with a mixer until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

Mix milk with flour, cardamom and baking powder till there's no lumps. Add the melted butter, egg yolks, salt and lemon zest. Let the batter rest for about 5 minutes. 

Gently fold in the egg whites, do not over mix the batter, but you don't want spots of egg whites in the batter.

Turning the ebelskiver

Heat the ebelskive pan. Fill the holes about ¾.  As soon as the batter starts to bubble around the edge, turn* them halfway. When you have turned all halfway turn the ebelskiver all the way, so you end up with a perfect ball. Continue cooking, turning the ball to keep it from burning.

Serve the ebelskiver with confectionary sugar and a good quality jam.

* I use a knitting needle to turn the ebelskiver, but you can use a fork. I bought ebelskiver turning tools, but I have no idea how to work those.

The danish version:

Æbleskiver

Ingredienser:

• 250 g hvedemel

• 125 g smør (saltet og smeltet)

• 375 ml mælk

• 2,5 g salt (lige under ½ tsk)

• 4 æg

• ½ tsk kardemomme

• 4 tsk bagepulver

• 1 stor citron, reven skal af

Del æggene i hvider og blommer. Pisk hviderne stive.

Bland mælk, mel, kardemomme og bagepulver indtil der ikke er klumper i. Tilsæt det smeltede smør, æggeblommerne, salt og citronskallen. Lad dejen hvile i ca 5 minutter. Fold æggehviderne i dejen.

Varm æbleskivepanden. Bag æbleskiverne ved at fylde hulerne ca ¾ op. Når dejen bobler i kanterne vend æbleskiverne en kvart omgang, og når det er gjort med alle æbleskiverne, så vend dem hele vejen rundt, så de bliver helt runde. bliv ved med at vende æbleskiverne, så de ikke brænder på.

Server æbleskiverne med flormelis og en god marmelade.

Danish Shortbread - Finskbrød

Danish Shortbread - finskbread

It's December 7th, and I think Santa had a cookie or two, his stomach is full of shortbreads on the picture. 

This is the danish version of a shortbread, called Finskbrød or Finnish bread. I have no idea why the are called so, because they are for sure a danish cookie.

Compared to regular shortbreads these are sprinkled with coarse raw cane sugar and chopped almonds, which adds to the taste and texture of the cookies. 

As a child these cookies was one of my favorites. I loved these light and buttery crisp cookies. But for the last 5-6 years I haven't been making Danish shortbreads. Why? I don’t know, maybe I have just been focused on trying new cakes? 

Having this blog made me go back to the shortbread, and I think they are back to stay.

I somehow lost my moms recipe, but found this great one on Anne au Chocolat's blog. 

Ingredients:

• 375 g all-pupose flour
• 250 g butter
• 1 egg yolk
• 100 g sugar

Toppings:

• egg white
• coarse raw cane sugar 
• chopped almonds

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400℉ (200℃)

Mix flour and butter. I used a pastry cutter to incorporate the butter in the flour mixture. Mix until the the butter resembles wet sand. Mix in sugar and egg yolk. Be careful not to overwork the dough. 

Roll the dough, a little at a time, into logs the size of a finger. Press the log flat (about 1/5 inch thick). Cut the logs into 1 inch pieces. Transfer the cookies to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 12-15 minutes in the middle of the oven.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Almond Specier - Håkonskager

Almond Species - Håkonskager

December 6th, and I finally started decoration the house for christmas, and the stress of getting gifts bought for the family is starting to get to me. A great cookie and a cop of coffee helps me stay grounded. 

My mom always baked cookies in december, so we would have homemade cookies for all the family gatherings during the holidays. Danes doesn't celebrate thanksgiving, so all the winter family get-together is around christmas and new years.

One of my favorite cookies was not on my moms list, but they should have been in my opinion. The cookies are called "Håkonskager" after a Danish prince (Carl), who became the King Haakon (Håkon) of Norway. 

You might know these cookies from the tin of Danish Butter Cookies, but the homemade kind is so much better than the store bought. 

This is my take on Håkon cookies.

Ingredients: 

• 200 g butter (salted and soft)
• 135 g confectionary sugar
• 80 g marzipan (grated)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla paste or seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean 
• 235 g all-purpose flour
• 1 egg
• raw cane sugar (coarse)

Direction: 

Cream the butter with the confectionary sugar and marzipan till it's light and fluffy in a stand mixer with a paddle. Add vanilla paste and flour. As soon as the dough comes together, stop the mixing. 

Divide the dough in to 2 pieces. Roll each part into a log (2 inch in diameter), wrap in glad wrap and refrigerate over night. Make sure to have a smooth surface to get an even look on the finished cookies.

Whip the egg and pour the raw cane sugar on a big plate. Brush or dip the logs in the egg wash and roll them in the sugar until completely coated. Wrap the logs in glad wrap again and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Cut the logs into ¼-inch thick cookies and put them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spacing about 1 inch apart. Bake until golden around the edges, about 12-15 minutes at 350°F. Cool cookies on the pan on wire racks. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

The Danish version:

Håkonskager

Ingredients: 

• 200 g blødt smør
• 135 g flormelis
• 80 g marcipan (revet)
• 1/2 tsk vanilla paste eller  kornene fra 1/2 vanillestang 
• 235 g hvedemel
• 1 æg
• perlesukker

Pisk smør og flormelis og revert marcipan til en luftig masse med en håndmikser eller røremaskine. Tilsæt mel og vanillesukker, og saml ingredienserne hurtigt til en smidig dej, pas på ikke at overmikse dejen.

Del dejen i 2 dele, og rul dem til stænger ca. 5 cm i diameter. Pak stængerne ind i plastfolie og opbevar dem i køleskabet til næste dag.

Pisk ægget i en skål, og kom perlesukker i en tallerken. Pensel stængerne med æg og rul dem i perlesukkeret.  Pak stængerne ind i plastfolien igen og lad dem ligge ca. 30 minutter i køleskabet.

Skær rullerne ud i 4-5 mm tykke skiver, læg dem på en bageplade beklædt med bagepapir. Læg ikke kagerne for tæt, da de flyder lidt ud. 

Bag kagerne midt i ovnen ved 175℃ i 12-15 minutter.  Afkøl kagerne på en bagerist og opbevar dem i en lufttæt kagedåse.

Mulled Cider - Varm Krydret Cider

Mulled Cider

December 5th the cold weather is here to stay, and we need something to keep us warm.

Hot mulled cider, this lovely drink was all new to me 6 years ago. I thought that mulled wine aka glögg/gløgg/glühwein was a German/scandinavian thing. And adding warm spices to a non-alcholic drink, that was new to me, I'm sad to say. 😳

First time I had it was at a William-Sonoma store, and boy the got me hooked on that stuff. I love this when when winter approaches, and you need at hot strong drink to keep you warm. 

It has become a tradition to make hot mulled cider when we are having ebelskiver the weeks up to christmas. And to bee honest, I have the cider simmering on my stove almost every day. This fills my house with the sweet smell of christmas and it makes me very happy. 

Ingredients:

• 2 quarts good apple cider

• 1 orange, zest of half

• 2 sticks of cinnamon

• 5-10 whole cloves

• 5-10 whole allspice berries

• 1-2 star anis

• 3 green cardamom capsules

You could also buy a mulling spice mix, but I prefer mixing my own.

Directions:

Put all the ingredients in a large saucepan and heat the cider to a simmer. Turn down the heat, and let the spices steep in the cider for 5-10 minutes. Reheat the cider. Pour the cider through a sift into cups and serve immediately.

The Danish Version:

Varm Krydret Cider

Ingredienser:

• 2 liter god æblecider

• ½ appelsin, skallen fra

• 2 kanelstænger

• 5-10 hele nelliker

• 5-10 hele allehånde

• 1-2 stjerneanis

• 3 grønne kardemomme

Kom alle ingredienserne i en gryde og varm det op til kogepunktet. Skru ned for varmen og lad krydderierne trække i cideren i 5-10 minutter. Varm cideren op og si krydderierne fra. Server cideren med det samme.

Peppermint Ice Cream and Hot Chocolate Affogato

Peppermint Ice Cream and Hot Chocolate Affogato

December 4th and the cold front hit northern California. So what is the best drink for keeping warm? Normally I'm not a big hot chocolate person, I would rater have a good latte. But the peppermint lightens up the hot chocolate and makes it scrumptious . My husband loves ice cream, so we made this treat as a compromise. I really hope you will enjoy it.

In December you see peppermint everywhere, and I learned that peppermint is the holiday flavor of choice for americans. And why not adapt the seasonal flavor in a decadent dessert? 

I love a normal affogato, an espresso poured over a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It's a perfect ending to a great Italian dinner. So combining the affogato and the peppermint hot chocolate, I see in every coffee shop this time of year, must be a perfect match.

Here I flavored a classic ice cream with peppermint and topped it off with a decadent hot chocolate. 

Ingredients:

Ice cream:

• 1¼ cup (300 ml) Heavy whipping cream

• ¾ cup (180 ml) whole milk

• 4 egg yolks

• 85 g sugar

• 1 pinch salt

• 1 - 1¼ teaspoon peppermint extract

• crushed candy cane

Hot chocolate:

• whole milk

• milk chocolate (use a good one like Valrhona)

• dark chocolate (use a good one like Valrhona)

Directions:

Making the custard:

Pour the cream into a metal bowl placed in a larger bowl of ice, set aside.

Warm milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Make sure the sugar and salt is dissolved completely.

In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, while whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan, and heat the mixture over medium heat, until it thickens. Stir constantly in this process and make sure to scrape the bottom of the saucepan. 

Pour the egg/milk mixture through a sieve into the cold cream. 

Cool the custard in refrigerator. 

Add the peppermint extract, ½ teaspoon at a time, taste the custard.

Pour the custard into a ice cream maker and freeze it according to manufacturers instructions. Sprinkle with crushed candy cane just before you scoop out the ice cream.

Freeze the ice cream in the freezer a couple of hours before serving.

The making of the custard is a basic step in the ice cream making. You can flavor your ice cream to your liking after the custard is made. It's also possible to add flavor to the milk while heating.

Hot chocolate:

Heat whole milk and chocolate in a saucepan, whisk while heating.

Serve the ice cream in a glass, pour the hot chocolate over and sprinkle with crushed candy cane.