I've been cooking aebleskivers for several years in an excellent no-name cast iron pan that I bought in Solvang ten years ago.It is very well broken in with a smooth non-stick patina in all seven indents.I want to teach my sons how to cook aebleskivers themselves because they will be out on their own soon, and it never hurts to be able to attract a woman who loves Danish delicacies!
Therefore, I have been looking to buy some additional aebleskiver pans and I was excited to see this new pan from Lodge, so I ordered one to give it a try.I like the design a lot and am impressed with how it heats up quickly and holds it's temperature nicely.The first batch of aebleskivers had some sticking, but I expected that.I will need to use it a lot more before it has the same non-stick surfaces as my old pan (no, it's not for sale!), but I can tell that this pan will get there with use.
By the way, I've found that there are many recipes for aebleskivers and several different techniques for cooking them.I'm sure that they all will work well with some practice, but I'll describe the one that I've settled on, because it is so easy:
Heat the pan at a medium-low setting.Take about two cups of prepared pancake mix (I use Krusteaz Buttermilk) and add a couple of teaspoons of sugar.Mix it in and stir in enough cold water to make the consistency about the same as you would for drop bisquits.Don't overmix it and let it sit for awhile to rise a bit before you cook it.Put a little butter or margerine in each indent and add about a teaspoonful of batter to each indent (If you're new to aebleskivers, I recommend trying only three at once.)I then drizzle a little butter on the edges of each indent.After about a minute, I use a knitting needle (or chopstick) to turn each aebleskiver one quarter turn.I add a little more butter and then turn them so the round side is up.I keep turning them with a spoon until they're done.(You'll just have to break one of them open to check, because it's dependent on your batter and temperature.)
Once you get it down (usually after a few rejects), serve them in threes on a small plate with thinned out raspberry jam and powdered sugar.Once you eat them, you'll understand why people go through all this just to make a pancake that looks like a racquetball!
The pre-seasoning of this pan really does work!It gives you about a year or two head start on the seasoning.My first use, I just brushed the wells of the hot pan with butter and put the batter in.No sticking at all.The price on Amazon is great, too!
Ingredients
○ 2 cups all-purpose flour
○ 1 teaspoon kosher salt
○ 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
○ 2 eggs, separated
○ 1 3/4 cups buttermilk
○ 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (more melted butter to brush in the pan)
○ cardamom or cinnamon to taste (optional)
Directions
a. Put the aebleskiver pan on a medium-to-high heat.
b. Whisk the dry ingredients together. Whisk the egg yolks with the buttermilk and melted butter in a separate bowl.
c. Beat the egg whites until they just hold a 2-inch peak. (don't over beat.)
d. Add the liquid buttermilk-butter-yolk mixture to the dry ingredients in a slow, steady stream while gently mixing with a rubber spatula.You should still have large patches of dry ingredients by the time you finish, this is more wetting of the batter than mixing.
e. Fold in the egg whites, again with a light touch.
f. Brush one of the hollows with some melted butter. Then take a small ladle or big spoon and fill the hollow not-quite-to-the-top with batter. Depending on how hot your pan is, you may need to add batter quickly so the butter doesn't hit its smoke point. Fill the other hollows the same way.
g. By the time you've finished filling the last hollow, the first one should be just about ready for turning. Take your knitting needle (or wooden skewer) poke it into the crust with your poker and pull upward. The idea is to pull the semi-spherical shell up out of the hollow. Push it so it caps off the hollow, allowing the uncooked dough from the center of the shell to fall into the hollow. Repeat for the other hollows.
h. Now it's just about turning the balls every now and then to give them an even heat. Remove from pan when a toothpick comes out clean, usually about 5 or 6 minutes. The aebleskiver should be brown (not just tan).
i. Serve immediately with some thinned raspberry jam.
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This Aebleskiver pan does double duty in our house. First, of course, it does wonderful aebleskivers.However, I do not make them all of the time but I do make muffins quite often so the pan also serves as a little muffin pan. The pan will hold one package of muffin mix like a Martha White and it will get you seven nice little golden-crusted muffins. My son calls what comes out "cute little mushroom muffins." I am tempted to get a real cast-iron muffin pan because this one does so well.
Read Best Reviews of Lodge Pro-Logic P7A3 Cast-Iron Aebleskiver Pan Here
I'm a big foodie, yet I've never had an aebleskiver before. But they lookedlike a fun, tasty item to make, so when my wife asked if I wanted anything to help her get free shipping, I had her add one of these pans on while it was on sale.
It arrived with basically no instructions, so I went off to the internet for recipes, all of which required ingredients I didn't have. So I noticed that someone had used a Krusteaz pancake mix with a little sugar added...so I decided to wing it.
I rinsed the pan with hot water and scrubbed it a bit (the pan is pre-seasoned with a pretty good coating already), put it on an electric burner to preheat for a bit (it looks like it would work better on a gas stove, but with some preheating time, electric works just fine), added about a teaspoon of oil to each divet, and added some Krusteaz mixture. The first three were pretty much a disaster leaving little chunks behind in the pan. For some reason (more preheating? a little more oil?) the next batch came out better, and the final batch of 3 or 4 came out in perfectly shaped little balls. And EXTREMELY tasty. The pan cleaned up easily, and I've made at least one batch every day since (however I'm almost out of mix now!).
Want Lodge Pro-Logic P7A3 Cast-Iron Aebleskiver Pan Discount?
I grew up making and eating Aebleskiver and I have used several different styles of pans to do so. The one thing that all the best cooking pans have had in common is that they are ringed in cast iron. This pan is not ringed in cast iron. Look at several different styles of these pans and you will see the difference. You need a heavy, heavy cast iron pan, and it really needs to have the extra ring of cast iron. This has held true for me whether I've been cooking on a gas stove or an electric.
I've seen this question here, and yes, these pans work on gas stoves or on electric. I have a glass top electric stove and I use cast iron on it all the time. I called the manufacturer of my stove to be sure that it was ok.
You must season cast iron before you use it.
There seem to be a million variations on Aebleskiver recipes, and all have their place, but the one thing to be sure of is to pre-heat the pan properly, and to use enough grease in each little pocket! Use a teaspoon of butter in each pocket for the first round. Be sure it's well heated, but not too hot that the butter will burn. This is just the right temperature to cook perfectly. Butter is best and I do not use anything else any more. Watch them, and when they start to puff up a bit, check them. I turn them with a fork because I don't knit, but a knitting needle is what all the old women use.
According to my grandmother and mother, a proper recipe has the egg whites separated and beaten stiffly, then folded in to the rest of the batter. If you want to put the work in for the real deal, look for a recipe like that and pick your favorite.
The last crepe pan I bought before this one was the Calphalon Commercial nonstick crepe pan. A great pan but it stopped being nonstick after only 1 1/2 years. With all the controversy surrounding nonstick coatings I decided to go old fashioned and buy the classic blue steel crepe pan by De Buyer. Now after quite a few crepe batches I can say that this is the best type of crepe pan and it'll probably last you a lifetime. It heats up really well and cooks crepes at a low heat setting on my ceramic cooktop. It should be treated like cast iron but is much lighter and has a really smooth surface (unlike my cast iron round griddle) which is ideal for delicate crepes. It does need to be seasoned and its nonstickability improves after each use. Some caveats I discovered: follow the manufacturer's directions for seasoning; use only plastic or wood utensils (it can actually take metal, but metal can actually scratch your seasoning so you'll have reseason); never use soap or put in the dishwasher; and never scour the pan with anything stronger than the pads used for nonstick coatings. After cooking, I just rinse in hot water wiping with a sponge or a dobie pad, dry, heat on the stove on medium low heat, add a little oil, then wipe the pan with a paper towel and let it cool before putting the pan away. The clean-up is only one extra step but the pan is worth it. Don't worry if it discolors; it's just part of its patina and indicates the pan is developing its nonstick surface. I find that it does a superior job cooking crepes, pancakes, naan, eggs, etc. Its temperature response is better than the Calphalon and the price is right too!
