Aebleskiver (Danish Pancake Balls)

Folks-

I keep figuring out that there are family recipes that I've forgotten to post here. The family recipe for aebleskiver is one of them.

Aebleskiver, also known as Danish Pancake Balls are a delicious breakfast treat served with raspberry jam and whipped cream in Solvang here in California. We've been making them since I was little.

To make them properly, you'll need a good cast iron Aebleskiver pan, the heavier the better, a cake-pop maker, or a Takoyaki maker. The ones they make in Solvang are almost the size of tennis balls, but most home pans make aebleskiver that are a bit larger than golf balls, and smaller is still tasty. Another useful tool to make these is a bamboo skewer to turn them as they're cooking in the pan, but only if you're using the cast iron pan or Takoyaki maker. A cake-pop maker doesn't need it since it cooks the entire aebleskiver at once. Regardless of the pan type, have a pastry brush handy. You need to butter the cups in the pan.

Notes on Aebleskiver pans: Non-stick is fine for electric, but avoid it for the cooktop. Avoid aluminum cooktop pans at all costs. It will not heat anywhere near evenly enough. Even for cast iron, get the heaviest one you can find/afford. I've used thinner cast iron pans and still found them heating unevenly enough to both burn some and undercook other aebleskivers at the same time. You are functionally baking them on the cooktop, not frying them, so you need even heat.

Here's the recipe!

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour (can use self-rising flour, but omit baking powder and salt)

2 3/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom and/or cinnamon and/or ground ginger and/or allspice and/or nutmeg or pumpkin spice or 1/8 teaspoon cloves (all options have tested well)

1 large egg

1 cup milk or buttermilk or 3/4 cup milk plus 1/4 cup sour cream or yogurt (if using buttermilk, reduce baking powder to 2 teaspoons and add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda to dry ingredients. No changes if also using self-rising flour.)

2 tablespoons melted butter plus more for coating the pan's cups

Jam and whipped cream for serving

Mix together all dry ingredients. Beat egg with milk, and add in 2 tablespoons melted butter. 

Place cast iron pan over medium-low heat or plug in cake-pop maker or Takoyaki maker and heat until a drop of water dropped into a cup sizzles.

While the pan is heating, add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix just until wet. Batter will be lumpy.

Brush cups with melted butter (it takes a fair amount, maybe 1/4-1/2 tsp) and fill cups about three-quarters with batter. 

For a cast iron pan or Takoyaki maker, wait about 1 1/2 minutes until a crust forms on the bottom, then insert the bamboo skewer into the bottom of the cup and turn the aebleskiver a bit more than halfway, allow to cook another minute, then turn the rest of the way to close the ball and cook for another 45 seconds to a minute.

For a cake-pop maker, close and allow to cook for about 3 minutes or until golden brown. 

Serve warm with jam and whipped cream. If using a large enough pan, you can split the aebleskiver in half before coating with jam to allow it to soak in, but that's optional.

Freezer Jams and Jellies

 My family has been making freezer jams at least since I was a child. It is distinctly different than cooked jams in that it tastes more like the fresh fruit. Freezer jams also have the advantage over cooked jams of being very quick to make.

The disadvantage is that you need freezer space to store them, since they are not sterilized in preparation the way cooked jams are.

My family has always used boxes of dry pectin from Sure -Jell or Ball. These can usually be found near boxes of flavored gelatin in the supermarket, even though they are not at all the same thing. Gelatin is a hydrated colagen that comes from boiling animal skin and hooves, and pectin comes from boiling fruit. Don't get them confused. One is not a replacement for the other in this recipe.

In the past my family always used the "Quick and Easy Freezer Jam" recipe that came in the box of pectin. Sure-Jell recently stopped including it, and instead is directing you to their website. Considering how ephemeral corporate websites can be, and how they've changed their recipes in the past, I tend not to trust them. Hence this blog in the first place.

So, today I am including their recipes, as well as some variations of my own, just to make sure I don't lose my recipes if the last enclosed instruction packet I have of theirs disappears or gets damaged.

Please note that these recipes are for the full-sugar version of Sure-Jell and similar pectins, not the Reduced Sugar or Sugar-Free variants.

Ingredients for All Jams and Jellies

3/4 Cup Water

1 Box Pectin (full-sugar variety)

Specific Ingredients

Apricot Jam:

2 1/2 to 3 1/2 Cups Finely Chopped Apricots, pitted but unpeeled (start at 2 1/2 and stir-in a bit at a time if sugar doesn't dissolve and you've already added all of the lemon juice)

2-4 Tbsp Lemon Juice

5 1/2 Cups Sugar

Blackberry Jam:

3 Cups Crushed or Pureed Blackberries

5 1/4 Cups Sugar

Blueberry Jam:

3 Cups Chopped Blueberries

5 1/4 Cups Sugar

Sour Cherry Jam:

2 Cups Finely Chopped or Pureed Cherries

4 Cups Sugar

Peach Jam:

3 Cups Finely Chopped or Pureed Peaches

2 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice

4 1/2 Cups Sugar

Peach Vanilla Bean Jam:

Same as peach, but add1 tbsp Vanilla Bean Paste

Homestyle Peach Jam:

Same as peach, but add:

2 Tsp Ground Cinnamon

1/2 Tsp Ground Allspice

Mango Jam:

3 Cups Mashed Mangoes

1/4 Cup Fresh Lemon Juice

5 Cups Sugar

Raspberry Jam:

3 Cups mashed or pureed Raspberries

5 1/4 Cups sugar

Raspberry-Peach Jam:

2 Cups mashed or pureed Raspberries

1 1/2 Cups finely chopped or pureed Peaches

7 Cups sugar (yes, 7 cups!)

Strawberry Jam:

2 Cups crushed or pureed Strawberries

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

4 Cups sugar

Spiced or Christmas Strawberry Jam:

Same as Strawberry, but add:

1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon

1 Tsp Ground Ginger

2 Tsp Ground Allspice

Strawberry-Blueberry Jam:

1 1/2 Cups crushed or pureed Strawberries

1 Cup chopped or crushed blueberries

4 1/2 Cups sugar

Apple Jelly:

3 Cups bottled or refrigerated apple juice

2 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice

5 Cups sugar

Apple Pie Jam:

2 Cups bottles or refrigerated apple juice

1 Cup unsweetened apple sauce

2 Tsp ground cinnamon

5 Cups sugar

Grape Jelly (may take 1 week to set):

3 Cups bottled or refrigerated Grape Juice

5 1/4 Cups sugar

Grapefruit (WHY?!?) Jelly:

2 Cups of that horrid bottled or refrigerated Grapefruit Juice (Evil Fruit!)

4 1/2 Cups poor, innocent sugar for the sacrifice

Hot Pepper Jelly (may take 1 week to set):

NOTE: Protect hands with rubber gloves while preparing!

2/3 Cup pickled jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped (from 1 10-1/4 oz jar)

2 1/2 cups bottled or refrigerated apple juice

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1-2 drops green food color (optional)

5 1/2 Cups Sugar

Instructions:

Prepare the fruit as called for in the list of ingredients. Stir in lemon juice, if called for. Measure out exact amount of sugar and mix in spices, if called for, then slowly stir into prepared fruit. Allow to sit for up to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to break down sugar crystals.

While fruit is sitting, measure out water and place in a small saucepan. Add pectin to water. After fruit has sat for 10 minutes, turna stovetop burner to high and place the saucepan over high heat, stirring constantly. Bring to a rolling boil and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add to fruit and sugar mixture and stir for 3 minutes constantly until sugar crystals are mostly dissolved (some may remain.)

Immediately ladle into clean jars or plastic containers with lids leaving at least 1/4 inch (5mm) space at the top of the container for expansion in the freezer. Cover and allow to sit at room temperature for 24 hours. Keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks, or 1 year in the freezer.

NOTES:

Apricot Jam is especially hard to get to jell correctly. You can't puree the fruit, or you end up with syrup, not jam. Either chop it by hand or use a food processor to get a fine chop on it. If the fruit is too dry, you need to add a bit of water or lemon juice. If you don't, then the sugar won't dissolve. If you want a harder set, you have to add lemon juice. I have messed up apricot jam more times than I've made is successfully. It's very finicky.

I strongly recommend mixing any dry spices into the sugar if the recipe calls for it, as Homestyle Peach, Christmas Strawberry, and Apple Pie do. It keeps the spices from clumping.

Apple Pie Jam has a shorter shelf-life than the other jams. It lasts about 2 weeks in the refrigerator or up to 6 months in the freezer. After that it tends to turn into a syrup, but it's still good on pancakes or waffles.

All of the jams listed above are good in plain yogurt to give it a fruit flavor. Just mix in a roughly 3:1 ratio of yogurt to jam if making yogurt pops in the freezer, or 4:1 if you plan to just eat fruit-flavored yogurt. Adjust to taste.

I have not tested Hot Pepper, Grape, or Grapefruit jellies, mostly because I hate grapefruit, and really don't see the point of making a grape jelly that is likely to taste exactly like a jar I can buy in the store. And my stepmom makes a good pepper jelly, so I'm never in need of one. Let me know if they come out for you.

Spiced Strawberry or Christmas Jam adapted from a recipe from Spices and Flavors. It has been said it tastes like Guava.

6/29/2025: You can use granulated pectins besides Sure-Jell, Certo, or Ball, but may have to increase the amount of pectin. Tonight I made Strawberry, Homestyle Peach, and Apricot, but increased the amount of bulk pectin used for the first two to 55g, and 60g for the Apricot. All three jelled, but the Apricot is still a bit soft-set (I'll take it!!!)

Quick Aebleskiver (deprecated)

So, here we are again, waiting a year or a bit more to update. Are you surprised? No? Good.
My family has been making Aebleskiver since I was little. My kids love them, and ask me to fix them for breakfast much more often than I actually do.
What are Aebleskiver? They're also known as Danish Pancake Balls.
They're a bit of work to make in the traditional fashion, which is why I don't make them frequently. This has been driving me to find a faster way to make them. One thing that slows down the traditional method is the pan. It looks a bit like an egg poaching pan with deeper depressions. A good one is made of tempered cast iron and is heavy. They have to be in order to cook them evenly. That means it takes some time to heat them up properly. Then to cook them properly, you have to constantly turn them in the pan as one side is done. That's a bit of work.
Also, here in the U.S., you can't get a mix to make them. I've worked out mixes in the past, but that still means I have to set aside time and pantry space for them when they're fixed.
The first break in making them faster was when my mom got us a babycakes cake-pop maker. You've seen them. They're a bit like a waffle iron with little spheres in them. Cake-pop balls are about half the size of Aebleskiver, but that's not a significant issue. It's much easier to use the cake-pop maker than an Aebleskiver pan.
Today I decided to try to fix the mix issue. It's a work in progress, but I figured I would post what I've managed to work out, just so you know what to do with that old cake-pop maker that was collecting dust in your cabinets.
Edited 3/27/2016 (Easter Sunday): I changed the milk in the recipe to water. It has too much of a dairy flavor if you use milk. Also I recommend the use of unsalted butter. The pancake mix already has enough salt in it.
7/4/2017: Note: Experiments show this works well with the non-stick surface of a Babycakes Cake Pop Maker, but not as well with a traditional cast-iron pan. It sticks hard unless you heavily butter the cups, and even then it sticks moderately. I may add two tablespoons vegetable oil the next time I use cast-iron.

10/31/2026: I stopped developing this because my family prefers the regular version, and as I noted above, it sticks too much to a cast iron Aebleskiver pan. Honestly, it's not significantly faster than the regular recipe anyway, and doubly so if you're using self-rising flour.
Here it is:

Quick Aebleskiver

1-1/2 Cups Pancake Mix (I used Krusteaz Buttermilk Complete Pancake Mix)
3 Tablespoons sugar
1/4 Teaspoon Cardamom or Cinnamon
1 Cup water
1 Large egg
4 Tablespoons melted unsalted butter, divided

Heat up the cake-pop maker. Mix together the water, egg, and 2 tablespoons of the melted butter. Add the pancake mix, sugar, and spices at once and mix until they are moistened and form a lumpy batter. Brush the cups of the cake-pop maker top and bottom with melted butter, and fill the bottom cups with batter nearly to the top (mine takes about a tablespoon of batter.) Close the cake-pop maker and allow to cook for about 4 minutes. They should have brown spots when properly cooked. Remove from pan with a wood skewer so as not to scratch the finish of the cake-pop maker. While still hot, split and serve with jam and whipped cream. Makes about 4 dozen.

Jam "Tarts"

Folks-
This good recipe is from an old friend of mine, Siobhan Spencer. These "Tarts" are much more like a shortbread muffin with a jam center, but I'll use her term for them.

Here's the recipe!

[UPDATED 7/14/2023: Added nutrition facts, reduced jam to 1/2 teaspoon jam each tart.

7/27/25 Changed jam again to 1/2 to 1 teaspoon per tart.]

Jam Tarts

Ingredients:
1/2 C Shortening
3/4 C Sugar
2 Eggs
2 C Flour
1/4 t Salt
2 t Baking Powder
Jam

Cream shortening and sugar. Mix in eggs. Mix in dry ingredients. Divide the dough into about 12 equal parts, form into balls and place into muffin tins. So not flatten the tops or the top edge will tend to burn. Press a thumbprint halfway or deeper into each ball and fill with about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of jam, depending on depth of depression, fill it no more than halfway to the top or it might overflow while baking. Bake for 10-15 minutes in a preheated oven at 350 degrees.

Nutrition Facts: Servings: 12. Serving size: 1 tart. Calories: 222 Total fat: 9.5g (12% DV) Saturated fat: 2.9g (14% DV) Cholesterol: 27mg (9% DV) Sodium: 62mg (3% DV) Total carbohydrates: 32g (12% DV) Dietary fiber: 0.6g (2% DV) Total sugars: 12.6g Protein: 3.1g Vitamin D: 3mcg (13% DV) Calcium: 43mg (3% DV) Iron 1mg (7% DV) Potassium: 116mg (2% DV)