Copenhagen is already starting to look a lot like Christmas and I must admit that my (Christmas) fairy lights have also been put up in the room, it just makes everything so cozy! Another thing we have been enjoying is Danish aebleskiver. Aebleskiver are a Danish Christmas treat that looks like puffy pancakes (or puffy Dutch poffertjes for the Dutch among us). Aebleskiver means apple slice in Danish and in the old days they would fill these little cakes with apples, hence the name. You are gonna need a special aebleskiver pan to make these (as you can see in the pictures) but once you have that, it is pretty easy.
Aebleskiver are generally not vegan so I thought I was going to miss out on them this year, but a quick google search told me that of course these could also be veganized (what not!). But besides veganizing the recipe, I also wanted them to be slightly not-that-bad-for-you. I mean, I know it's Christmas season and I definitely indulge in all the unhealthy food from time to time. But healthifying these also means I can eat more of them and not feel so bad about it right?! Right.
So, this recipe is also refined-sugar free and uses banana and maple syrup to sweeten. I wrote down a basic recipe that you can use as a base, and one of my favorite flavor combos at the moment: orange and cardamom flavored aebleskiver. You can fill them with whatever you like, I can recommend chocolate pieces, apple pieces and jam. Let your imagination go wild!
Ps. The Danish boyfriend approved and said they were the bomb.
Pps. Leftover batter is also great as pancake batter! Makes the most fluffy pancakes.
Happy hibernating season!
Basic aebleskiver
2 cups flour
1 ripe banana, pureed
1 flax egg (1 tablespoon of ground flax seeds + 2 tablespoons of water mixed, let sit for 10 minutes)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp maple syrup
1.5 cups almond milk (or any other milk)
pinch of salt
Optional: filling of choice (apple pieces, berries, chocolate etc.)
Mix the dry ingredients together into a bowl. Add all the wet ingredients into another bowl and mix the dry ones into the wet ingredients until just combined. Try not to overmix. It should look like pancake batter. If it's too runny, add some more flour. If it's too thick, add some more milk.
Heat your aebleskiver pan on medium heat and drop a tiny amount of coconut oil into each round (easiest is to lightly heat your coconut oil so it liquefies and then grease the pan with a brush. When the pan is heated up, pour the batter in the rounds until almost filled. This is when you can add your filling.
When the edges started to solidify and the batter is bubbling, you can pierce the center with a skewer and flip them over.
They are ready when both sides are cooked and golden brown.
Serve with maple syrup, jam and/or powder sugar.
Orange & cardamom aebleskiver
2 cups flour
1 ripe banana, pureed
1 flax egg (1 tablespoon of ground flax seeds + 2 tablespoons of water mixed, let sit for 10 minutes)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp orange juice
zest of 1 orange
½ tsp cardamom, grounded
2 tbsp maple syrup
1.5 cups almond milk (or any other milk)
pinch of salt
Mix the dry ingredients together into a bowl. Add all the wet ingredients into another bowl and mix the dry ones into the wet ingredients until just combined. Try not to overmix. It should look like pancake batter. If it's too runny, add some more flour. If it's too thick, add some more milk.
Heat your aebleskiver pan on medium heat and drop a tiny amount of coconut oil into each round (easiest is to lightly heat your coconut oil so it liquefies and then grease the pan with a brush. When the pan is heated up, pour the batter in the rounds until almost filled. This is when you can add your filling.
When the edges started to solidify and the batter is bubbling, you can pierce the center with a skewer and flip them over.
They are ready when both sides are cooked and golden brown.
Serve with maple syrup, jam and/or powder sugar.
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