MMMMMMMM Æbleskiver !!

* Æbleskiver (Danish meaning apple slices (singular: æbleskive)) are traditional Danish pancakes in a distinctive shape of a sphere. Somewhat similar in texture to American pancakes crossed with a popover, æbleskiver are solid like a pancake but light and fluffy like a popover.

Ok, so I had no clue what these things were either! I was researching online about grapeseed oil, and it's smokepoint, and whether or not I should use it to season a cast iron skillet. It was then that I notices some funky looking pan making some delicious looking "pastry balls"!

I just HAD to get me one of those pans... in cast iron please!

A short few weeks later it was at my door! I had already researched the recipe, now I just needed to master the technique. That is what makes the difference between an Æbleskiver and a "dumb old" pancake (well, that and the fact that I was going to fill mine with YUMMY stuff)!

As you all know we just don't do "processed foods" around here but I think this was a match made in heaven! I had never been exposed to Nutella until a friends daughter babysat for us and brought it over and left it. She may as well have left a bag of crack, but I digress. I put some of this evil goodness in a piping bag and squirted a grape-sized dollop into the center of each little aebleskiver before making the final turn that sealed the sphere.

The process is a tricky one to say the least. You have to heat up your pan, then add the batter to each individual "cup". Then IN THE ORDER YOU FILLED THEM, you need to employ a knitting needle or skewer to rotate/flip each Æbleskiver  1/4 turn at a time, timing each rotation to avoid burning, but also allowing the uncooked batter to pour out and become an extension of the sphere!
I watched this lady to get the "gist" of it.

Keep in mind that ALL of this has been done in secret so I could surprise my girls (wife included) on Saturday morning.

The big day arrived and I was ready to roll! I got the french press loaded with fresh coffee, made my batter and heated up my pan!

* They weren't perfect, but they were amazing alongside a cup of strong black coffee!

Between my wife, my 8 year old, my 1 year old and myself, I am ashamed to say we polished off 26 of them!!