Christmas Calendar 2012 Day 18 - æbleskiver /apple pieces

The epitome of Danish Christmas comfort food is gløgg & æbleskiver = mulled red wine and apple slices, which you will be served almost everywhere you are invited during December in Denmark. I would estimate, that 99 times out of 100 the apple slices are ready-to-use in form of frozen pre-made apple slices from a factory. And you can hear various people discussing, which pre-made apple slices are the best among all the many pre-made frozen apple slices.

However, the best apple slices are the apple slices, which you made and bake yourselves. But is a time consuming task, and the baking process requires plenty of BUTTER !!!!! for the æbleskive pande (=apple slices frying pan).

I have found this recipe on apple slices with apple compote & marzipan in the weekly magazine called "Alt for damerne", issue 44/2012. I did not make any modification to this recipe.

Æbleskiver/Apple slices:

Apple compote with marzipan:

• 3 apples - peel, diced and cut into small pieces
• ½ dl water
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 75 g marzipan - grated

1. Cook the apple pieces with water and sugar in a cooking pot into apple mash.
2. Mash the apple, when they are soft.
3. Mix the apple mash with marzipan.
4. Store for later use

Æbleskiver/Apple slices:

• 1 vanilla pod
• 2 teaspoon sugar
• 300 g (cake) flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cardamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 organic lemon - only the zest
• 3 eggs - divided into egg yolk and egg white
• 200 g buttermilk
• 200 g whole fat milk - 3.5% fat
• butter for frying

1. Remove the vanilla corns from the vanilla pod. Robe the vanilla corns together with the sugar. Put into a mixing bowl.
2. Add flour, salt, cardamon, baking soda and lemon zest into the mixing bowl.
3. Whip the egg yolk, buttermilk and whole fat milk together, add into the mixing bowl.
4. Let the dough rest for ½ hour.
5. Whip the egg white stiff. Gently mix the dough and egg white together.
6. Heat up the apple slices pan, fill a small lump of butter into each hole.
7. When the butter is frying, fill each hole ½ up with dough. When the dough is hardening, fill a small amount of apple compote in the middle, turn the apple slice up side down.
8. Move the apple slices around from time to time, until they are round and golden.
9. Served them warm together with icing sugar and your favourite jam.