In another episode of “Mimi finally uses random kitchen paraphernalia during quarantine…” this week I decided to pull the virgin cast iron aebleskiver pan Karen gave me for Christmas two years ago off the top shelf in my kitchen–which by the way is where the twice-used tortilla press resides–and dust it off…with the intention of actually using it this time. I was really excited to receive the pan two Christmases ago, touched that Karen remembered our spirited conversations about making aebleskiver and takoyaki.

At the time I was still living in Santa Clara, making do with a seriously crappy standard apartment electric stove, which incidentally was the “better,” newer replacement stove. True, it was an improvement compared to the ten-year old original (which probably cost less than $400 when it was brand spanking new), but we’re grading on a curve here. It still SUCKED, so I wasn’t especially motivated to give my new cool pan a spin.

Cut to now–I’ve got a 5-burner gas stove and an oven equipped with convection mode. We’re back in business baby! No excuses, time to fire up those cast-iron divots and make some Danish pancake balls. First, I had to do some research and find a good recipe to tinker with. Mining YouTube, I found a number of variations, from those producing a very loose, thin batter similar what you would use for crepes, to thicker ones closer in texture to your typical pancake batter. Since I wanted to incorporate something in the center, like fruit, I chose to use the latter which I thought would create a more stable structure. I had it in my head to make a fresh cherry and cream cheese aebleskiver.

The recipe for fluffy Danish pancake balls featured in emmymadeinjapan was adapted from another recipe from houseofnasheats.com. Emmy made plain aebleskivers and served them with jam and powdered sugar, which is the traditional way of eating them. However, you can pipe a filling into the hole created in the center, like Nutella for example.

I didn’t really alter the recipe other than add a few drops of almond extract to the batter to accentuate the cherry flavor. Following Emmy’s video instructions, I oiled and heated my pan over a medium low flame, filled the little wells with fluffy batter. I left some room to plunged halved Bing cherries into the center. To create the ball shape, I used 2 bamboo skewers to carefully rotate the cooked batter incrementally, a quarter turn at a time, piping in a little softened cream cheese sweetened with powdered sugar about halfway through.

• 

• 

In hindsight, I think it probably would have been less messy if I’d just used a cherry pitter to pop out the pit, then filled the hole with cream cheese before dropping the cherry into the batter. Nevertheless, the end result was delectable–not too sweet fluffy bite-sized pancake ball wrapped around juicy cherry and velvety cream cheese. I dusted the golden puffs liberally with powdered sugar and dipped them in Lyle’s Golden Syrup.

• 

• 

For a followup batch, I omitted the cream cheese and used a combination of ripe peach and cherry.–just as delicious the second time around!

The mark of a good piece of kitchen equipment or tool is multi-functionality. My aebleskiver pan proved to be equally effective as a takoyaki pan. Takoyaki or octopus balls are a staple Japanese street food snack, originating from Osaka. Like aebleskiver, takoyaki begins with a wheat-based batter poured into well-oiled hot cast iron spherical molds, then gradually flipped and turned to form battered balls. Classic takoyaki typically consists of cooked octopus pieces (tako), chopped scallion, minced pickled ginger, and crunchy bites of tempura scraps or tenkasu bound in a very loose batter which produces an almost custardy texture on the inside while the exterior becomes golden and lightly crispy. Whether you get them skewered 3 to a stick or presented on a small plate, takoyaki (and its derivative ebiyaki or shrimp balls) come fully dressed with a drizzle of both okonomiyaki sauce (slightly sweet Worcestershire-based) and Japanese mayo, more scallion and pickled ginger, a dusting of nori powder, and shaved bonito.

As much as I like octopus, I did not want to go out in search of it. Consequently, I opted to thaw the perfectly fine raw shrimp I had in the freezer and make ebiyaki instead. Again I researched techniques for making takoyaki and found, among other things, an amusing instructional video featuring a Japanese cook and her talking dog (via Emmy and her takoyaki video).

I made the thin batter following Emmy’s adaptation of the takoyaki recipe from Cooking with Dag. For the “mix-ins” I settled on diced lightly poached shrimp, thawed frozen corn and peas, chopped scallion, red bell pepper and shiitakes, and minced pickled ginger. My ebiyaki would have shrimp, corn, scallion, and pickled ginger. The vegetarian version would have shiitake, red bell pepper, and peas in place of the shrimp and corn. Tempura scraps would’ve added another tasty textural element, but not enough for me to go out of my way to make especially for this project.

I have to admit the process was considerably more challenging than the one for aebleskiver, owing primarily to the much thinner batter and multiple add-ins. I found it much harder to tell when to start flipping and rotating. It took longer for sides to set up, about 10 mins. in total to thoroughly brown and cook on all sides. Much to my annoyance, some of my vegetarian ones stuck to the molds despite having coated them in oil.

• 

• 

• 

Nevertheless, both versions were delicious, especially after I loaded them up with bottled onomiyaki sauce, spicy kimchi mayo (not a great fan of sweet Japanese mayo), pickled ginger, scallion, furikake, and bonito shavings. Those balls were small but mighty filling! Krislyn gave them, along with the aebleskivers, a resounding thumbs up.

Can’t say whether I will make takoyaki or ebiyaki again anytime soon. Maybe I’ll get inspired and come up with some unusual flavor combination. I will, on the other hand, be adding aebleskivers to my regular rotation of fun sweet treats. My cast iron molds will not gather dust!

Aebleskiver or Danish Pancake Balls (adapted from House of Nash Eats)

Yield: about 4 dozen plain, 3 dozen filled

• 2 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1 T. sugar
• 1/2 t. sea salt
• 2 large eggs, separated
• 2 c. buttermilk
• 1 t. vanilla extract
• 1/4 t. almond extract (optional)
• 2 oz. melted butter, room temp.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Create a well in the center.
2. Lightly beat the yolk, melted butter, and extracts into the buttermilk, then gradually mix into the dry ingredients until well incorporated.
3. In a separate bowl, beat the whites to stiff peaks , then fold into the batter in 2 additions; transfer mixture into a pitcher.
4. Heat a seasoned aebleskiver pan on medium low heat and coat liberally with a neutral oil; add a couple drops of water to test the temperature. If it sizzles immediately it’s ready.
5. Fill each mold to the top with batter. Leave a little bit of room if you’re planning on adding a filing, like fruit. Cook until the outside edges just begin to set.
6. Using 2 skewers, gently lift each aebleskiver out and rotate 90 degrees. Allow each side to set up before rotating 90 degrees. Continue to lifting and rotating until all sides are golden brown and aebleskivers are cooked through.
7. Serve warm, dusted with powdered sugar.

Takoyaki or Ebiyaki (adapted from emmymadeinjapan)

Yield: about 16 pieces

• 1 egg
• 1/2 t. instant dashi powder (Hon Dashi)
• 1 t. soy sauce
• pinch of sea salt
• 340 ml ice cold water
• 100 g cake or pastry flour
• 1/2 c. diced cooked octopus or shrimp
• 1/4 c. chopped scallions
• 1/4 c. minced pickled ginger
• 12 c. thawed frozen or fresh corn kernels. (optional)

1. In medium bowl, whisk together egg, dashi powder, soy sauce and salt.
2. Whisk in cold water, then sift in the cake flour and whisk until completely smooth and lump free.
3. Heat the aebleskiver pan on medium low and liberally coat with neutral oil.
4. Pour the batter into the molds, leaving a little room for the toppings.
5. Sprinkled on scallion and pickled ginger, then place one or two pieces or seafood in the center.
6. Let the batter cook for a few minutes until the sides begin to set, then carefully rotate each round 90 degrees with 2 skewers. Continue cooking and rotating to form a ball that’s golden brown on all sides and cooked through.
7. To serve, drizzle the balls with onomiyaki sauce and mayo, more scallion and pickled ginger, a dusting of nori powder or furikake, and bonito shavings.