Welcome to my My Danish Christmas Advent
Calendar! Join me every day in opening a new door. I’ve got a
host of goodies to share with you – traditional Danish Christmas recipes,
traditions, songs, games, decorations, crafts and landscapes… So sit back, relax
and enjoy!
3 DECEMBER
Ha! No candles today! Nope, today we’re going to start some Danish
Christmas baking. Æbleskiver (Danish Christmas donuts). Now, if you
happen to have kids, there’s a good chance that – even this early into the festive season –
you are already thoroughly sick of the sight of the darn things! 
‘Cos they’re served at every single nursery, school or family party. But, hey,
I can always manage to eat just one more of them (my record at one sitting is
about 15).
Now, you can buy pretty decent æbleskiver frozen in bags from the
supermarket. But if you’d like to have a go at making them yourself, then read
on. Just make sure you set aside a whole morning, afternoon or evening for the
process, because they are time consuming to cook. It’s usually my husband who
makes these (the only time of the year that he enters the kitchen), but this
year I’m also making a batch. Or two.
You’ll need one of these dinky pans. No need to buy one just for the
occasion – try asking a Danish neighbour or friend if you can borrow one! 
For 30 donuts you will need:
- 3 eggs
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- a quarter litre of kærnemælk (buttermilk)
- 2dl milk or cream (I’d go with cream, my Danish hubby sometimes uses milk –
boo!) - 250g plain flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½-1 teaspoon ground cardamom
Mix the first five ingredients in a large bowl until it’s fairly frothy.
Easiest with an electric mixer. Gradually mix in the flour, baking powder and
ground cardamom. Make sure it’s well mixed, then leave to rest for about 15
minutes.
Heat up your donut pan, put a tiny bit of oil or butter in each of the holes
and fill each hole about two-thirds of the way up (they’ll swell up). When
there are lots of bubbles on the surface of each donut, flip over. In my
husband’s family the tradition is to use knitting needles… We used size 3
But a skewer will do.
When the little donut balls are browned on both sides remove from the
pan.
Serve warm with icing sugar (or granulated sugar) and jam. To eat them the
Danish way:
- each person takes a plate
- put a spoonful of (icing) sugar and jam on to your plate
- put two or three donuts on to your plate
- dip the donuts into the sugar and jam on your plate
- repeat as necessary
Velbekomme! And if you can’t eat them all today, don’t worry. They
freeze perfectly.
Don’t forget to check back here tomorrow when we open the next door!
Diane