In our family, ebleskivers-the sweet kind served with maple syrup or jam- are a tradition when the family is all together.  My mom’s well-used, well-worn pan comes out of hiding into its special place of honor on the stovetop.  Each ebleskiver cup is filled with melted butter first and then batter to make those light, lovely Swedish pancakes.  Her grandchildren, my children, now beg for them whenever we are in visiting.

Never in my ebleskiver-eating life had I been served the savory version and thought we might have fun giving the “skivvies”, as my husband likes to call them, a twist.  Oddly, they still call out for some sort of sweet, tangy accompaniment or sauce.  Try making Apple-Cherry Chutney or cracking open a jar of sour cherry or raspberry jam to warm up and serve alongside them.  Even a quick, lemony applesauce would be really delicious.

In class, because of no wheat allergies, we used halfsies on the flour- all purpose and buckwheat, but for those with a gluten intolerance, please go whole hog and use all buckwheat flour.  The lightness that the egg whites lend will give your ebleskivers a huge lift.  For mini-chefs, especially cheese-loving mini-chefs, these are fun to make and they will most likely be fascinated by the way that the batter balls puff up so much.

Liev, 3 1/2 now, described ebleskivers to the class as “spherical pancakes”.  This, after I had been trying to find the right words and struggling.  They truly are.  I would also add the words “cloud-like” and “fluffy”.

As I was cooking our fluffy spherical pancakes, one of my bright, always curious students came over to the stove to watch for a while.  After a minute or so, he asked, “But why, I wonder, do they get SO big, Mama Cate?”

Magic.  Maybe that’s in the description, too.

Three-Cheese Buckwheat Ebleskivers

• 1 c. buckwheat flour (or 2 c. if you’re going gluten-free0
• 1 c. all purpose flour
• 2 t. baking soda
• 6 eggs, separated
• 2 c. buttermilk, room temperature
• pinch nutmeg and/or cinnamon
• 1/2 c. parmesan, grated
• 1/2 c. gruyere, grated
• 3/4 c. fontina cheese, grated
• 1/2 c. unsalted butter, melted

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours and baking soda.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, buttermilk, spices, and cheeses.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites till they form stiff peaks.  Stiff peaks are when, if you try turning the bowl over, the whites will stay glued to the bowl and not fall out.  Try this with your mini-chef.  It’s lots of fun!
4. Pour the yolk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix till combined.
5. Very gently fold in the egg whites till combined but do not over mix.
6. Big Person: Over medium heat, ladle a bit of the melted butter into each ebleskiver cup, fill each cup to the top with batter and cook till brown on the first side, flip with a kitchen fork and brown the other side.
7. Serve warm, fresh from the pan.  Repeat until all the batter is gone.