Aebleskiver

Aebleskiver are spheres of batter cooked in a heavy cast iron pan drilled with round hollows, turned with a knitting needle or a skewer as they set so that each one browns evenly all round. The name means apple slices, and old versions did contain a piece of apple, though most today do not. They come three or six to a plate, dusted with icing sugar and served with a dish of jam beside them, and they are strongly a winter thing: markets, church halls, cafes and family kitchens through November and December, usually alongside mulled gloegg. Outside that season you will mostly meet frozen ones.

What you actually see

• The pan - the cast iron plate with round hollows, turned by hand.
• The jam and sugar - the standard serving, with icing sugar and berry jam.
• Christmas markets - where they are cooked fresh through November and December.
• Gloegg - the spiced mulled wine served alongside them.

When to go

November to early January is the real season, when they are cooked fresh at Christmas markets, in Tivoli and in cafes across the country. Some places serve them year-round from frozen, which is not the same thing. Afternoon, with coffee, is when Danes eat them rather than as a dessert after dinner.

Honest expectations

They are plain: fried batter, sugar and jam, and people expecting a pastry with apple inside are usually confused. Frozen ones reheated in a pan are common and dull. Portions are heavy and greasy if the pan was not hot enough. Market prices are high for what amounts to three small balls of dough.

Nearby

Christmas markets across the country serve them; the Tivoli market in Copenhagen is the best known.