Ebleskiver: Danish pancakes filled with blueberries and ricotta

Ingredients:

Pancakes

• 1 and 1/4 cups premium flour
• 2 tablespoons firmly packed light brown sugar
• 0.5 tsp baking powder
• 0.5 tsp of soda
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 2 large eggs, separate the whites from the yolks
• Zest of half a lemon
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• Powdered sugar and honey, for serving
• Special equipment: a frying pan for aebleskiver (preferably cast iron); a wooden skewer

Filling

• 1/3 cup ricotta
• 1 tbsp. honey
• Zest of half a lemon
• 28 small or 14 large blueberries

Preparation:

1. Filling:
   
   In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, honey, and lemon zest until smooth. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
   
2. Pancakes:
   
   In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another medium bowl, combine the milk, sour cream, egg yolks, and lemon zest. Stir into the flour mixture and knead into a dough (the dough will be lumpy). Let it rest while you beat the egg whites.
   
3. Beat the egg whites in a separate medium bowl with a mixer until stiff peaks form, about 1 minute. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter.
   
   
   When measuring flour, spoon it into a dry measuring cup and remove any excess. Scooping flour directly from the bag with a measuring cup will compact it, resulting in dry baked goods.
4. Heat the aebleskiver pan over medium-high heat for 4 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and generously grease the 4 wells with melted butter, making sure there's a little oil in the bottom of each well (it should barely sizzle when it hits the pan). Spoon about 1 tablespoon of batter into each well-greased well. Repeat the same process with butter and batter in the remaining 4 wells. Fry them in batches to prevent the butter from burning. Let the batter set slightly around the edges, about 30 seconds.
5. Carefully spoon about 1 teaspoon of the ricotta filling into the center of each aebleskiver, then press 2 blueberries (or one if they're large) into the center. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of batter over the blueberries to fill the wells. Cook until the pancakes are golden brown on the bottom, another 2 1/2 minutes.
6. Push the raw dough through the bottom crust of each ebelskiver with a wooden skewer to slowly flip it over. Allow the raw dough to flow back into the hole to form a new crust. If the ebelskiver doesn't slide up easily or doesn't hold its shape, return it to its original position and let it set a little longer.
7. Fry until golden brown on the bottom, another 2-3 minutes. Check the pancakes on all sides: if there are any pale spots, flip them over, so the bottoms brown for a few seconds. The finished aebleskivers should be deep golden on all sides, and a skewer inserted deep into the pancake (not into the filling) should come out clean. If some pancakes are cooking much faster than others, rotate the pan occasionally to ensure even cooking. Remove the aebleskivers from the pan.
8. Repeat with the remaining melted butter, dough, filling, and blueberries to make 6 more aebleskivers. The pan will be significantly hotter for the second batch, so you may need to reduce the heat or remove the pan from the stovetop occasionally to ensure even frying.
   
   Dust the aebleskivers with icing sugar and serve warm, drizzled with honey.