This is an "Abelskiver" pan that's for sale in our antique shop Barntiques. I came to Iowa City in 1981 to study at the University of Iowa. It's funny how Iowa is so diverse. I couldn't believe how many people in eastern Iowa didn't even know what abelskivers were of how they were made.
Many churches in western Iowa would have "Abelskiver suppers". The Lutheran churches in Avoca and Shelby always did. You could buy then individually and then open them up and fill them with butter, sugar, jelly of syrup. They were so delicious.
They made by a sweet batter poured into the half wells and then skillfully turned half way during the cooking process to allow the batter to run into the pan and then the complete turn to finalize the circle. If done correctly and abelskiver is perfectly round, golden brown and hollow in the center. It takes a lot of skill to make these and the batter has to be just perfect. I've had a few disasters in making them, yet I can remember the wonderful church ladies turning them out by the hundreds for these suppers effortlessly.
