Dutch Baby Pancake Recipe
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This dish won us over not only because of its great name, but also because it puffs up to great heights while cooking. Because it does not come out as sweet as griddle pancakes, it is traditionally served with lemon juice and powdered sugar, but we find it even more tasty with spoonfuls of Caramelized Pears.
Game plan: If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, the pancake can also be made in a large, ovenproof frying pan.
This recipe was featured as part of our Winter Cabin Fever story.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/4 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
- 6 large eggs
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Caramelized Pears, for serving
- Honey, for serving
- Powdered sugar, for serving
INSTRUCTIONS
- Heat the oven to 425°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Place a large, seasoned cast iron skillet in the oven as it preheats, at least 5 minutes.
- Combine flour, salt, and orange zest in a large bowl and whisk to break up any lumps and incorporate; set aside. Combine eggs, milk, and vanilla in a separate bowl and whisk until the eggs are broken up. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, dump in the egg mixture, and mix until the batter is thoroughly moistened and slightly lumpy, about 1 minute.
- Using a dry kitchen towel or an oven mitt, remove the skillet from the oven and add the butter. Once the butter melts, tilt the skillet to coat the bottom and sides.
- Pour the batter into the skillet and bake in the oven until puffed and golden brown on the sides, about 20 minutes. Remove the pancake from the oven and serve immediately with pears or honey and a sprinkling of powdered sugar.
I don't like to whisk it so much, because the edges tent to get burned and the actual pancake gets very thin. If you don't whisk it you get this amazingly-textured pancake, its impossible to describe. Also, I love to put grape jelly on mine... This is probably my favorite breakfast food...
Just tried this recipe - exactly as written - GREAT! Would be a fabulous dish to serve house guest for brunch - especially if I can get it out of the oven and onto the table while it's all puffed! OUTSTANDING!
Nevermind. I should have expanded the comments beore asking!
What size skillet? It says large and from the volume of ingredients I think a 12in would be appropriate. But I am not sure how much this will rise and I don't want to risk overflowing the skillet. Any suggestions?
There is no vanilla in Dutch Baby batter. Sacrilege!
We made this yesterday and could not believe how much it rose and how delicious it was. We didn't have an orange on hand so used lemon and added a bit of sugar to offset tartness. Michelle says the best pancake ever. Plus we did the caramelised pears and wow! are they good? You betcha! The advice about the oven temperature is spot on - our oven has a mind of its own but a $4 thermometer solves that. We used a 12"/300mm LeCreuset enamelled cast iron fry-pan with no problems. So surprised at result we took photos! This is a brilliant website Regards from Australia, John
A comfort food recipe from my childhood! We had an orchard on our farm, so Mom always made this with fresh fruit (pears, peaches, cherries, plums, apples in the fall) . . . but the cast-iron skillet started out on top of the stove . . . melt the butter in the cast iron skillet on top of the stove, then add the fruit and 1/4 cup brown sugar. Let that heat while mixing the batter. Add the batter to the pan and pop in the oven. Still sprinkle the confectioners sugar and lemon over the top when it comes out!
Superior recipe! I've tried a few others on the net; I won't go back to them. This one is tops!
This is very close to a dish I used to love, but we called them "Hawaiian pancakes"! Googling around to compare the recipes, I found this discussion of how the NYT published a recipe from David Eyre of Honolulu (which they said was perhaps the most popular recipe ever published in the Times). See discussion (and recipe) here http://www.thefoodsection.com/foodsection/2005/04/david_eyres_pan.html (and note at the end he suggests that if you made individual versions they would be like "dutch babies").
Where I used to live, there was a chain called Bickford's that made a German Apple Pancake, as well as a Baby German Apple pancake. Definitely not as eggy, but also used cinnamon. From what I understand, they had been making them since Eisenhower was president. There's is the one most people from NYC to Boston (that's a LOT of people!) consider to be the standard.
I have been making the Dutch Baby recipe from Orangette for quite some time now and it is always great. I love the idea for the variation of caramelized pears...I'll try that next time. The Orangette recipe has worked flawlessly for me every time and has wowed my family when we have gotten together for holidays. Even the grandchildren love it. For my husband it is the long saught-after German pancake that he used to order at the Pancake House before they stopped offering it.
The next time you are in South FL - Stop in The Original Pancake House for the best Dutch Baby's. They are the great! http://www.originalpancakehouse.com/phm_specialties2.html
The next time you are in South FL - Stop in The Original Pancake House for the best Dutch Baby's. They are the great! http://www.originalpancakehouse.com/phm_specialties2.html
Help Please. Hi, First off I have to say I just discovered this web site and I love it. So this was the first recipe I made from it. First try this morning I was making it with my two year old son and left the milk out. If it was not for my husband coming into the kitchen and asking what the cup of milk was for I may not of realized it. Anyway, I made a second one but I only had three eggs this time. I chopped up some crispy bacon and added it to the batter. I also used some bacon fat and butter for the pan. It came out very good but denser then I thought it would of been. My son and husband gobbled it up with real maple syrup. I am wondering if I had added the total six eggs would it of been lighter - I am thinking not. So what did I do that it came out not looking like the picture and not as fluffy as I thought it would of been - did I over stir it? Anyway, it was still good. Reminded me of a place I use to go to in London that had sweet and savory pancakes just like this. Thank for the recipe. I wonder how it would be if I chopped up some breakfast sausage in it..?
I can not drive past a Pannekoeken without stopping and waiting the extra 20 to 30 minutes it usually takes. My big regret is I don’t live near one anymore so the treet is rare. In Amsterdam on a funny back street, up a narrow high step steep stairway, off the street, in a shop with a funny, almost unnoticeable sign on the door, in a small converted attic that you had to duck and step up and down in to get to your table, a man had a covered electric fry pan he made what I believe he called apple pancakes. If I remembered where I was, I would make annual pilgrimages. Each artist has his own methods to heaven and there is no universal recipe I believe. I'm gettin my piggy bank out right now and looking for discount fairs.
Here's a smaller-sized one (requires an 8" cast iron skillet) that is probably better for beginners - I made it today, and it was wonderful. Also, it's a lot less eggy than the Chow recipe, and ended up tasting like a slightly eggy folded pancake:: http://recipes.egullet.org/recipes/r1427.html. We had it topped with some powdered sugar & bananas flambee. Yum! In case you're too lazy to click on the link: 2 large eggs 3/4 c milk 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp sugar 2 T butter, melted 1/2 c flour ...All you need is a whisk, an accurate oven (or thermometer), and the 8" skillet.
Aida, I havent tried this but will, but Ihave to ask about your adorable Boston Terrier, I have one female, that is a darling ........ they are the best.........
I make something very much like this often, but I cook the fruit with it. Here's how: (measurements are approximate) Preheat oven to 375. Melt 2T butter in cast iron pan (mine is maybe 9"). Add 2T brown sugar and then 3/4 c fruit (cherries are yummy as are apricots and peaches w/raspberries! but almost any fruit works and it can be fresh, frozen or canned. Dried even.) While that is cooking a bit, whisk together 2 eggs, 1/3 c milk and 1/3 c flour. A pinch of salt, some vanilla or almond extract, some cinnamon or nutmeg or whatever flavor you like or none. I usually sprinkle some nuts (almonds, walnuts, whatever you like) over the fruit then pour the batter over it and put it in the oven for 20 minutes. Actually I have a convection oven and it's usually about 18 minutes -- just don't burn it. Turn it out onto the plate -- use a spatula to get it all if it sticks -- sprinkle it with conf. sugar and enjoy. Good with apples too. I've also tried it with ham and swiss cheese (no fruit), but didn't like it as much.
Aw. My mom, who is German, used to make this and we ate it with applesauce and granulated sugar (for a little sugary crunch!). I can't wait to try it...talk about a lost childhood recipie! yum.
I've made a plain Dutch Baby as well as one with apples at the end of winter when I had some to use up. Each turned out perfectly with a pre-heated cast iron skillet. They're definitely not a typical pancake as some have commented on. That said - as a special weekend breakfast, they're a big hit at our house.
Is there a way to do this without a blender? Mine died. I really want to try it!
digkv : we made these all the time when we were kids, just throw it all in the blender. It's also important to make sure that your pan is hot enough. serve immediately. We made them plain and topped with fresh nectarines, sour cream and brown sugar, a strange summer breakfast but DELICIOUS. I think you can do these in any old pan, too. though there's nothing like a cast iron skillet. rmoskow: using bacon drippings in the pan is genius.
Roasted slivered almonds are also a nice topping with these pancakes. My recipe also refers to it as German Panckakes.
We called it a Puff Pancake when I sold Tupperware and my grandmother called it a German pancake. 2/3 c flour, 2/3 c milk, cinnamon-heated greased 9" pie plate and bake for 25 min at 425. Tupperware suggested blueberry/peach or apple pie filling. On humid days, it will NOT work and will be flat. One restaurant that had it on the menu wouldn't make it for me one day when it was humid. i went home and found it to be true-on dry days, it's awesome!
This is comfort food from my childhood that I make whenever I can't think of anything else---but if you want the desperation simplicity version, just do this: 1. put an unhealthy amount of butter (say, half a stick or so) in the bottom of a square cake pan, or a casserole dish, deep dish pizza pan--anything. 2. toss in your blender equal parts egg, milk, and flour (say, 1 cup each or whatever) and blend while the butter melts (as the oven preheats) in whatever you have chosen to bake this thing in. 3. pour the batter into that pool of bubbling butter and stick it back in the oven until the mountainous peaks are looking nicely tanned. Toppings: I use PB&J most of the time, but lemon and powdered sugar is good, as is strawberry jam and sour cream. I vary the size of the container in major ways, so sometimes it's thinner than others, but it always works. Just make sure it cooks long enough (browning peaks and golden valleys).
I'm thinking it could also have to do with your elevation above sea level....
I've been meaning to try this less eggy pancake recipe from the new york times--maybe this is a good place to start with the concept: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/25/magazine/25food.txt.html?ex=1332475200&en=fbfe3bbc15b1aeda&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
Hi, waver. We tested using a 12-inch cast iron skillet and a 10-inch stainless steel frying pan and both worked fine. And, yes, the eggs are the only leavened as the flour supports the eggs structure.
I had been expecting sort of yorkshire puddingish with custardy middle and crispy edges, instead I got omelette made weird by the addition of flour. I am not really surprised given the number of eggs, but still. My SO tasted it and said, "hey we should have fritatta again one of these days." I agree I should check my oven's temperature as well as allowing the pan to heat up enough, but also, what size skillet did you use? I used a 12" Woll, is that too big? Also can we confirm the sole leavening is in the eggs? Thanks folks.
After looking at the comments above, I think that people making this recipe may be under a misconception that this is fluffy like a pancake. It is not. It's eggy, dense, crepeish, popoverish, custardy, and if you like those qualities (I do), you will love this. If not, you may be looking for a griddle pancake or coffee cake, more cake and less custard. I choose this any day.
Hi, everyone! Thanks for your comments. We just wanted to emphasize that a Dutch Baby Pancake is more egg-y and omelette-like than a griddle pancake and it is supposed to puff up but does not come out fluffy. In response to your laments, we went back and tested this recipe to great success another two times for breakfast this morning. One thing we did think of is that you want to make sure your oven is at the correct temperature. Anytime you are using your oven, you should make sure your temperature is correct by having one or two thermometers in there. Most ovens are off by a few degrees and sometimes by as much as 25 degrees. Let us know if we can help further. -CHOW Food Team
I had the same problem- it came out an eggy, disgusting mess. I made sure not to overmix it, baked it pretty thoroughly, etc. Any ideas on what I did wrong? I want the amazing-looking pancake from the picture!
Actually, I was skeptical of digkv for saying this recipe worked and arrogantly assumed I was a better cook, or at least more retentive about following directions. But my efforts were truly gross. My kids cried. It was too eggy, not fluffy pancakey. I wonder what I did wrong?
Finally found a reference. It was a German apple pancake I had with my father in the 50's. Someone else also remembers. Steven L Katz author of "Chicago's Big Apple" revealed the story of the baked German apple pancake. His parents loved the apple pancake at Chicago's Red Star Inn. Waver is probably right on about Deutsch/Dutch connection.
Simplified versions of this fun food have been called "huffy-puffy" or "Swedish pancake". Huffy-puffy describes well the inflated appearance at the end of the cooking time (and implies the deflation phase which begins as soon as it is removed from the oven).
"German Apple Pancake" is what Anna Thomas called this recipe in her first Vegetarian Epicure cookbook, back in the 1970's.It's a wonderful thing - a triumph of simple ingredients -delicious, fast, impressive, and cheap to make. Just make sure the oven is hot enough. Lemon zest is good, too.
I love this recipe, have made it many times, so hope my experience can be of some help to those who've had disappointing results. Of mixing, there seems to be a bell curve, in that too little is as detrimental as too much (biscuits are similarly fussy). Newbies warned not to over mix are understandably liable to mix too little, i.e. mixing them like muffin batter. What I've discovered is you can mix all you want BEFORE the eggs. So I first mix all ingredients EXCEPT the eggs. Hand mixer, blender, whisk, or spoon beat until all the flour is one with the milk. Only then do I break the eggs into the mixture and beat just until they're pretty well blended - 20 seconds or so. (This is how pate choux aka cream puff batter, which has the same egg/ flour/ liquid proportions, is mixed. Yorkshire pudding has two eggs instead of six, which suggests if you don't have six, you could use fewer and it'd be good in a different way ) As for baking, I definitely agree with rmoskow that bacon grease is excellent, as it gives the crispest edges - yummy! Lastly, because most baked goods don't tolerate over baking, a common newbie error with this baby is under baking, which yields the rubber Frisbee. The goal is to have some nice poof standing around the edges even after it's out of the oven. So short of letting it burn, bake well. Leftovers frozen then later heated on the stove in a frying pan till crisp are surprisingly good, imo.
Further to the above - I did a little research and found that these Dutch treats I love (and they are indeed Dutch) are called poffertjes. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poffertjes Don't know where the Americanized "just make one big one" approach came from, though. Bigger isn't always better!
I'm not Dutch, but I spend at least a week each year in Amsterdam, and the hotel I stay at always has little pancakes on its breakfast buffet and touts them as a local specialty. They are only about 2 inches in diameter. I'm guessing that's where the name Baby Pancakes came from, and somewhere along the way the recipe got mistranslated to make one big one instead of lots of little ones but the name stuck.
Thanks for that Kirilei! Also of Dutch extraction, I have heard that when "Dutch" is used in the US it is often a bastadization of Deutsch, ie German, as in Pennsylvania Dutch (or as my old dad would say "going Dutch is actually german!"). Either way, this is indeed not a recipe from the Netherlands. Having said that I think it might be dinner tomorrow with a few sausages on the side!
I've never seen these in Holland (where I'm from) - traditional dutch pancakes are flat, and are always made on the top of the stove in a frying pan (like crepes). Not to say the recipe doesn't sound good, but they aren't dutch.
My memory of this dish came from Sunset Magazine in 1962! It called for your (then brand new) blender to whip up the batter for about two or three minutes, they were not lumpy and went sky high in the oven! The kids loved the Big Dutch Baby "monster" that came out of the oven.
digkv: we've tested this recipe 3 times and didn't have any of these problems. you need to make sure you don't work the batter too much once you add the eggs, be sure that your oven temperature is accurate, and that your pan is thoroughly heated (a process that took us about 5 minutes but only benefited from more time).
I actually had some problems with this recipe chow and was extremely disappointed. I whisked the flour like you said and when I added the egg milk mixture the mixture was very very lumpy. I tried to get some of the lumps out by pressing down on them and it worked a little. I cooked it like you said but it tasted like an overcooked, bland omelette. It had the taste and rubbery texture of overcooked eggs. I think this needed more flour or something. I've had a dutch pancake before, it was at pancake house and this didn't resemble it at all. Did I do something wrong? Thanks for any help.
I love these. First tried years ago. Martha Stewart cooked these and called them: "maine pancakes". Martha aside, they're still yummy!
I love this stuff- especially when I fry up a bunch of bacon first and use bacon fat instead of butter, and mix some crurmbled up bacon into the batter and then dump a bunch of blueberries and maple syrup on top. <drools on keyboard>
Was this the Dutch Apple Pancake served at the Red Star Inn in Chicago?
arent these basically Yorkshire pudding (sans the savory meat juices)? Interesting how different countries cook the same dishes. I wonder which way this moved across the Channel? Maybe to England with Wm. of Orange? Is there a food historian in the house?
ooooooo... i worked at a restaurant in college called Pannekoeken and these were are signature dishes? apple, bacon, berry, savory... yum. brings back memories.