What a week. Following a trip to the coast, a Valentine’s Day cooking extravaganza and a quiet President’s Day break, Shrove Tuesday has arrived without me giving a thought to the pancakes that are expected for dinner tonight. Luckily pancakes are….well….. pancakes! They are easy and made from ingredients most everyone keeps on hand.
I haven’t got any buttermilk and I didn’t start early enough to make my favorite Pancake Dinner recipe for Overnight Pancakes. Swedish Pancakes aren’t that complicated but they do take some time at the stove to make enough to fill everyone up. As the day wore on I decided the best strategy would be to make the kind of pancake I remember trying many years ago, a one-pan wonder called a Dutch Baby.
After consulting several recipes I found that a Dutch Baby was just as I remembered, quite simple and open to variation. What every recipe shared in common, besides the list of basic ingredients, was the conviction that this baby is quite impressive straight out the oven, puffed and arching over the sides of the skillet in a most deliciously inviting way.
They didn’t exaggerate! Make sure everyone is looking when you pull this pancake from the oven. It deflates very quickly and you don’t want anyone to miss the drama of its fantastic presentation when fresh from the oven.
Though the pancake will soon shrink into the pan, don’t despair. The deflated pancake that remains is a delicious treat. Top it simply with powdered sugar and a squeeze of lemon or some maple syrup. With just a little more investment you could top it with Homemade Applesauce or even Hazelnut Pear Flambe. No matter the choice of topping it will be tasty and satisfying. And where else can you get such a simple and dramatic dinner from so few ingredients and such limited preparation?
You’re gonna love this pancake!
Dutch Baby Pancake
¾ cup flour
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cardamon or cinnamon (if desired)
3 Tablespoons sugar (use vanilla sugar if you have it)
3 eggs
¾ cup milk
1½ Tablespoons butter
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix together the flour, salt, spice and sugar. Set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl whisk the eggs until frothy. Add the milk and dry ingredients. Whisk until smooth.
Place the butter in a 10 or 12 inch oven proof skillet (preferably cast iron). Set the skillet in the oven for a few minutes until it is hot and the butter has melted.
Remove the skillet from the oven. Swirl it to cover the bottom of the skillet evenly with the hot butter. Immediately pour the batter into the pan and return it to the oven.
Bake for 20 minutes or until puffed and turning golden.
Remove from oven. Quickly dust with powdered sugar and a squeeze of lemon or other topping.
Slice and serve.
Enjoy!
My favorite thing about this recipe is that all the ingredients are divisible by three so it is easy to scale the recipe by the number of eggs you want to use. I typically make a 5 egg Dutch baby across two pans. It's a weeknight dinner staple for my family.
yummy!! : )
You were right – I did love this pancake! I made it this afternoon when I came home from work with a tummyache, I wasn't in the mood for anything complicated, and this looked perfect. Topped with fresh blackberries, I'm feeling better already! Love your blog, and can't wait to try more recipes (when I'm feeling better, that is)!
Hi Lisa, you are right, this is the way to go in making pancakes, no standing there pouring one by one. Love how these puff up!
I have always wanted to make one of these!
I haven't had one of these in way too long! It is so fun to see the way they puff up in the oven!
Hope you had a nice Valentine's Day!
Wow..that is quite a delicious looking pancake. I am going to have to give that recipe a try! Thanks!
This is one of my favorite foods. I love it with lots of powdered sugar and lemon juice. Wow, my mouth is already watering.
Dutch babies are my favorite! They remind me of being in Holland… love them 🙂
this sounds so good! i may make thisa project for this weekend… mmm… maybe with some apricot syrup or strawberries 🙂
even shriveled and deflated, this pancake is beautiful. add on some fried apples and powdered sugar and i'm smitten. every tuesday should be pancake tuesday. 🙂
If I would have had my act together, I was going to have everyone come over for pancakes before bible study tonight. But the day came to soon! I haven't had dutch baby pancake for a long time. When we were first married we would have them often, for dinner. Thanks for the reminder, I will try them again soon.