Brandy’s guest post for February…and as usual, I know you’ll enjoy it. 🙂
Sometime before last Christmas, I read about making a Dutch baby, or German Pancake. While the name did not appeal to me (who wants to eat a baby?), the idea of a giant pancake did, so I made one. It was a great hit with my family and a way for me to use up eggs before we went out of town.
We’ve made it several times since then. It is a simple dish that is easily made by both parents and children, a great activity to ease into the morning after a long Winter night. Since it’s eaten by tearing pieces from one big pancake, it encourages sharing from start to finish.
German Pancake
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup plain flour
- Heat your oven to 425 degrees.
- Put your butter in a cast-iron pan and place in the oven to heat and melt. This is a lot like making cornbread–you don’t want your pancake to stick, especially not first thing in the morning.
- Mix up the eggs, flour and milk until smooth. Stirring is a great activity for young children, so share this task with them. Older children can break eggs and measure ingredients. I like to tell my daughter that the eggs are like sunshine and if we have eggs from a friend, I tell her the chickens made them just for us. Hey–anything to encourage her to eat.
- Take the heated pan out of the oven and swirl the butter around to make certain it’s greased well.
- Pour in the batter and bake for 20-25 minutes, depending on how crispy you like it. I like less crispy, so I do 20 minutes.
- Take it out of the oven with great fanfare. The pancake will be very puffy but deflate quickly. Put on a plate and serve sprinkled with powdered sugar (like snow!) or maple syrup. Eat immediately.
*Recipe credit to Angry Chicken.
Note from Stacy: I LOVE using this “puffy pancake” as a crust for pizzas for my kids for lunch. Just make it according to the recipe above. Take it out of the oven and let it deflate, add your sauce and toppings of your choice, pop it back in the oven until your cheese is melted and voila, an easy, delicious lunch for you or your kids!
Brandy spends her days watching the skies and tending her children on her little homestead in town. She lists “sticking it to the man” as one of her favorite hobbies and is not above putting a frozen pizza in the oven when the day calls for it. Together, her family hikes, creates, learns and grows. She shares her journey at Young in the Mountains.
We took your advice and made this for lunch today. We used spelt flour as my 4 year old is sensative to gluten. The kids LOVE watching it bake in the oven. Thanks so much for sharing!
I’m glad you liked it!
We make this in a 9×13 pan in the oven and call it a Hootinannie Pancake!
In our family, a Hootinannie is something you wear on your head. LOL
Here’s a sweet one for the adults in the family. http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/chocolate-dutch-baby/
Thanks for sharing, Fran.
We call this a Hooligan pancake! Actually, my kids call it Grammy Susan’s Hooligans because it’s what their Grammy (actually my sister’s MIL) serves them when they go over there. We serve it with honey and cinnamon. Sometimes, we’ll cut up a couple of pears and make a kind of pear syrup to put on top. SO yummy!
My friend Mindy makes a pizza with it! 🙂 http://thepurposedheart.com/puffy-pizza-a-twist-on-an-easy-recipe/
The name “Dutch baby” makes me laugh…and no< I don't want to eat a baby…BUT this pancake is really, really good, especially with lemon juice and powdered sugar on top 🙂 🙂 Thanks for the recipe 🙂 Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather 🙂
I’m making it RIGHT NOW. 🙂
We love these as well. Plus they are so simple to make that my 9yo often makes it for us.
I think I’m going to make it tomorrow for breakfast!
Mmmm this sounds YUM!
I know…I’m going to have to make it very soon!
I LOVE German Pancakes! One of my favorite breakfasts!
Now, I HAVE to try it!