A Dutch Baby Pancake is not only a sight to behold, what with its light and eggy batter that miraculously climbs the sides of the vessel it’s baked in, but it is easy-peasy (like a billion times easier than making individual pancakes on the stove top), one-bowl (okay, one blender) and incredibly delicious. And – in case you were wondering – a Dutch Baby Pancake is not in fact Dutch at all, but is German, and apparently gets its name due to a “corruption” of the word “Deutsch.”
Similar to a Popover or a Yorkshire Pudding, a Dutch Baby is made by blending (or whisking together) eggs, flour and milk. I add a little sugar, a splash of vanilla and a smidge of salt, too. But if you were thinking that perhaps a savory Dutch Baby sounds tasty, you can omit the vanilla and sugar and throw in a handful of shredded cheese instead (yum). I have been making these for my kids fairly regularly over the last several years, and they are big fans – in fact when I made the one pictured here recently, my younger son bemoaned the fact that it had just been too darn long since last he ate a Dutch Baby (oops!). His Dutch Baby always includes a scattering of mini chocolate chips, but I am (and maybe you are, too) partial to a squeeze of lemon juice and a dusting of confectioner’s sugar (or even a sprinkling of granulated sugar, which provides the loveliest crunchy texture). If you do not have a blender, or do not want to pull it out to make breakfast, you may whisk together the wet ingredients in a large mixing bowl and then add the dry ingredients, whisking until smooth, or at least almost lump-free.
Honestly, the most time-consuming part of Dutch Baby pancake-making is waiting for your oven to reach temperature – but once that has happened and you’ve added your blended ingredients to your hot pan, you are literally ten minutes away from a show-stopping, breakfast of – dare I say – champions.
What you’ll need:
4 large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 tablespoons melted butter
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Lemon slices
Confectioners sugar for dusting
What you’ll do is:
Heat the oven to 450°F. Grease a 12-inch cast-iron skillet (or other oven-proof frying pan) with butter or cooking spray. Place in the oven to heat up.
Add all of the ingredients to a blender, beginning with the wet and finishing with the dry. Blend on high until smooth about 30 seconds. Scraping the container if needed.
Remove the pan from the oven and carefully pour in the batter. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, checking on the pancake after ten. The pancake should be nicely browned, puffy, and dramatically climbing up the sides of the pan when it is ready.
Remove the pan from the oven and immediately dust with confectioners sugar and serve with slices of lemon. Enjoy immediately.
Jessie is a baker and cookbook author; you can learn more about her through her website www.jessiesheehanbakes.com.