Dutch Babies, again

A Dutch Baby is a baked, eggy pancake.  I've also seen them called German Pancakes and at Walker Brothers, where I first ate one, the German Pancake is just a large version of the Dutch Baby.  It's similar to a popover and is served with powdered sugar and lemon.  Delicious.  I wrote about Dutch Babies on my old blog after I found a recipe in A Homemade Life.  Since then I've been refining them and simplifying the process.  It really is easy to do.  Much easier, I think, than regular pancakes.  When Matthias and I were having dinner last Sunday at Ev and Ron's house, Ron mentioned that the German Pancake from Walker Brothers is his very favorite.  I forgot to mail them a copy of the recipe and then I figured I could document the recipe here and share it with everybody at once.

One of the things that makes the recipe so simple is that it only calls for a few ingredients: butter, eggs, milk, flour and salt.  You also need some powdered sugar and lemon to be added at the table.  The other thing that makes it easy is that you bake the pancake.  Mix it, throw it in the oven and your work is done.

First, preheat the oven to 425.  Add butter to your pan or pans.  My recipe serves two (doubling the recipe or making enough for 3 is very easy and works well) and you can either make one thick pancake or two thinner ones.  It's up to you and I've tried a variety of sizes of pans and I've made it as one and I've made it as two in a variety of sizes.  They all turn out well.  Today I used two 9 inch metal pie pans.  Use whatever you have on hand.  When using two pans I put 1 tablespoon of butter into each pan (or 2 tablespoons in one pan) and place the pans in the preheating oven so the butter will melt.  While mixing up the pancake, don't forget the butter.  You want it to totally melt, but you don't want it to burn.



For the pancakes (to serve 2) you need:
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt

Into a small bowl crack the eggs and whisk until foamy.  Add the milk and continue whisking.  Add flour and salt and whisk until flour is fully dissolved.


Turn pan(s), evenly distributing butter on all surfaces.  Pour batter into pans. 


Bake for 18 minutes or so.  While baking, prepare the lemon, cutting into wedges and get out the powdered sugar.


I usually just put the container of powdered sugar on the table when it's family, but for guests you can get fancy, serving it in whatever bowls or cups you'd like.

The pancakes will puff up in the oven, ideally forming a bowl-like shape (although sometimes they will expand with all sorts of bumps and lumps).


Once removed from the oven they will deflate a bit.


And on plates they'll probably be somewhat flat.


Before eating sprinkle with powdered sugar and generously squeeze lemons over the entire pancake.  I prefer mine with LOTS of both.


The lemon juice will melt into the powdered sugar and the results are delicious.

I hope you'll try it and tell me what you think!

Comments

  1. sounds scrumptious and comforting

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Anne,
    I'm Mary Solomon and Matthias is my FAVORITE teacher at the Apple Store. He showed me your blog and I finally am taking time to look at it and found this wonderful description and photos and recipe for one of my favorite foods - Dutch Baby. Since I do not cook - I have mine at the Original Pancake House on Chagrin Blvd. They are yummy. Once a month I meet my cousins there and this and their crepes are my two favorite things. Guess which one I'm going to order next week - The Dutch Baby!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've never heard of 'em but they sound really yum. Can't wait to try these.

    ReplyDelete
  4. These look scrumptious. Thanks for sharing the details! Swing by my blog today for a little surprise and a BIG thank youl

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh anna, i had these before and they are just soo yummieee! Thanks so much for sharing the how to make here!! I will want to give this a try! Have a lovely merry happy day and love to you!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh! I want to try one. Looks so yummy. The part of squeezing lemon juice in just seems so mouthwatering! :-D

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh my! What a delicious breakfast I had.
    (Much thanks going to you!). Now really you all need to try this. You will be amazed like I just how simply this is to make and how delicious it is! Stefan is now raving about how good it is!
    Anne, You can check out my blog. I posted a picture of it baked and ready to eat. Thanks so much for the thorough instructions! Needed those! Stefan kept saying, wow! This is soooo good! Way to go Anne!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Glad you tried it, Lynn's By Design. Your photos on your blog are great.

    Mary, thanks for visiting. I hope you and Matthias are able to find a time for dinner together.

    Kathryn, thanks for featuring me on your blog!

    Everyone else, I hope you can try them, they really are yummy!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow, lovely. I've never seen these before. I will try it sometime, THanks Anne for sharing this.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh my goodness, Anne - these look scrumptious!! I'll have to try them for Sunday brunch! Also, lovely to get a peek at your old blog!
    By the way, i love your new winter header! I'm working on a new one, too!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hope you can try them!

    Glad you like the new header. I like the idea of changing things around seasonally.

    ReplyDelete
  12. We loved these at Richard Walkers in San Diego and LaJolla.
    Thanks so much for the recipe. I’m making them ASAP!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you try the recipe! It's so easy. I first had dutch babies at Walker Brothers in Genview, IL. Wonder if they're in any way related to the Richard Walkers you're talking about.

      Delete

Post a Comment