When Adam and I first started dating, he had a couple of “signature” dishes he would make when he wanted to pull out all the stops for an at-home date night. A caprese pasta and grilled steak both factored heavily into the wooing process, as did this dutch baby pancake. Pre-Adam, I’d never heard of, much less tasted, a dutch baby, but over time it’s become one of my favorite impressive-looking yet surprisingly easy items to pull out when brunch guests are coming. A dutch baby is also called a German pancake, and think of it as a cross between a crepe and a popover. It has the light delicate batter and goes-great-with-fillings quality of a crepe, but when it hits the hot cast iron skillet and hangs out in the oven for a bit, its sides puff up in all the airy, crispy glory of a popover. We made these for breakfast over the long weekend, and served them with fresh blueberries, blackberries and the traditional accompaniment of lemon wedges which get squeezed all over the top. Optional additions include maple syrup, lemon zest, pats of butter and a dusting of confectioners sugar. And yes, you can go for all of the above, if you like. Can’t wait to try a fall version where I’m planning to stud the batter with thinly-sliced apples and spoonfulls of cinnamon and cardamom. Have you guys ever had a dutch baby? I’d love to hear what other versions are out there, and keep reading for the recipe!
Dutch Baby Pancake
*serves 2 or 3
Ingredients:
- 3 large eggs
- 2/3 cup whole milk
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 tablespoon butter
- optional garnishes: powdered sugar, butter, lemon wedges, fresh berries, maple syrup
Instructions:
- Place a 10″ cast-iron skillet on the middle rack of the oven, and preheat to 450 degrees.
- In a large bowl, whisk eggs together vigorously until light and frothy, about 2 minutes. Add milk, sugar, salt and vanilla, and whisk until combined. Sift in flour, and whisk just until smooth. Let rest for 5 – 10 minutes.
- Carefully remove the skillet from the oven, add the butter and let melt completely, swirling the pan to allow the butter to coat the entire bottom. Pour batter into hot pan, and place back in the oven, shutting door quickly so oven loses as little heat as possible.
- Bake for 15 minutes, until the sides have puffed up a lot, and the entire top of the pancake is golden brown. Remove from oven and use a spatula to loosen the edges of the pancake. Transfer to a serving platter, dust with powdered sugar and cut into large wedges. Serve immediately.
*photos by Camille
These look so good, I am going to try these!
I have been eyeing a cast iron skillet that I am itching to buy… I think this will do it for me… It’s time to buy it. I’ve also been scared to make pop-overs and this looks like a great alternative! thank you!
You should definitely go for it… fall is the best time to cook up all kinds of yummy things in cast iron! Crisps, crumbles, roasted meats & vegetables…
I’m also getting a v expensive cast iron skillet… Want to try this!
Hey everyone, For a less expensive Cast Iron Skillet go to old junk stores, flea markets, garage sales, etc. The skillets may look a disaster but if there are no cracks or they are not wobbly “warped” (set it on the floor, you don’t want it if it rocks back & forth), put it in the dishwasher, calm down, yes, the dishwasher on a normal setting & run it through the cycle. When finished, your work begins. Use sandpaper to scrub away any stuck on “whatevers” rinse well & with paper towels dry the skillet before setting it on a burner to heat. As it heats on a low-medium flame lightly add cooking oil & spread around all over the inside with a paper towel. Leave the skillet on the burner ’till the oil looks absorbed, then repeat several times ’till it glistens inside. (You may do the same in an oven but I like to do the initial seasoning where I can watch what is happening.) The outside of the skillet doesn’t take as long to clean up but there are times when that can be a first step if it has bad build up. This is a skillet you do not have to baby it. BUT, DO NOT thrown a hot Cast Iron Skillet into water to soak—it will warp & rock back & forth on a burner–not a good thing. Each time our skillets are used we lightly preseason them in the above manner. This time they need just a bit of oil.
I have my Great Grandmother’s Cast Iron Skillets, I am a French trained cook & our skillets are used daily. I’ve never owned a “Non-Stick” skillet, who wants whatever that is in your body. Enjoy.
Merci bien for the amazing seasoning tutorial…I always wondered how to salvage those old beauties…The Dutch babies “thrive” in the proper skillet!
I will make this recipe for my daughters upcoming 16th Birthday breakfast. As to the skillet I bought mine 2 years ago for $13 at Marshalls and could not live without it anymore. My favorite piece to cook with. Get it NOW. 🙂 you will not regret it.
an absolutely favorite meal of mine
kw ladies in navy
We have to eat pancakes almost once a week (yes, we are terrorized by our babes, I admit it) and those little ones can eat a stack of ‘m in one sitting, so we bake a lot of pancakes around here. As a Dutch gal, I have been brought up with these, but have to say we don’t finish them of in the oven. Instead we make a simple batter of flour, milk and eggs and then start playing with them. Of course we often bake sweet ones, with sugar and vanilla or some apple syrup on top, or with apples and raisins, but we also love our savoury pancakes, with bacon and cheese, or zucchini, mushroom, bell peppers and a sprinkle of parmezan. Oh yum. I might have to bake some pancakes tonight. Just because I want to spoil the kids, of course 🙂
I love Dutch Baby’s. here is a place here that makes them great.Thanks Camille now I have a recipe. 🙂
This looks so good! I’d love to try a variation with pumpkin for the fall! Sounds perfect!
~Mary Keller
I’ve never made a Dutch Baby before and looking at your beautiful photos has got me thinking why have I waited this long! This looks like the perfect first recipe to try them out! Thank you! 🙂
My mother-in-law used to make these for my children all the time. They have fond memories of gobbling them up with syrup.
Would this recipe still work with skim milk? Has anyone tried it and had luck?
It works just fine with skim milk, That was all I had in the house when I made this tonight.
Can sea salt be used instead of kosher?
Yes, just use a tiny bit more when you’re working with a coarser grain!
I made this recipe this morning and it was absolutely delicious, thank you!
Do I have to use a cast iron skillet? Or can I just use a glass baking pan?
Hi Krystal — since the popovers rely on very high heat to properly puff up, you really need the preheated cast iron which gets much hotter than glass. Definitely a great investment – a well-seasoned cast iron skillet will last forever!
I use a 9 inch round cake pan and this works quite well too….it just comes out a little thicker but still so delicious!!! Using this I bake it at 375 for 20 minutes. So easy and so yummy to make. …..enjoy!!!!
Hi, You can also add some raisins with your apple pieces and eat them with cinnamon. You can bake them with some bacon, cheese, onions, mushroom etc. As a ‘Dutchie’ I have to say that we never put them in the oven. And we only use milk, flour and eggs to prepare the batter.
This is one of our family’s ALL-TIME FAVORITE Brunch selections…you have done it “honor” and the squeeze of lemon with a confectioner’s sugar “dusting” are ESSENTIAL in my opinion!! The cast iron skillet is also necessary for the true, puffed “collar”…I always use an additional egg white or too for added “oomph” effect…and the tribe always CLAPS..when it is placed on the table!! It’s nice to have real Maple Syrup…or a fresh blueberry syrup…or a smudge of lemon curd for the truly “gourmand”. For utter brunch decadence…a bit of crème fraîche…whipped cream….or Devonshire cream …or Fromage blanc à la vanille are the ultimate garnishes…
A splash of Grand Marnier, Rhum, or Calvados with sautéed apples, cinnamon or cardamom are amazing in the Autumn!….Thank you for the gorgeous images and doing the “work” for me…Now I am able to send the “off the top of head” family classic in concrete form for the family members!!
I’ve have always eaten these at The Original Pancake House. They are to die for. .. will try to make for Sunday breakfast. Thanks for sharing the receipe.
My sides did not rise for some reason 🙁
The receipe I have uses glass baking dish. puffs up just fine. I have used skim milk, too. Cast Iron may make it puff even more. I think my version may be more closer to the Finnish Pancake on the BuzzFeed posts that references both types: http://www.buzzfeed.com/tashweenali/pancakes-from-around-the-world Also, sometimes it will puff in middle instead of sides. this is normal.
This looks amaaazing! 🙂
http://cafecraftea.blogspot.com
Can you use almond or soy milk or heavy cream to replace the whole milk as this is all I have in the house usually? : )
Almond or soy should be fine – heavy cream will probably weigh down the batter a bit too much. I would actually use 50% almond or soy milk and 50% heavy cream to get the most similar flavor and consistency!
Made one this morning Absolutely fabulous!
I’m Dutch and I can acknowledge that we absolutely love our pannenkoeken. Whenever there’s a pancake house in a city I visit, that’s what we go for. However, I have never seen or heard about this recipe! It is not Dutch at all. Perhaps German?
Every Dutch pancake is made from just flour, milk, and eggs. It is thin, and solely baked on the stove, not the oven, and it is topped with bacon and Dutch “stroop” (a lot thicker and more caramelized than maple cyrup). After these basics, you can add whatever fruit, icecream, sugar, whipped cream, or even vegetables you want. Delicious!
I’m Dutch too and have never heard of this dish, but it does remind me very much of the almost forgotten classic “Roomstruif” (cream omelet). Cooked in almost the same manner but with the egg-white whisked seperately with sugar (like a meringue) before mixing with the yolks and vanilla powder and some flour to cook in a covered skilled over not too hot a fire. The top should remain a light yellow and become porous/airy while the bottom must become a medium brown.
She did describe that they were more like German pancakes.
Easy and fun to make. Absolutely delicious!! A refreshing change for breakfast or anytime. I shall share this recipe with many of my friends. THank you, Amy, for sharing this recipe on this special day. Your Dad loved them.
I see that the “Dutchies” here say they never bake their pancakes in the oven…but that’s because this version is really a GERMAN pancake!?? Americans misunderstood “Deutsch” (German for…”German”) as “Dutch”, and thereby all sorts of Dutch and German things were confused with each other, on this side of the Big Pond. No, the Dutch do not bake their pancakes but yes, Germans do – at least this type of pancake. There is also “Kaiserschmarrn” (which is really Austrian…but found all over Southern Germany). Kaiserschmarrn is cooked on top of the stove, rather than in the oven, sprinkled with sugar, and then “scrambled” after it has set, in order to caramelize the sugar. Both are yumyumyum!
I didn’t mean to add questions marks after German – I’m not even sure how that happened! Should have been just one exclamation mark. That makes better sense now, doesn’t it?????
Aha. Apple emoticons are translated as question marks.
Just made this exactly as written no powdered sugar, just crumbled a bunch of applewood smoked bacon and syrup. Sooo good. Hubs says let’s have it for dinner w/ omelets once a week.
I dont have cast iron, but used an all glass saute pan (idk what that’s supposed to be for) that worked really really well using this exact recipe/directions. Super delicious! The kids went nuts for it (9yo and 5yo). Paired it with some spaghetti squash hashbrowns with cheese on top. Amazing!
I have made this three times in one month and my family loves it ( even my pickiest eater ). Thank you !
Didn’t have whole milk…..used almond milk instead. Oh My Goodness. I was scared at first that it was going to be too eggy. It was absolutely delicious. I had to stop myself from eating the whole thing. Made a homemade blueberry syrup to go with it. I’m in heaven. Wonderful recipe!!!! Will definitely make again, and again and again.
Sounds delicious think I’ll try 😉
definatley want to try these
Sounds like a sweetened Yorkshire pudding to me. I’ve always made savory, but will surely try this out.
I have been making this for over 40 years. Raising my three daughters, this was always my go to for slumber parties. I now make it for my grandchildren. It’s really tasty if you add cinammon to the batter and make a warm cinammon syrup to pour over the pancake!
I used salted butter, so no need for the extra salt. I have made these in a cast iron pan, but sometimes I use a muffin tin to make individual servings.
MARIA…APRIL 18,2015 AT 2:30 PM
Dutch babies are one of my favorites pancakes and I make them quite often on Sundays. I like this recipe better than mine and it takes less time. :o)
I’ve never tried different fruit or spices – I will have to branch out!! And the muffin tins sound like a fun option too! We make the deutch babies just about every weekend in my family and have followed this recipie for over 30 years. Here’s our recipie:
Pre-heat oven to 425
Normal people – 2 eggs each, Big time fans – 3 eggs each
1/4 cup milk per egg (we usually use non fat and they come out great)
slightly less than 1/4 cup flour per egg
dash salt
Mix all above in bowl, it’s usually easiest if you mix the flour with some of the milk first so you don’t get lumps
In glass pie pans, melt 1 tbls. butter in each (in the microwave) and swirl around pie pan. Each person in our family gets their own pie pan.
Divide batter into pie pans (eye ball the ‘normal’ amounts and the ‘big time fan’ amounts)
I put the ‘big time fans’ in the oven first for about 3-4 minutes then the rest of the pie pans go in.
Bake 15-20 minutes till puffed up and turning a little brown on the puffed up part. (note – if you use too much flour they won’t puff up as much and you will have a denser pancake instead of a fluffy one).
Pull out and immediately douse with copious amounts of lemon juice (fresh is best) and sprinkle liberally with powdered sugar. We serve them right in the pie pans and just put lots of placemats (or kitchen towels) down to protect the table from heat.
They’re very good to put fresh, home-grown strawberries and whipped cream, on. Like a lighter version of Belgian waffles. Sauteed, thinly sliced apples, in just a tiny bit of sugar and cinnamon is our favorite for most of the year, until the fresh fruits of summer start coming on.
spoonsful not spoonfulls
Im at our house in the Catskills and decided to give this beautiful recipe a try. I was short a few ingredients and had to use Bobs whole grain pancake mix for the flour, and a dash of cinnamon in lieu of the vanilla. My cast iron pan was 12 ” so I added an extra egg, more milk and flour. no fresh fruit, just maple syrup! OMG it was simply amazing! It is so much better than pancakes, I don’t know if I will every make them again! Thank you so much!
I want to be able to print the recipes and that is not an option here
Made this for breakfast this morning. It was wonderful. I cut up strawberries and put a little sugar on them to bring out the juice while the pancake was baking. I had some store made fruit dip which I covered the slices with and then topped with the strawberries. It was wonderful, not low cal, but very good.
I started making these wonderful puffy pancakes in 1982 for my friends & family. I found this delicious recipe in a Seventeen magazine!
Dutch babies or as we call them “German pancakes” are our very favorite pancake on the weekends. I have lost track of how many I have prepared over the last 25 years. During the winter months I use canned peaches but as soon as fresh fruit arrives in the stores I use strawberries, blueberries, carmelized apples, peaches, etc. etc. They are the best breakfast ever!! I use a very simple recipe that I divide between two tin pie plates. I use a pan spray on the pans and only use the pans for these pancakes. Everybody that I have ever fixed these pancakes for are just amazed at how delicious they are. We use fresh lemon juice, powdered sugar, whipping cream,etc. You cannot go wrong when preparing them. Would love to share our simple recipe with you.
I would LOVE for you to share your home version of German Pancake ( with the lemon and powdered sugar)! Is there an advantage to using tin pie pans versus cast iron?…Is there more “loft”?! I always hope for the edges to climb and curve to a maximum…but it doesn’t always happen…alas!!
This was so yummy thank you!!
Love sharing a “German Pancake” and I make a berry compote or syrup on the stove before shoving the pancake in the oven. Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, peaches whatever I have and some berry jam or preserved. Let it bubble on top of the stove while the pancake puffs inside. When the pancake is ready slide onto a large plate and pour berry syrup on top – we poke it with a fork so the flavor seeps into the pancake. Blow on it until we can devour it. Yum
Do you sift the flour before you measure out the 1/2 cup of flour or scoop out 1/2 of flour normally? Tried the recipe this am for mother’s day-delicious.
It never hurts to sift, but since I usually don’t (out of laziness), I just lightly scooped it out, trying not to pack the flour down.
I’m going to try this in a dutch oven. Thanks so much for sharing!
This looked deliciousl so I thought to try it, my attempts don’t always turn out how the picture looks but this recipe did! it was easy to make, turned out fantastic and going to make it again with different variations of sweet or savory. thanks so much for the great pictures and easy to follow recipe. janine
Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe that fills our home with happiness!
Can you use gluten free flour?
As long as it’s one that’s intended to be substituted equally — I like Cup4Cup — it should be totally fine.
There is a restaurant here that serves it with whipped butter, lemon wedges aND powdered sugar on the side. I dump the butter on, spread it around, spoon powdered sugar, then squeeze the lemon over. Much better this way than with syrup. Crunchy, chewy, buttery, sweet, and lemony…darn, now I won’t be satisfied until I go out and have one. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
OMG — that sounds incredible! Thanks for sharing (and making me drool!)
The first time I enjoyed this was at “Grandma Sally’s Restaurant” in a Chicago suburb. After that, I searched to find just the right recipe and finally found something similar through the American Dairy Association. We almost always serve this with sauteed apples and butter. You can also put the apples in the pan first and pour the batter on top. Then flip it out to serve with the apples on top. Can’t wait to try this version! It sounds so delicious!!! Thanks for a new way to enjoy an old favorite!!
These look so good! Can I eat these everyday for breakfast?!
I had never had a Dutch Baby, but I used your recipe last evening. Oh, my! It was wonderful! Very easy, and I could see how it could be impressive! I just sprinkled with powdered sugar, as I had only watermelon as fruit. Thank you for sharing.
I’m so glad you loved it! It’s been one of our favorites for many years… 🙂
I made this with almond extract because I was out of vanilla. Served it with a raspberry compote. Sooooo good. A new favorite for sure.
Just made this absolutely fabulous may become a new Sunday tradition. It came up so light and fluffy I think I prefer them over traditional pancakes that can be a bit too heavy. I served it with streaky bacon and mashed up some blueberries in a ramican with a little sugar and baked it in the oven next to the bacon it couldn’t have been easier and made for a really delicious topping. Thank you for sharing this!
Very GOOD, and easy to make. My granddaughter always asked if “we” can make a Dutch baby for breakfast after sending the night. OF COURSE WE CAN!!!
Why, do you call this Dutch. We don’t serve our pancakes this way. Take for example our Poffertjes or our Pancakes with bacon and ” stroop”that’s real Dutch.
I have made this in a slightly different version: sauté thinly sliced apples in bottom of pan before adding batter! Then cook, and top with powdered sugar and berries!
Made a Dutch baby for the first time this morning using your recipe. Loved it!! I sprinkled it with a little 10x sugar, sliced peaches and maple syrup…so delicious!!! Thank you! One note, I baked mine for 13 minutes…probably should have taken it out of the oven after 10 minutes…the edges were a bit too well done. Nancy Weaver, Lititz PA