Dutch Babies For Breakfast!

I made Dutch babies for breakfast over the weekend, after reading about them in a food blog! They are soooo easy to make and I wonder why it took me so long to learn about these German pancakes, or Bismarcks. (Wiki explains why these pancakes are called Dutch babies.)

Unlike the classic pancakes which have to be cooked over the stove, the batter for the German pancakes are poured into an oven-proof skillet and baked in the oven, till they rise, all golden and puffy.  The one in the photo above looks flat, having deflated after being taken out of the oven.

Dutch Babies
(Recipe from here)

Makes 2 large pancakes, 4-6 servings each

4 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

Lemon wedges
Powdered sugar
Berries
Pure maple syrup

Preheat oven to 425° F.

Whisk eggs, milk, flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl, or whiz in a blender. Let stand for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Divide butter between two 9 or 10-inch cast iron skillets, glass baking dishes, or one larger rectangular roasting pan. Place in oven until butter melts. Remove pans, swirling butter to coat sides. Divide batter between pans. Bake on lowest rack until golden brown, set on center rack and allow to bake until sides rise high above the sides of the pans, 12-15 minutes. (The skillets have to be very hot for the batter to rise properly.)

Slice pancake into wedges and serve with dusting of sugar, berries and a squirt of lemon juice, or just some good maple syrup.

We ate ours with icing sugar and some lemon juice, accompanied by coffee and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice.  Scrumptious.  I like that the batter, made using basic ingredients, is very easy to whip up.  And because it cooks in the oven, I don’t have to wipe the stove afterwards. 🙂

^ An iPhone photo of the Dutch babies rising in the oven.