I love weekend mornings. No chaos, no rush to get out the door. My daughter gets to watch tv, I get to drink a cup (or three) of coffee in peace. It’s frosty cold today, making it the perfect morning for the dutch baby. I only recently started making these, and I love them. Weekends used to mean pancakes at our house, which meant me standing in front of the stove for an hour, making a huge mess(that I have to clean up) and in the end, getting… pancakes. Frankly, I find pancakes a little dull. And if you have blood sugar issues like me, they make you cranky a half hour after you eat them.
The dutch baby is the perfect weekend brunch food. It is also sometimes called the German apple pancake. It is a pancake, and an omelet, and fruit all mixed together with cinnamon and sugar. I originally found this recipe here. Some recipes for the dutch baby have it puff up and then fall, making something almost like a crepe. This recipe fills the pan, and stays thick so you can serve it in a slice. It also reheats great, so you could make it the night before and bring it to brunch at a friend’s (reheat for 30 minutes at 325°).
ingredients
- 4 c. (about 3 medium) tart apples, like granny smith
- 1/4 c. lemon juice
- 4 tbl. sugar
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 4 tbl. butter
- 1/3 c. light brown sugar
- 3/4 c. unbleached flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 c. whole milk
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 5 eggs
Preheat oven to 400°. Peel, core and dice apples into small pieces, about 1/4″ thick. Put into a bowl and toss with the lemon juice. Set aside. Cut butter into small chunks and put into a medium size baking dish, about 8 x 8. You can also use a cast iron skillet or cake pan. Put the dish in the oven for the butter to melt. While the butter is melting, mix 3 tbl. of sugar with the cinnamon in a small bowl. When the butter has melted, sprinkle the brown sugar over the butter, put the apples on top, and sprinkle them with the cinnamon sugar. Put back into the oven until the apples are caramelized, about 5 minutes.
While the apples are in the oven, whisk the flour with the last tbl. of sugar and the salt. Whisk in the milk, being careful to whisk out any lumps, then add the vanilla, then the eggs, one at a time. Whisk briskly to thoroughly combine. Remove dish from oven and pour the flour mixture carefully on top. Bake for approximately 45 minutes until the sides start to brown.