Dutch baby fresh from the oven |
Oregon has a lot of pie houses and pancake houses. Near my college in Portland there was an Original Pancake House that had hour-long waits on the weekends. One of the items they were known for was their Dutch Babies. Thing is, DBs take at least 20 minutes to bake, so if you ordered them, you had to be patient. You were then rewarded with this glorious pancake puff.
I soon learned to make them myself. They only have 3 real ingredients. I like to eat them with a lot of powdered sugar and fresh-squeezed lemon juice on them. So they are a great Sunday breakfast to have with my crazy lemon tree in season. The size here is good for two people. If you have a large enough pan/pot, you can increase by an egg and 1/4 c of each item at a time.
2 T. butter
4 eggs
1 c. milk
1 c. flour
The butter is just to grease your pan. You need a souffle or stoneware bowl for a good baby to climb up the sides. But I've read that some people use a cast iron skillet and I've used my stoneware square pan, like I did for this one. Again, the higher the sides, the more dramatic the climb of your baby. Anyway, heat your oven to 425 degrees and put your pan in with the butter as it heats. The butter will melt in your pan.
Meanwhile, beat the eggs in a medium mixing bowl. Beat in the milk, and then beat in the flour. When your oven, pan, and butter are hot, open the oven and quickly rotate your pan so that the butter is evenly melted around the bottom and a bit up the sides. Immediately pour your batter into the hot pan and close the oven.
Dutch baby, add lemon juice and powdered sugar |
Let the baby cook for about 15 minutes. It's a kind of souffle, so don't open the door! You'll see it start to climb the sides. After about 15 minutes you can turn the heat down to about 365 to finish it off. The full cooking time is only going to be about 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve right away. Dust heavily with powdered sugar and then use the topping of your choice. Some people like jam or syrup, but I just like the lemon juice. Enjoy!