Cooking Lesson #269: Dutch Baby Pancake

…from the California Kitchen

How you doin’? The first Sunset Magazine issue I bought featured a beautiful cover shot of a Dutch Boy Pancake. It was amazing. I looked at the picture for quite a while before I decided to read the directions. That too was amazing—something so beautiful, with so few ingredients and so easy to make. Just dump all the ingredients into a blender, give it a good whirl, pour it into a heated skillet sizzling with butter and pop it into the oven. Twenty-five minutes later—it’s ready to eat! This large, fluffy pancake is excellent to serve for breakfast, brunch, lunch and dessert… any time of the day and any time of the year.
 
Pannenkoeken—better known as (and easier to pronounce) Dutch Pancakes are a Dutch delight. Dutch pancakes can be described as a type of pancake that originated in the Netherlands (some claim Germany). It is a “pancake” that is made from a batter that is baked (not griddled like hotcakes) in a very hot oven. As it bakes the batter puffs up and climbs up the sides of the pan like a Yorkshire pudding or a popover. The recipe doesn't contain any leavening—just the milk and eggs create steam that causes the Dutch Baby to rise and puff.
 
My Dutch Baby Pancake recipe calls for using a blender to mix the ingredients. That  assures the batter will be thoroughly blended. The maximum puff of the pancake is ephemeral (lasting for a very short time) and it begins to deflate seconds after it's out of the oven. Be sure to call over everyone you're dining with to the oven so they can get the full effect of the grandeur that is a Dutch Baby Pancake… or you could just snap a picture!
 
Prep time:  10 minutes
Bake time:  20 to 25 minutes
Yield:  2 servings
 
Ingredients
3 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole milk, room temperature
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
1-1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg or cinnamon
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
Garnishes:  I prefer freshly-squeezed lemon juice and a heavy sifting of confectioners' sugar or you can use cinnamon sugar, maple syrup, fruit preserves or you can just fill it up with scrambled eggs.

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 475⁰ F.
2. Place a heavy 10-inch skillet in the oven to heat up about 15 minutes before you start to bake the pancake.
3. Combine eggs, flour, milk, vanilla extract, sugar and nutmeg in a blender jar and blend until smooth.
4. Place butter in the skillet or baking dish and turn down the temperature to 425⁰F.  
5. As soon as the butter has melted (watch it so it does not burn) add the batter to the pan, and bake for 20 minutes, until the pancake is puffed and golden.
6. Lower oven temperature to 300⁰ F and bake five minutes longer to make sure it is cooked through.
7. Remove pancake from oven, cut into wedges and serve at once topped with the topping of your choice.

ChefSecret:  In most of my recipes I add the vanilla extract toward the end of the cooking process so as not to destroy the volatile oils present in the vanilla. Many flavors extracts are extracted using alcohol and the flavor will just go up the exhaust vent. In this case I doubled the amount of vanilla, so it is still there to taste. You can also sparingly use almond or orange extract to your taste—it’s up to you.

Covid-19 Quip of the Day:  “The pandemic has put us all together in close quarters with others and sometimes you feel you need to say, I love you no matter what you do, but do you have to do so much of it?”
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