Baked German Pancake

2-3 servings

This is one of Moogie’s recipes. I have done this in a food processor but I usually make by hand. When using the food processor, I put all ingredients in at once, then pulse until bubbles form. The secret either way is not to overbeat; stop as soon as big bubbles form on the surface. I also think it is important to have pan hot with melted butter and oven heated to 450 degrees F when the batter is ready so batter can go directly into the oven. In recent years I have switched from eggs to "egg product" with great success.


Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Assemble ingredients:

3 eggs [or 3/4 c "egg product"]
½ c flour
½ t salt [I omit]
½ c milk
2 T butter, melted [I omit]
2 T butter [I usually use less - just enough to coat bottom and sides of pan]

Using a wire whisk, beat eggs until blended. Sift flour, measure, sift again with salt. [I never bother to sift the flour....could that be why my pancakes occasionally don't rise as high as I would like? Usually I get spectacular results with unsifted flour.] Add flour mix to beaten eggs, in 4 additions whisking just until mix is smooth. Add milk in two additions, beating slightly after each. Lightly beat in melted butter. [I omit the melted butter and don't bother with "additions" sequence.]

Butter sides and bottom of 9” heavy [cast iron] skillet. [I put skillet in oven to warm and melt butter; trick here is to heat skillet first, then add butter and leave in oven long enough so butter all melts but not so long butter burns. After removing skillet from the oven, tilt so botton and sides are evenly coated with the butter.]

Pour batter into [hot] skillet and bake for 20 minutes at 450 degrees F

Serve immediately.

Although Moogie notes in her recipe: “It is traditionally served with melted butter, a squeeze of lemon and a dusting of powdered sugar” I have only known Moogie to serve it with warm maple syrup.

3 - 4 SERVINGS

Use a 9 1/2 x 13 1/2 pan and adjust quantities as follows:

1 1/8 c "egg product"
3/4 c flour
3/4 c milk
2 T butter (melt and evenly spread over pan bottom and sides before adding batter)



VARIATION:

One of Alexandra's friends introduced us to "Dutch Bunny".  The method is the same but Dutch Bunny is made with 1 whole egg, 3 egg whites, 1 cup each of flour and milk and 4 T butter.


April 2013: In The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, Deb Perelman writes (page 11): "If you don't have a Dutch-baby pancake in your breakfast repertoire, I simply cannot let you get any farther into this book without one."  Her egg:flour:milk ratios are about the same as mine but she makes a 2 egg/1/3 c each of flour and milk size to which she adds:

1 T dark brown sugar
1 t unsulfured molasses
1/4 t ground cinnamon
1/8 t ground ginger
Pinch of ground cloves
1/8 t ground/freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 t salt

I made this recently adding the spices, increasing all by 1/3 but omitting the brown sugar and salt. An interesting variation!


NEW 2016: Egg White Puffed Pancake - another cholesterol free option.

Reviewed 5/11/17