Stirring it up:
For all of you who have been after me for the recipe I use to make German Pancakes, here it is. This is a simple recipe for one serving and can easily be increased depending on how many hungry folks are at the table.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 c. all purpose flour or sifted bread flour
- 1/4 c. milk (2% is just fine)
Yumm, German pancake for breakfast. - 1 egg
- 1 t. butter
- pinch of salt
- dash of cinnamon or nutmeg
This recipe is for one serving. Increase it by the number you are feeding. I have found that using a 10″ (25cm) round, pyrex pie dish and trebling the recipe makes 4 good servings.
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C)
Place the butter in the baking dish (size is dependent on the number you are feeding) and place it in the oven when the oven reaches 400°F (200°C). Leave it there while you proceed but be careful the butter does not burn.
Combine all the ingredients in a food process or blender and blend until just smooth. A wire whisk will do the job however the batter will not be as smooth.
When the butter has melted, remove the pan from the oven. Pour in the pancake batter and put the pan back into the oven. Be careful as the butter and the pan are extremely hot and the batter may make the butter splatter a bit.
Bake for 12-18 minutes depending on the size of your pancake. You want around the edges to be puffed up and the center to be just firm. I tend to use a lower temperature than similar recipes call for, I find the pancake stays thicker in the middle while still being puffy around the edge.
The pancake will start to deflate as soon as it comes out of the oven so serve it immediately.
Top each serving with fresh fruit, some powdered sugar, and sausage or two along side, and you have a very yummy breakfast. Oh, and if you have a sweet tooth, add some real maple syrup.
Tip: Sometimes I dice apples or peaches, cook them in some butter in a separate pan until they are soft and add them to the batter once it is poured into the hot buttered baking dish. Makes a nice change from a plain pancake.
Dishing it out:
These are also sometimes called Dutch Babies. ‘Dutch’ relates to the German-American immigrants who were known as the Pennsylvania Dutch— Dutch being of course a corruption of the word Deutsch which is German for, well, German! My great-grandmother, Ursula, came to the United States from Germany when she was a child and I can only imagine that she would have loved eating this wonderful eggy breakfast treat.
