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Dutch Baby Oven Pancake is a light, popover-like pancake that puffs up high in the oven and deflates upon cutting. Top with berries and fresh fruit for a perfect breakfast.
I don’t really need an excuse to make pancakes. All it takes is a weekend, some hungry kids, and some fresh fruit for inspiration. So whether it is National Blueberry Pancake Day (Jan. 28), or Shrove Tuesday/Fat Tuesday, when pancakes are traditionally eaten on the day before Lent begins, or just any weekend I please, it all seems like as good a reason as any to whip out my favorite puffy pancake and top it with some favorite fruit.
What is a Dutch Baby Pancake?
I made an oven pancake – called a Dutch Baby – which is a sweet popover-type breakfast treat that puffs up impossibly high and then falls after being removed from the oven. In this way, it’s a bit like a Yorkshire pudding, but the fat is butter not beef drippings, and it’s made as one large pancake not individual puffs. The “Dutch” in the name is sometimes said to refer to the German-American immigrants known as Pennsylvania Dutch (Dutch is a corruption of the German word deutsch). It is also sometimes called:
- German pancake
- Popover pancake
- David Eyre’s pancake
- Bismarck
- Dutch puff
- Hooligan
- Hootenanny
Sunset Magazine reports that Dutch Babies were introduced in the first half of the 1900s by Manca’s Cafe, a family restaurant in Seattle, Washington. Owner Victor Manca said the name was coined by one of his daughters, who corrupted the word deutsch. Manca’s also said it owned the trademark for Dutch Babies, in 1942.
How to make a Dutch Baby Oven Pancake
Gather your ingredients. For this recipe, you’ll need:
- Butter
- Eggs
- Milk
- Flour
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Ground nutmeg (can omit if you don’t have it)
- Salt
- Blueberries, blood oranges (or whatever fruit you like, see suggestions below)
- Maple syrup (not necessary, but lots of people like maple syrup on their pancake)
Melt the butter in an oven-worthy skillet in the oven, whirl the batter together in a blender, and pour into the buttery hot skillet.
As it bakes, it will puff WAAAY up! This is fun to watch through the window in your oven. Don’t open the oven to look at it or you’ll let the heat out and it will prematurely fall. (Do as I say and not as I do…I HAD to open the oven to take a photo and you don’t!)
Once you pull it out of the oven and slice it into pieces, it will fall a bit. This is normal and fine!
Top it with whatever collection of fruit you like and serve immediately out of the oven. In this case, I’m suggesting blueberries and blood oranges today, but use what you have and what you like.
How to top your Dutch Baby Oven Pancake
- Sliced bananas and strawberries
- Sliced fresh peaches (particularly in a summer when they’re in season!)
- Sliced or chopped apples and pears, lightly sauteed (especially in the fall/winter in their season)
- Chopped Pineapple and kiwi, with shredded coconut on top, for a tropical twist
- Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries — a berry medley (during fresh berry season!)
- It’s also traditional to eat it with lemon juice squeezed over, butter and powdered sugar. You could add some lemon zest to the batter and that would be great!
Perhaps I love these Dutch Baby Oven Pancakes so much because I am half Pennyslvania Dutch.
Or perhaps it’s just because they are that good.
Dutch Baby Oven Pancake is a light, popover-like pancake that puffs up high in the oven and deflates upon cutting. Top with berries and fresh fruit for a perfect breakfast.
Ingredients
- Pancake Ingredients
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup 1% milk
- 1 cup sifted all purpose flour (can use white whole wheat flour)
- 2 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teasoon kosher salt (Diamond Crystal brand)
- ..
- Finishing
- 1 1/2 cups Blueberries, rinsed and dried
- 2 blood oranges, peeled and diced
- Confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
- Maple syrup
Directions
- Heat oven to 475F (245 degrees C). Place a 12-inch ovenproof skillet (cast iron or other, as long as handle is safe in the oven at high temp) in oven and allow skillet to heat for 5 minutes. Add butter to skillet and allow butter to melt in hot skillet in oven.
- While butter is melting, add eggs, milk, flour, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg and salt to a blender. Whirl for 30 or so seconds until well blended. (Or you may add to a mixing bowl and whisk ingredients by hand instead of the blender if you prefer.)
- Check on butter in skillet in oven; it should be melted and foamy. If butter has browned slightly, that's OK!
- Grab a potholder (handle will be HOT) and remove skillet from oven, swirl butter to entirely coat bottom and sides of skillet, reduce oven heat to 425F (220 degrees C). Pour batter in the skillet and immediately return skillet to oven. Set timer for 20 minutes.
- Make berry topping: While pancake is baking, add blueberries and blood oranges to a bowl and stir gently to combine. Set aside.
- Bake pancake until puffed and lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Edges of pancake will rise high, followed minutes later by the center; it will be delightfully puffy! When done, remove from oven promptly and sprinkle with a bit of powdered sugar if you like.
- Pancake will deflate when you cut it. Cut into 4 portions and serve, topping with blueberry-orange mixture. Pass the maple syrup and additional confectioner’s sugar at the table, for those who like a sweeter breakfast. (I like the pancake as-is with fruit topping; my family prefers it sweeter.)
- Serves 4, or 2, depending on appetites.
Notes
Recipe source: Family heritage recipe adapted by Dorothy Reinhold | Shockingly Delicious
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This post was first published on Jan. 27, 2013 and has been updated and republished today.
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At ShockD, you’ll find scrumptious, tried & true, "scary good" recipes, tips and coaching to make YOU a fabulous home cook! Don't blame me if you need a 12-step program to wean yourself away!
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{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Can you believe I’ve never made a Dutch baby? This looks delicious!
Heather,
It’s a wonderful breakfast for 3!
Look at all that delicious fruit on that Dutch baby! We enjoyed this so much and it’s easier to make than I thought.
I don’t know why I’ve never made a Dutch baby! Yours is so gorgeous and sounds wonderful with the berries.
Karen,
Dutch Babies go well with toast. Enough said?
I’ve never made a Dutch Baby – it just seems too fragile for me to mess up. But I want one so I am going to try your recipe.
Lisa,
It is actually very easy! I have full confidence yours will be wonderful!
A fabulous recipe Dorothy that got me out of trouble the other weekend when I served it to house guests for a tasty weekend brunch dish! I also had some blood oranges and blueberries, so it was meant to be! Thanks so much for the seasonal inspiration. Made for group D and SRC! Karen
Karen,
You’re a peach, and so is your blog! What a great job you did highlighting this recipe, and I’m so glad it solved your “waht’s for breakfast?” problem.
I made this and felt so professional. It came out perfectly. Thanks. I enjoy your blog.
Stephanie,
That’s the beauty of a Dutch Baby! You feel so fancy and professional when you remove it from the oven. Thank you for the kind words.
Oh look how beautiful your Dutch Baby is, it looks perfect! I just recently learned about a Dutch Baby, I am excited to make one now:-) Your addition of blood oranges sounds gorgeous! Hugs, Terra
Terra,
Dutch Baby is my favorite kind of pancake…light and fluffy!
I love German pancakes. The neighbor’s recipe I have is loaded with sugar, so I’ll have to try your version.
Shelby,
Oh, they’re definitely delicious with lots of sugar, but once you remove most of it and top it with fruit, you’ll find you don’t miss it!
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