It's Dutch, Baby!

According to Wikipedia:  Dutch babies were introduced in the first half of the 1900s at Manca's Cafe, a family-run restaurant in Seattle owned by Victor Manca and are similar to Yorkshire pudding and derived from the German Apfelpfannkuchen.  What I know about them is that I spent my youth craving them and would go to the Original House of Pancakes, also known as Walker Bros., in Wilmette and dole out vast fortunes to purchase one.  Times have changed.

Mostly because I found a way to reproduce them in my own home for far, far, far less then Walker Bros. AND I can make them in huge quantities.  So, I had to make dinner, I just got the kitchenaid mixer with a shiny steel whisk and I got to thinking.....

YES!  "Hey Max, how about we have a breakfast for dinner night?"  

"MMo-Kaye."  That was all the permission I needed.  These things are so easy to make and you probably have everything in your fridge and pantry right now. 

So here we go....

First, get a large glass baking dish and put it in the cold oven.  Let it and the oven heat up together to 450 degrees.  Now to the batter...

This is a double recipe so we start with 6, count them, 6 eggs.  Look, that is the mixer I just got!  Sorry.

1.5 cups of flour

1.5 cups of milk

1 teaspoon of Vanilla

There is everything in the mixer.  Then you whip it up till it is well mixed and there is foam on the top.

Now you want to take 3 tablespoons of butter, NOT margarine!, butter and place it in your hot baking dish that is in the oven. 

Not margarine!

See, kinda melty like.

Let it sit in the oven for a minute and then take it out and swirl the butter to cover the dish.  Did I mention that I love butter?

Now, you take that foamy batter, which is very thin, and you pour it into the dish with the butter.  Put the whole she-bang back in the oven and bake it for 15 minutes.  When the 15 minutes is up it should look something like this.

But it is not quite done.  You have to turn the oven down to 350 degrees and cook it for about another 10 minutes.  Keep your eye on it though, you don't want our baby to burn!  When it is done, you will know it.

Look at the golden crunchy, chewy edges.  Can you tell that I like the edges?

These Babies are generally served with lemon wedges and powdered sugar.  In my house we use lemon juice, since I never have lemons around, and whatever fruit we happened to have.  Bananas and nectarines is a great combination.  You can also use jam, peanut butter, frosting, or just about anything you can think of.  Once I had some leftover and the next day I wrapped a cold piece of steak up in it and that was awesome.

Now, you feed it to the kid and he gets all crazy because it is breakfast for dinner night.  Then you torture the dog with it.

MMMM, doesn't that look good?  Stay.  Stay.

What a good dog you are Moo!

Holy!

OK, don't torture the dog with the baby.  Wait, that came out wrong.

Please always remember and don't ever forget:

“I remember when I was a kid I used to come home from Sunday School and my mother would get drunk and try to make pancakes”

George Carlin

Dutch Baby Pancake    Printable Recipe

makes one pancake

To make a single you will use an oven safe high walled fry pan.  I have cast iron that I use.  It is an 8" pan and works really well.

3 eggs

3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup milk

pinch of salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

splash of lemon juice (fresh or from those little plastic lemons is OK too)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Put everything in a bowl and whisk it till it is frothy.  Put your pan on the stove and melt the butter over medium heat.  Careful not to burn it.  When the butter is melted, pour in the batter and put it in the oven for 15 minutes.  Then turn the oven to 350 degrees and cook for another 10 minutes but remember to watch it.

To make the Super baby that I made in this post, double the recipe and use a large (9x13 or larger) baking dish.

FYI:

These cost almost nothing to make at home, at Walker Bros. they charge the following....and this is directly off their menu.

GERMAN PANCAKE (This is the giant one that they serve)

A thin and delicate, plate-filling

oven-baked pancake dusted with

powdered sugar and served with

lemon on the side. Our lightest

pancake treat! 10.50 Please

allow 20 minutes

THE DUTCH BABY

A smaller version of the German

Pancake with all the tradition,

perfectly sized for smaller

appetites. 7.75

With fresh strawberries & bananas

2.95 additional