Musical pairing – Easy by Commodores
Twitter is full of comments about life being crazy busy right now and I must confess, I find myself in the same boat. Where are the lazy days of summer that songwriters wax poetic about ‘cuz they sure ain’t hangin’ around here – we are running from one forest fire to the next! Who has time to make a proper breakfast?
We do and so do you – and I’m not talking about a bowl of cold cereal or peanut butter toast, although those are just fine. But sometimes I want to treat myself and The Professor to something a bit more special and turns out this Dutch Baby is perfect – whisk a few ingredients together, pour into a hot pie plate and 20 minutes later and you have one big glorious pancake!
Did you know that I’ve read about Dutch Babies for years but until a couple of months ago, had never made one? And did you know that the Dutch Baby originated in Seattle (where I was born!) And did you know that one restaurant held the patent on the name, ‘Dutch Baby’ until the mid-1950s when the restaurant closed? Manca’s Cafe was open from the early 1900s to the mid-1950s where the Dutch baby was served for .90 cents – add a side of bacon for a total of $1.00.
Dutch Babies find their way onto the breakfast table at least once a week here at Smith Bites, as is evident by the pictures in this post (blueberry one week, mixed berries another). But please don’t wait as long as I did to make a Dutch Baby or you will miss out on one of breakfast’s treasures; no requirement to watch a griddle or flip little cakes – the oven does all the work while you get all the breakfast glory! And if you’re looking for a special Sunday morning or brunch recipe – this one’s pretty easy – grab a cup of coffee, the crossword and enjoy!
BERRY DUTCH BABY
Slightly Adapted from Food & Wine.com
INGREDIENTS:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2-3 Tablespoons sugar, depending on the sweetness of fruit
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Pinch of nutmeg OR cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup milk
1-1/2 cups fresh berries (I used a mix of raspberries, blackberries, blueberries)**
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
METHOD:
1. Preheat the oven to 425° and melt butter in a 10-inch glass pie plate or cast-iron skillet in the oven. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs with the finely grated lemon zest, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg OR cinnamon and salt until combined. Add the flour and milk and whisk until smooth. Fold in berries and pour into hot dish (or skillet if using) and bake 20-25 minutes until puffed and the edges are crisp.
2. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar, cut into wedges and serve immediately – the Dutch Baby will fall immediately out of the oven so don’t be alarmed!
**SMITH BITES NOTE: Feel free to use any mix of fresh berries in season; or in the Fall, chunks of caramelized apples or pears also work well – and in the dead of winter when I need a little ‘happy,’ I’ll be using frozen blueberries!
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This shows how much I know – I didn’t even know a dutch baby was a food product. Then, I thought maybe those were black olives in the picture. But now that I get it, that looks like a great recipe. Any time a recipe comes with a little history, that’s even better!
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Wow, I thought this was a galette at first. Looks absolutely delicious! I have a ton of family coming next week for my niece’s wedding this will be perfect for feeding a crowd in the am.
Love it!
Just scrumptious!
Agreed – where did the lazy summer go?! We’re goin’ at light speed over here… hardly have time to catch our breaths!!! But we hope to be back on schedule soon.
Happy week!
[K]
P.S. Thanks for the RTs today to help us spread the glee! 😉
I’ve never heard of a Dutch baby before…but I want to try one now! These look like little tasty desserts and lovely for breakfast. I’m gonna look into making these.
I have no idea what a dutch baby is, but I want one…..or maybe two….it looks wonderful!!
This is gorgeous. Looks like something my dad might like…
Oh, yum! Love the dutch babies–although I call them German Pancakes, like a few other people have mentioned in comments…I don’t add fruit to mine though–maybe that’s what makes them German instead of Dutch! I had no idea that they originated here in Seattle.
I’ve actually got a blog post somewhere back in my archives about my German Pancake recipe. I love them because they are ridiculously easy but so impressive and delicious. They are my go-to company breakfast.
I’ve never tried making them in a glass pie-plate, only in a cast-iron skillet. Does the pie-plate work just as well?
Just made one this morning with cherries Bunky – might be my favorite yet! I hope you get to make one before end of summer – fabulous!
I wish I had the time to make one of these beautiful breakfast pancakes! My last post was all about the whole life being crazy thing…I guess we are all really busy these days. When I do find the time, I will have to make a Dutch Baby while all the berries are still in season.
Yep, it’s also called a German pancake, Barb so grandma was on to something! And it’s ok to keep calling it a German pancake even with the berries!
I’ve always called this a German pancake and have been making a version for many years using my grandmother’s recipe which calls for baking the dish by itself and serving with a topping of cooked apples, sugar and cinnamon.
I love the idea of the fresh berries; I may still want to call it a German pancake out of respect for Grandma…but I’m sure she would enjoy this new twist as much as I will. Soon. This morning.
No need for embarrassment Monet ~ took me YEARS to make the recipe! And I can’t wait for our apples and pears to ripen – oh my!
I am embarrassed to say that I have never heard of these before…but once again, I’m so glad that I found your blog because I am now being introduced to an amazing breakfast treat. I am anxious to give this a try, especially with those caramelized apples!
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Brian ~ These are sooooo easy to make – and you don’t even have to fillet it! ;p
I did not know any of that information regarding the Dutch baby. This is one of those things I’ve had out to eat but have never cooked myself. That might need to change.
Maria ~ fresh, in season blueberries are the best but frozen do well too!
I want this right now! I love the blueberries in there!