I love carbs for breakfast and one of my favorite Sunday breakfast treats is a Dutch baby. The Dutch baby is essentially a large popover baked in a cast iron skillet and was introduced in the early 1900s in a family-owned restaurant in Seattle, called Manca’s Café.
The Dutch baby is also called a German pancake or a Dutch puff. It is rumored that “Dutch” came from one of the Manca’s Cafe owner’s daughters mispronouncing Deutsch, so instead of a Deutsch or German pancake, it became a Dutch pancake.
That’s the history. Now for the good part–how to make it!
DUTCH BABY
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup milk
- 3 eggs
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- a shake or two of nutmeg (or cinnamon)
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup butter (4 tablespoons)
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
Combine everything except for the butter in blender and blend until smooth. (I use a bowl and a whisk because I hate to clean the blender).
Put the butter in 9 or 10 inch cast iron skillet and put it into the oven. As soon as the butter is melted remove the hot skillet from the oven and pour the batter onto the melted butter. (So satisfying to hear that sizzle.)
Bake for 20 minutes. The batter will puff into odd shapes which is a lot of fun for kids to watch through the oven window.
We cut our Dutch baby into four pieces and serve it with berries, warm maple syrup, and sometimes whipped cream. Any syrup or jam will do, and it’s fun to experiment.
I hope you try this out. It’s super easy and super yummy.
Cheers!
Jeannie
Jeannie Watt raises cattle in Montana and loves all things western. When she's not writing, Jeannie enjoys sewing, making mosaic mirrors, riding her horses and buying hay. Lots and lots of hay.
It does sound yummy. Thanks
It is! 🙂
I’ve heard of it, but I’ve never made it. Your recipe sounds so easy. I’ll have to try it.
An easy way to help clean the blender–my mom taught me this:
Hot water and a few drops of dish soap, lid on, and put the blender cup on the base and whir for a bit. ~30-60 seconds ought to be enough. It loosens and cleans enough and does most of the work. You’ll find it much easier to get it the rest of the way clean.
Thank you, Denise! I’ll give this a go.
You’re welcome!
I love this tip, Denise!!! I make smoothies alot, and like Jeannie, I don’t like cleaning my Nutri-Bullet, either. I will definitely try this.
This is why I love P&P–so much knowledge to share!
You’re welcome!
I taught my boys to do it this way.
Hello- We have a restaurant in Liberal Kansas that features this as their signature dish, I have never tried it, but maybe I will. Thank you for this history and recipe. Have a great last day of March and here’s to a happy April.
Thank you, Tonya~
Oh yummy, thank you for the wonderful recipe!! I love cooking in my cast iron pans, my aunt taught me as a young girl and I still use today. I’ll definitely be trying out your delicious recipe but I like mine for supper.
Cooking with cast iron is the best. My son refuses to cook with anything else. Enjoy!
Oh, this sounds good!! I’ll definitely have to try it!!
You will not regret it. 🙂
I adore these! When I was little, my best friend’s mom would make them for us nearly every time we had a sleepover at her house. She calls them oven popovers but the recipe is exactly the same. She gave me the recipe when we went off to college. Now I enjoy making them for my kids.
That’s wonderful, Christy. You’re lucky. I discovered Dutch babies late in life.
I used to get this, years ago, at a little pancake restaurant. It was served with baked apple slices in it, and topped with powdered sugar and hot syrup. Good memories! Thanks for the recipe!!!
You’re welcome, Nanci!
Jeannie, I want to try this! I don’t have a cast iron skillet, though. Can I put it in a baking dish instead?
It needs to be something that gets very hot before you put the batter in. Honestly, I don’t know. 🙁 If you try it with a baking dish, let me know if it works.
We often have “Dutch Babies” with apple slices cooked in a frying pan (melt butter, add apple slices, stir a bit, add brown or white sugar and stir, cover and steam five min.) or a cranberry and apple mixture. Summertime fresh fruit slices work too. Usually I use my 10” cast iron but I have used an enamel on steel 10” casserole pan. Jeannie, I’m with you….I use a bowl and whisk, much easier to clean.
I’ve heard of this but never tried it. I think it would be interesting and different to make, sounds good!
It’s so good, Connie Lee.
this looks and sounds so good. thanks for sharing the recipe and little bit of history
You’re welcome, Lori!
Sounds yummy. Kind of reminds me of Indian Fry Bread.
Another great love of mine!
I have looked at these for years and never gotten around to trying them. They are so easy, it really makes no sense not to give them a try. The recipe sounds a bit like popovers, but the cooking (deep muffin like tins) and style of eating is different. Either way, I will definitely be making them next time we have a family brunch.
Yes, they are just like popovers in a different form. I love popovers, too.
Sounds so Yummy and I love cooking in castiron!
Me, too, Sarah!
We’re on WW, but this really does not sound all that fattening, especially if you cut the butter down to 3 or even 2 TBSPs! I don’t know how well that would work, lol, but it might work! I can eat a regular pancake with very little jam on it, smeared thinly. So, I really want to try this. Sounds too good not to give it a whirl! Thanks, Jeannie!
Hi Lana–I calculated the calories. The entire Dutch baby is 990 calories (flour–228; milk–73; butter–407; sugar–48; 3 large eggs–234) without toppings. So, that would be approximately 250 calories per serving if the Dutch baby is cut into fourths. Hope this helps.
Sounds fabulous. Thank you so much for sharing. God bless you.
Thank you, Debbie!