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A Dutch Baby is simply another name for a German pancake. But neither of those names really do this skillet pancake justice. It’s essentially ethereal loveliness that’s crisp on the outside, airy and puffy on the inside. You can smother it with butter and maple syrup or dust it with confectioners’ sugar and squeeze a lemon over it. When I was eight years old, it was about as big as my head. It was the coolest thing ever. Take note that this recipe makes two servings. And that may not be ample for your breakfast table. We’d never dream of suggesting you skimp and dish up paltry portions, not when everyone who’s tried this pancake is lauding and applauding it as the best Dutch baby recipe they’ve ever experienced. So instead, just double the ingredients and divvy the batter between a couple skillets. Crisis averted. Originally published February 17, 2012.–Renee Schettler
What makes a Dutch baby rise?
You might notice that Dutch baby pancakes don’t have any leavening in them yet they still manage to achieve lofty heights. Like a Yorkshire pudding, these billowy beauties rely on steam to accomplish maximum puff. Two things that will help you make your Dutch baby dreams come true—enough air in a well-developed batter and a blistering-hot pan and oven. The suggested rest time in this recipe isn’t just to give you times to get the kids out of bed. Resting the batter will let the batter develop gluten that helps to trap that all-important steam.
Dutch Baby
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 tablespoons (3/4 oz) butter, melted, plus more for the baking dish
- Butter, for the skillet
- Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
- Maple syrup, butter, lemon wedges, and fruit compote
Instructions
- In a blender, combine the milk, vanilla extract, and eggs, and blend on medium-high until everything is combined, about 15 seconds. Leave the mixture in the blender.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the blender and blend again, just until combined. Add the melted butter and keep blending until everything is pretty darn smooth, maybe 30 seconds.
- Pour the batter into a bowl, cover it tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 6 hours. (The key to a good Dutch Baby is making the batter the night before. It needs to rest in the fridge for at least 6 hours; otherwise, it will be too eggy. That’s good news for your Sunday morning, as you can simply bake your Dutch Baby while you’re making coffee.)
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Adjust oven rack to middle position.
- Butter a 10-inch ovenproof skillet, preferably cast-iron, and slide it in the preheating oven for about 5 minutes, until it gets pretty hot.
- When the skillet is properly heated, pull it out of the oven, pour in the batter, and slide it back in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes, then turn the skillet and bake for another 10 minutes or so, until the batter has risen high on the sides and a little bit in the center, and has turned golden brown right in the middle. You may want to watch it carefully, as the edges can get a little dark—that’s OK as far as we’re concerned, but if you prefer your pancake pale, you can always crimp a strip of aluminum foil around the edges.
- Pull the Dutch baby out of the oven and slide it right out of the skillet onto a plate. The pancake won’t stick to the skillet, although it will deflate as it cools down—there’s just no avoiding that.
- Fill a small sieve or strainer with confectioners’ sugar and shake it over the Dutch baby until the surface is thickly covered. Place the Dutch baby in the middle of the table with some little bowls of toppings: lemon wedges, fruit compote, pats of soft butter, maple syrup. You don’t need a knife and a cake lifter for this: just let everybody pull pieces off with their fingers. It will disappear FAST.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
Can there be an easier, tastier recipe for breakfast? I doubled this Dutch baby pancake recipe and was actually able to make three pancakes. My toddler ate one alone, then the other three girls and I shared the other two. We didn’t even bother eating them with any of the sides, as they were perfectly amazing on their own with the sugar over them. What I loved about them is that they were not too sweet, fast to make, and great to eat both hot and cold.
I’ve made several Dutch baby recipes over the past years and enjoy how a simple make-ahead batter can transform into a crowd-pleasing breakfast or brunch dish. Sometimes in the past I’ve been disappointed that the final product was a little thin and not as filling as I would have liked. This recipe is the solution to my past concerns. It manages to be substantial without being too eggy. I will definitely be making this again.
I’ve made a version of this in the past. It was good but eggy. This recipe calls for the batter to sit overnight and it really makes a difference—it isn’t eggy. This is a fun recipe for adults and kids alike. It is extremely easy to make, with no special ingredients, and it comes out of the oven all puffy and then deflates. My tasters loved this Dutch baby and we will definitely have it again. It could have served three, not two, people.
Delicious and dramatic! At first I thought it wasn’t going to work, because my Dutch baby didn’t rise in the middle right away, but I waited and in the end it puffed up very nicely. We ate it with powdered sugar and a squeeze of lemon.
This is a great Dutch baby pancake recipe, and it’s nice that you can make it ahead and just bake it in the morning. It’s flavorful, with a rich, eggy taste. The recipe says it serves two, but it easily serve two adults and two children. One could modify the recipe by cooking sliced apples, butter, cinnamon, and sugar until it caramelizes in the pan before adding the batter—that’s yummy, too.
This recipe is a miracle. My boys constantly request pancakes or waffles when they’re both home, but I really adore spending time with them on these days rather than being stuck in the kitchen. Voila! A batter that is made the day before and cooks up in no time, leaving me free to enjoy my morning.
I’ve been eyeing this Dutch baby recipe for quite some time, problem is I usually eat fruit and yogurt for breakfast and need a good excuse to make something like this for the morning meal. With the kids around for a holiday break, I decided it was the perfect excuse.
I made this recipe last night–my first attempt making a Dutch baby, and it was a smashing SUCCESS!! Thanks for sharing this recipe and for inspiring me to make it.
Our pleasure, Denise. Love that you captured the moment! But the thanks really ought to go to cookbook author Andrew Carmellini, who brought us this recipe…
That’s a beautiful baby you’ve got there! And just wait, Denise…you’ll want to make one every weekend! I’ll admit that I speak from personal experience.
It felt like such a fancy thing to make! I loved the experience of making this dish.
And, we hope, the experience of eating it! We’ll assume that’s the case. Look forward to seeing you back here again soon, Denise…
If I use convection bake, do I still have to turn the skillet after 15 minutes?
Thanks! And thanks for such a wonderful website!!
Hi Erica,
Usually with a convection oven , you don’t need to rotate your pans around in the oven. I would just keep an eye on it, watching through the door, to make sure that it is cooking evenly.
THANK YOU!!
Let us know how it goes!
I made this for Sunday breakfast and was so thrilled when it puffed up so gloriously in the oven. However, I noticed that it started deflating very quickly once out of the oven and wasn’t as light and airy as others had said it would be. In fact I felt the middle was too eggy still, bit like a thin frittata. Did I do something wrong? I followed the cooking times to the letter and the Dutch Baby was golden brown and all puffed up. Also I noted that this tastes best with a combination of maple syrup and lemon, with the lemon cutting through the sweetness of the syrup.
Hi there willeatanything….this is a batter that needs a good nap before baking. How long did you let it rest? I might let it rest a bit longer next time- that will help with the “egginess”
I let it rest in the fridge overnight. It wasn’t the egginess that bothered me as much as the dense-ish texture. I’ve never eaten a Dutch Baby before so I have nothing to compare it with!
Willeatanything, Dutch babies are, by definition, quite a lot denser than regular pancakes. In terms of texture and relative density, they fall somewhere in between standard pancakes and crepes. I’m very sorry to hear that this wasn’t quite what you’d expected, although I honestly think it has everything to do with the basic type of recipe and not this particular recipe, which turned out the lightest, airiest Dutch baby any of us have tried. Of course, it’s all relative…