What I Made Wednesday {Dutch Baby Pancakes}

We've got a little restaurant near town called The Original Pancake House. It's one of those places that opens really early, but closes around 2:00 in the afternoon. Weird, huh? Well, not if you consider their menu primarily offers breakfast food items. I hear it's absolutely delicious, but I can't say for sure. Why you ask? Because we just can't get into this popular place. A few Saturdays ago we were in the area and had the great idea to finally try The Original Pancake House. As we approached the entrance the line to get into the place was out the door and inside it was standing room only. I was told the wait would be about 45 minutes. Did I mention this was at 1:00 in the afternoon?

Well, there's one thing you need to know about Super Hubby; he refuses to wait more than 15 minutes at any restaurant for a table. For him, it's a matter of principle because he said no restaurant food is worth the wait. This is partly my fault as my cooking has gotten to be exceptionally good over the past 15 years! Super Hubby did seem disappointed at the wait time and turned to me and said, "I really wanted to try this," as he showed me a photo of The Original Pancake House's Dutch Baby Pancakes. I took one look at the photo, looked at Super Hubby, and said, "I can make that!" We all headed home, my confidence a bit shaky but, hey, how hard can it be? I started researching the Internet on Dutch Baby Pancakes and came up with a combination of several recipes I found. What follows is my version of Dutch Baby Pancakes and, baby, it's incredible! Seriously, I need to stop having such success in the kitchen or I may never see another restaurant ever again!

What You'll Need
Cast iron pan (larger, about 11 inches)
4 - eggs
2 - Tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
Lemon
Powdered Sugar (optional)
Maple Syrup (optional)

What You'll Do
First, preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.

Melt the butter on low heat in the cast iron pan. Do not burn the butter!

Whisk together the eggs and milk, then add the flour.

I used an immersion blender to get out the lumps. If you have the patience and stamina, just continue whisking until smooth; the immersion blender is not necessary.

Pour the batter into the cast iron pan and place it in the center rack of a 425 degree F preheated oven. Bake for 25 minutes. It will rise high and become a fluffy thing of goodness.




What You'll Need to Know to Finish
When you take your thing of beauty out of the oven, the pancake will be very puffy. Unfortunately, it will naturally settle back down after a couple of seconds. Cut the pancake into wedges and sprinkle with lemon juice. Yeah, you heard me right, sprinkle with lemon juice. This will completely enhance the flavor of this German pancake, just trust me on this one. Then sprinkle with powdered sugar for some sweetness.

We went the non-traditional route and also used maple syrup to top our Dutch Baby Pancake, instead of butter. This recipe is so easy, so quick, and so good. I hope you try it and let me know how yours turns out!