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Dutch baby


ned

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I made a dutch baby for my boy one morning about six months ago. Since then, at his request, I've made many, many more. Finally the recipe feels just about right. Here's what I do.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In one bowl:

3 eggs

5/8 cup of milk

1/2 tablespoon of vanilla

In another bigger bowl:

5/8 cup of flour

a heavy 1/4 cup of sugar

generous pinch of salt

When this is assembled, start 3 tablespoons of butter browning in a small pot. Whisk the dry ingredients, then the wet ones, mix them together and when the butter is a nice caramel color, slowly pour it into the batter while whisking.

I've found that the right pan is essential. You want a pan that gets hot fast, not a heavy one. I don't have one of these (yet) but my guess is that those french black steel pans would be perfect. I use a 12 inch non-stick pan not for it's non-stick qualities but because it is aluminum and the walls have the same thickness throughout.

Melt more butter in the pan, another 2 tablespoons. Pour batter in the pan. Over medium high heat, cook until the edges of the batter congeal (what do you call this?). Put the pan in the oven. Cooking time should be about ten minutes.

The dutch baby is done when you see a light brown here and there and the edges have risen up the side of the pan and it has bubbled up in places as well.

The dutch baby is a much sweeter cousin of the Yorkshire pudding and a pancakey version of a popover.

Some people sift powdered sugar (thanks Therese) over the top of their dutch babies. The above recipe is pretty sweet as it is.

Edited by ned (log)

You shouldn't eat grouse and woodcock, venison, a quail and dove pate, abalone and oysters, caviar, calf sweetbreads, kidneys, liver, and ducks all during the same week with several cases of wine. That's a health tip.

Jim Harrison from "Off to the Side"

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HotDog! I've had this on my list of recipes to locate and you saved me the trouble. Muchas Gracias!

Eta: Have you ever baked apples into yours?

One of the local restaurants does that, tho the best I ever had was near the 405 exit in Marina Del Rey.

Edited by Kouign Aman (log)

"You dont know everything in the world! You just know how to read!" -an ah-hah! moment for 6-yr old Miss O.

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this used to be my kids' favorite sleep over breakfast...they would watch it rise into "hills and valleys" through the oven window. then we served it with whatever fruit was gorgeous, berries preferred, and a choking cloud of powdered sugar. my middle baby turned 20 yesterday, and is off at college...sniff. but spring break is upon us---i believe i will make an "auf lauf" for his weekend at home.! (auf lauf was the name given the version of dutch baby i used---the long-gone cookbook translated that as "very quick" or something similar, and the name is fun to say, so it stuck at our house!)

Edited by chezcherie (log)

"Laughter is brightest where food is best."

www.chezcherie.com

Author of The I Love Trader Joe's Cookbook ,The I Love Trader Joe's Party Cookbook and The I Love Trader Joe's Around the World Cookbook

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I've found that the right pan is essential.  You want a pan that gets hot fast, not a heavy one.  I don't have one of these (yet) but my guess is that those french black steel pans would be perfect.  I use a 12 inch non-stick pan not for it's non-stick qualities but because it is aluminum and the walls have the same thickness throughout.

Seems like you could use a cast iron pan that you'd pre-heated in the oven. It'd require being vewy vewy carewful, though...

(I've had one Dutch baby in my life: a babysitter made it for my sister and me. It was great; I was especially impressed by how it puffed up in the oven. But I haven't had one in probably twenty-five years. I'll have to change that soon: thanks!)

Edited by Andrew Fenton (log)
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I made them many, many years ago but shelved the recipe and forgot it for a couple of decades.

Then I read Diane Mott Davidson's mystery, "Killer Pancake" in which she included the recipe. (Along with several others, including the famous "What to do with all the egg yolks, Bread"

Since then I have made them periodically with great results. Topped with fruits, raspberries, blueberries, etc.

This one made with peaches, can also be made with other fruits - very ripe Comice pears, especially good.

The savory ones made to order, with asparagus and shaved ham were one of my favorite dishes at the brunch served at the Ritz-Carlton at Laguna Nigel, back in the mid 80s.

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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I've found that the right pan is essential.  You want a pan that gets hot fast, not a heavy one.  I don't have one of these (yet) but my guess is that those french black steel pans would be perfect.  I use a 12 inch non-stick pan not for it's non-stick qualities but because it is aluminum and the walls have the same thickness throughout.

An iron skillet works perfectly. This one was actually made by my children, and of course was much puffier right as it was taken from the oven:

gallery_11280_780_29515.jpg

The dutch baby is a much sweeter cousin of the Yorkshire pudding and a pancakey version of a popover.

Some people sift flour over the top of their dutch babies. The above recipe is pretty sweet as it is.

You meant to say that some peope sift powdered sugar over the top, right? We do (as you can see from the photo). This is the version from "Joy of Cooking" and it's sweet but not too sweet, and the powdered sugar is a nice touch.

Can you pee in the ocean?

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It occurs to me that the Dutch baby is really a cousin of the clafouti.  You could probably make a great cherry Dutch baby.  And cherry season is just around the corner...

I think that a clafouti rises because of whipped egg whites and (I may be exposing my ignorance about baking here) baking powder. My wife's dad and I have been making something he calls bubbelah but after a little research I find that it's more of a fruitless clafouti. I feel pretty excited about it but the wife prefers the dutch baby. Ahh the pleasures of cooking for family. They don't mince words.

You could use cast iron but you'd have to be on your game. I've used heavy copper lined with stainless steel and it didn't go over so well.

Edited by ned (log)

You shouldn't eat grouse and woodcock, venison, a quail and dove pate, abalone and oysters, caviar, calf sweetbreads, kidneys, liver, and ducks all during the same week with several cases of wine. That's a health tip.

Jim Harrison from "Off to the Side"

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Well-seasoned cast iron works nicely but it has to be hot, and the fat has to be hot before the batter goes in.

(Very similar to how cornbread is baked - if the fat is sizzling when the batter is poured into the pan, one gets the perfect crusty bottom surface.)

Even better for the Dutch baby is the single-handle cast iron wok made by Lodge.

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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I, too, use a rather battered aluminum skillet to bake them. My favorite topping is apples caramelized with brown sugar and a good splash of brandy, then sprinkle powdered sugar.

We used to make them mostly for Christmas breakfast hence the brandied apples.

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funny, i use either an emile henry clay casserole, or a cheap-ass glass oval baking dish...neither conduct nearly as much heat as the vessels described above. (is "conduct" the right word here...i am having an old-timer's moment, along with being scientifically challenged on my best day!) in any case, those both work wonderfully...and now i can't imagine why they do. i did melt the butter in them both while the oven preheated, so both the dish and the butter were nice and hot when the batter went in. hmm.....

"Laughter is brightest where food is best."

www.chezcherie.com

Author of The I Love Trader Joe's Cookbook ,The I Love Trader Joe's Party Cookbook and The I Love Trader Joe's Around the World Cookbook

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It occurs to me that the Dutch baby is really a cousin of the clafouti.  You could probably make a great cherry Dutch baby.  And cherry season is just around the corner...

I think that a clafouti rises because of whipped egg whites and (I may be exposing my ignorance about baking here) baking powder.

I don't think I've seen a clafouti recipe with whipped egg whites or baking powder, though I won't swear that there aren't any that call for those. Here's Julia Child's recipe. Not the same as a Dutch baby, but not too different either...

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I'd forgotten lemon juice with the powdered sugar, but thats how the no-apple ones were served.

Popover and yorkshire pud batter benefit from being mixed up the night before and sitting in the fridge overnight. Does the dutchpancake also?

"You dont know everything in the world! You just know how to read!" -an ah-hah! moment for 6-yr old Miss O.

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It occurs to me that the Dutch baby is really a cousin of the clafouti.  You could probably make a great cherry Dutch baby.  And cherry season is just around the corner...

I think that a clafouti rises because of whipped egg whites and (I may be exposing my ignorance about baking here) baking powder.

I don't think I've seen a clafouti recipe with whipped egg whites or baking powder, though I won't swear that there aren't any that call for those. Here's Julia Child's recipe. Not the same as a Dutch baby, but not too different either...

I ought to know better than to mouth off about clafoutis when I know little or nothing about them. After reading half a dozen recipes online, the only difference I can see is more liqud ingredient in the clafouti.

As an aside, if you take roughly the dutch baby recipe but whip the egg whites till they're stiff and use a little baking powder you'll get a giant puffy pancake that it also delicious but not puffy in the same way as a dutch baby.

Edited by ned (log)

You shouldn't eat grouse and woodcock, venison, a quail and dove pate, abalone and oysters, caviar, calf sweetbreads, kidneys, liver, and ducks all during the same week with several cases of wine. That's a health tip.

Jim Harrison from "Off to the Side"

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It occurs to me that the Dutch baby is really a cousin of the clafouti.  You could probably make a great cherry Dutch baby.  And cherry season is just around the corner...

I think that a clafouti rises because of whipped egg whites and (I may be exposing my ignorance about baking here) baking powder.

I don't think I've seen a clafouti recipe with whipped egg whites or baking powder, though I won't swear that there aren't any that call for those. Here's Julia Child's recipe. Not the same as a Dutch baby, but not too different either...

Clafouti belongs to a class of similar dishes. Two others I can think of are cajasse and flognarde. A typical recipe for the latter contains 40g flour, 60g sugar, 3 eggs, 125 ml milk, lemon peel and 60g of butter. It can either be plain or cooked with apples, pears, plums, grapes or raisins. Not that different to the Dutch Baby really.

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I just read the german pancake recipe in Joy of Cooking. It has no flour! 2T of cornstarch, sugar, liquid, eggs.

Dutchbaby recipes must be very forgiving. None of the recipes I've found give pan dimensions.

"You dont know everything in the world! You just know how to read!" -an ah-hah! moment for 6-yr old Miss O.

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I just read the german pancake recipe in Joy of Cooking. It has no flour! 2T of cornstarch, sugar, liquid, eggs.

Dutchbaby recipes must be very forgiving. None of the recipes I've found give pan dimensions.

The Joy of Cooking Dutch baby recipe (in the newest edition---I've got the two earlier versions but don't have the energy to climb up and get them down) specifies a 10-inch cast iron skillet. And now that I look at the recipe I realize that it doesn't call for any sugar at all, so that explains why I don't find it very sweet without the powdered sugar. Hmm, seems like the earlier versions might have had a bit of sugar. I'll check.

Can you pee in the ocean?

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My version is from the 70's and has no listing under Dutch baby, or anything I recognized as a synonym.

I made ned's recipe this morning in an 8" skillet. The edges were excellent. The center was a dense slightly sweet flan. Conclusion - skillet too small.

I might also like more milk, less egg in the mix.

"You dont know everything in the world! You just know how to read!" -an ah-hah! moment for 6-yr old Miss O.

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Last Sunday I was surprised to turn to the food bit in the Times Magazine and find a dutch baby staring at me. Amanda Hesser did a short piece on them.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/25/magazine...r=1&oref=slogin

You shouldn't eat grouse and woodcock, venison, a quail and dove pate, abalone and oysters, caviar, calf sweetbreads, kidneys, liver, and ducks all during the same week with several cases of wine. That's a health tip.

Jim Harrison from "Off to the Side"

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Yep -- that article in the Sunday Times, along with having seen this thread, actually inspired me to make the Times' recipe this morning -- it was GREAT! I reduced the butter from 4 Tbs to two, but it actually didn't even absorb all 2 Tbs... Added a little vanilla to the batter... So good, and husband loved it as well. I made it in a 12 inch cast iron skillet... And think I will make it again soon!

Emily

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I was inspired by this thread to make Dutch Babies this weekend. Both Saturday and Sunday in fact! I used the Joy of Cooking recipe which, in my version anyway, includes 1/4 cup sugar. I thought mine was an updated version but I'll have to check when I get home to be sure. The only difference between the recipe I used and the Times' recipe is the sugar and nutmeg (the Joy of Cooking recipe doesn't include it.) It was mighty tasty and will become part of our regular weekend breakfast rotation (although probably not both days :raz: )

Lauren

Practice Random Acts of Toasting

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I guess I have been making Dutch Babies for years not knowing it.

I do mine in a cast iron skillet. Preheat the skillet, naked...(skillet, not you), and when it's hot, take it out and put it on a high heat, put in the butter which takes about two seconds to melt, wait till it's done frothing, pour in batter, when the edges set pour your fruit over the top, stick back in oven and bake as normal.

The fruit sinks down, but as the bottom crust is already formed, it doesn't stick to the bottom.

I've always thought of them as berry-toads-in-a-hole and I guess I've called them that often enough that my kids call it "Berry Toad".

Yummy. I made some Sunday thanks to this thread. With blueberries, and lemon honey butter.

“Don't kid yourself, Jimmy. If a cow ever got the chance, he'd eat you and everyone you care about!”
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Are these sort of eggy tasting, and kind of dense? The recipe intrigues me, for sure, and the comparison to Yorkshire pudding and popovers furthers the intrigue, but I'm a little hesitant.

I had this only once, at a diner (sort of a mediocre place,to begin with) and it was a crusty, somewhat rubbery very thick omelety construct, with lots of pure egg veins running through it. I know this couldn't be right, but I'm curious, is it very richly eggy flavored and textured? I would love to make this, but I'm not a big fan of the flavor or texture of eggs...

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