The end of the winter holiday season when we all go back to our daily routine can be a bit of a letdown. Foodwise, maybe you’re grateful the seemingly unending feast of holiday gatherings has finally come to a conclusion. But if you’re one of those people who likes a little drama and flair and don’t want to replace deliciousness for something punitive in the name purely of health, may I introduce you to the Dutch baby?
Sometimes called a German pancake or a bismarck, it is baked in the oven rather than cooked on the stovetop. It's made of a simple batter of eggs, flour, milk and a bit of sugar, much like pancake batter that is beaten (or blitzed in a blender) until very smooth. Then it’s poured in an oven-safe pan like cast iron or a pie pan, and set in a hot oven. The heat does the magic trick of lifting the batter into a lovely puffy dish suitable for breakfast or dinner. It is similar to Yorkshire pudding. Main differences are that the fat used in Yorkshire puddings is usually beef drippings or oil, and they are usually served alongside a meaty meal. They are savory, while Dutch babies are baked in butter and are mostly sweet, although I have a savory version for you too.
Important to the Dutch baby experience is that everyone should be at the table when it comes out of the oven to appreciate the drama of the puff. It will deflate pretty quickly.
I love to eat the breakfast variety with a sprinkle of regular or powdered sugar and a squeeze of lemon. But they are also good topped with sauteed sugared apples or berries.
Savory cheese Dutch baby. Credit: Shutterstock.
For those of you who like ratios, for each egg, use a third of a cup of flour and a third of a cup of milk. However, if you prefer to follow a recipe, the one from the New York Times Cooking archive has a five-star rating with over 14,000 reviews and 1,400 community notes. Those are where you can read all the hacks and variations people have done.
Melissa Clark has a Savory Dutch Baby recipe that adds parmesan or gruyère and herbs to the batter. Here’s a video of her making it.
All Dutch baby recipes are very similar. The key is to have the oven preheated to 425°. Most recipes have you melt butter in the pan by placing the pan in the oven, but you can just as easily heat the pan on top of the stove to melt the butter. That’s the other key. You must pour the batter into a hot greased pan and put it immediately into the hot oven to get the characteristic puff. I have a 10” cast iron pan that is the perfect size for two people or me alone if I’m a glutton. But I’ve used pie pans and small cake tins for individual servings.