Caramelized Apple Dutch Baby

I swear we are not going to eat babies, Dutch or otherwise, although I suppose with me we can never be too sure, haha.

Dutch Babies are also called German Pancakes and they are somewhere between a crepe and a pancake. They really are something in a league of their own, they are fluffy and crispy and DELICIOUS.

They got their name when an American restaurateur used the word Dutch instead of Deustch (‘German’ in German). The ‘baby’ part came from the restaurant making miniature versions.

Closely related to popovers and yorkshire puddings, Dutch Babies lend themselves to both sweet and savory preparations and can be served for any meal of the day.

With a little patience and the right equipment this version of the breakfast standout comes together quickly and is impressive when it comes out of the oven. You will want a 10-12 inch cast iron skillet and a blender for this recipe. You could substitute a 8x8 cake pan and hand mixing, but the finished product will not be the same.

Remember to make the batter 30 minutes before you want to eat. I find that if I make the batter before I start slicing apples, it all works out perfectly.

Caramelized apple Dutch Baby

For the Batter:

¾ cup all purpose or pastry flour (I expect you could use GF flour, but I have not tried it)

3 tbsp coconut sugar

½ tsp salt

1 cup milk

5 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

For the Apples:

1-3 apples (depending on size, you want at least 1 cup of apples) sliced thin, I leave the peel on.

2 tbsp coconut sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

¼-½ tsp black pepper

¼ tsp cloves

¼ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp ginger (can omit if it causes acid)

¼ tsp green cardamom

¼ cup ghee

Add all batter ingredients to the carafe of a blender and blend well for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Let batter sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

put your cast iron skillet into the oven and heat it to 375. While the oven and pan are heating, Slice the apples and then toss them with the coconut sugar and spices in an appropriately sized bowl. Once the oven has come to temp, remove the pan from the oven, add the ghee and stir to melt thoroughly. Next add the spiced apples and whatever spices and sugar that remain in the bowl. Stir the apples, spices, and ghee well and then put the pan back into the oven. Let cook for 10 minutes or so, stirring occasionally.

Once your apples have softened, remove the pan from the oven and pour the batter (I like to give it another whirl in the blender before) into the pan, covering the apples. WITHOUT STIRRING, put the pan back into the oven and cook for 20-30 minutes until the center is set and the edges are brown. It may puff up wildly, it may not. Any puffing will deflate when you take it out of the oven.

Let cool slightly, and then slice into wedges to serve. You may find it doesn’t need anything, but others may find they want a little maple syrup.

NOTE: You could use 2 ½ tsp of a premixed pumpkin pie spice instead of the separate spices. It makes the whole process that much faster.