German Pancake
I love this German Pancake! It’s so easy to make, it’s impressive to look at, and most important, it’s really tasty! Just a few ingredients that you probably have in your kitchen right now, a little time, and you have yourself a delicious breakfast or brunch item!
That’s why I included this in my Cupboard Cooking Cookbook.
I like the pancake simply with the powdered sugar, however, you can also serve it with apple slices, strawberry slices, raspberry puree, or blueberries. Or, serve it with a little maple syrup if you like.
Looking into the oven as the pancake puffs, see how high above the cast iron skillet this one rose!
It’s also a really fun thing to make with kids, or childish adults, because it puffs so high in the oven, and then rapidly deflates after you take it out of the oven. Each one is different and fun too! Sometimes they rise more or less. But, it’s always a show. We’re working on some video that we shot of one in the oven; I’ll try to add that as soon as we get it all finalized.
German Pancake Recipe
German Pancake
Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup milk*
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons butter
- Powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Place rack on the lowest shelf as the pancake will rise quite a bit. Whisk together eggs, milk, flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.
- Place butter in a 10-12 inch cast iron skillet, and place pan in the oven to melt the butter. Once butter is melted, remove the pan from the oven, and place whisked egg mixture in the hot skillet.
- Carefully transfer the hot skillet back to the 400°F oven, and bake for 20 minutes or until pancake is golden and puffed.
- Sift powered sugar over the top of the pancake and serve immediately. Don’t worry as it deflates - it’s supposed to do that. Pancake is also good at room temperature.
Recipe Notes
*I use 2% milk, however any kind will work. Whole milk will make the pancake richer and heavier, while non-fat milk will make a lighter pancake. So, use the kind of milk your family likes best.
I like the pancake simply with the powdered sugar, however, you can also serve it with apple slices, strawberry slices, raspberry puree, or blueberries. Or, serve it with a little maple syrup if you like.
Martina Norberg says
May 8, 2011 at 8:09 amAt first, I love your blog….very well done, amusing, interesting and great recipes!!!
To this pancake….it looks delicious….but I have actually never heard of a German pancake that looks the slightest like that. Btw I AM German and I am living in Germany. But who knows, maybe it`s some regional specility :o)
admin says
May 8, 2011 at 4:10 pmI’ve also seen them called Dutch babies. But, I doubt they are truly Dutch either. I guess I could just call it “Big Tasty Fluffy Baked Pancake”. 😉
TLB says
September 21, 2013 at 5:47 amThe center of my pancake did not rise. This caused the cake in the center to be very dense. Still very tasty and good! Any suggestions on why it did not rise? The sides did but not the center.
Debi says
September 23, 2013 at 10:07 amI’ve noticed that each pancake seems to have its own personality. Regardless of the fact that I always use the same pan, at the same temperature, and stir about the same amount, I find that each will behave differently. Sometimes they puff more evenly and sometimes they puff on the right or left or whatever. That being said, the pancake actually climbs up the walls of the pan (just like a souffle) as it bakes, so it really does usually rise more on the edges than in the center. If you look at the photo of the pancake baking (the one through the oven window, you can see the edges are higher than the center. Kinda hard to see, but it is there. We actually took a video the last time we baked one, and we have to process it, but when I post the video, I’ll link it here and maybe it’ll show the center a little bit more.
And, when it comes out of the oven, it deflates almost immediately, so it generally is fairly dense by the time I’m eating. I’m really glad it was tasty and good! It is one of my favorites! Thanks so much for the comment.
Karen says
July 15, 2015 at 6:36 pmI love them so much that my mouth is watering as I look at this! My favorite way to serve this is with a little melted butter, fresh lemon juice, and powdered sugar! Yummy!!!
culinaryginger says
July 24, 2015 at 10:55 amThis reminds me a little of a sweet Yorkshire pudding, for that reason I have to try it 🙂