lemon dutch baby

when your kids want pancakes, but you have stuff to do! Dutch babies are really fluffy pancake with more eggs and less flour, that bakes and rises, or soufflés (literally French for to breathe or blow) in the oven. This recipe is from Molly Wizenberg’s A Homemade Life.

Dutch Baby Pancake
4 servings

2 Tbsp butter
4 large eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup milk
1/4 tsp salt

For the topping:
freshly squeezed lemon juice
granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Put the butter in an 8 inch cast iron skillet and place over low heat. Alternatively, put the butter in a similarly sized cake or pie pan, and place it in the preheated oven for a few minutes. As the butter melts, use a pastry brush to coax it up the sides of the skillet or pan.

Meanwhile in a blender or food processor, mix together the eggs, flour, milk and slat until well blended.

Pour the egg mixture into the warmed skillet. Slide into the oven and bake for 18-25 mins. The mixture will rise and puff around the edges, like a bowl-shaped soufflé. The Dutch baby is ready when the center looks set and the edges are nicely risen and golden brown. 

Remove from the oven and drizzle - or splash, really abundance is good here - with lemon juice and sprinkle generously with granulated sugar (you want to add the sugar just before serving so the granules stay intact and make for an excellent texture in your mouth). Serve immediately. 

light, fluffy pancakes

sweet and simple. a hit with the cousins over Christmas!

light, fluffy pancakes
makes 8 pancakes

1 1/2 cups (195 grams) all-purpose flour2 tablespoons sugar1 tablespoon baking powder3/4 teaspoon kosher salt1 1/4 cups (295 ml) milk, dairy and non-dairy both will work1 large egg4 tablespoons butter, melted, plus more for skillet1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder and the salt in a medium bowl.
Warm milk in microwave or on top of stove until lukewarm, not hot (you should be able to keep your finger submerged for 10 seconds). Whisk milk, egg, melted butter and the vanilla extract until combined. (By warming the milk slightly, the melted butter mixes into the milk instead of turning into small lumps).
Heat a large skillet (or use griddle) over medium heat. The pan is ready if when you splatter a little water onto the pan surface, the water dances around the pan and eventually evaporates.
Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, pour milk mixture into the well and use a fork to stir until you no longer see clumps of flour. It is okay if the batter has small lumps, in fact you want that – it is important not to over-mix the batter.
Lightly brush skillet with melted butter. Use a 1/4-cup measuring cup to spoon batter onto skillet. Gently spread the batter into a 4-inch circle.
When edges look dry and bubbles start to appear and pop on the top surfaces of the pancake, turn over. This takes about 2 minutes. Once flipped, cook another 1 to 2 minutes or until lightly browned and cooked in the middle. Serve immediately with warm syrup, butter and/or berries.