Dutch Baby

Mom suggested we try one of these based on this WaPo article she read. Great idea, Mom! I also got some inspiration from this YouTube video.

These are like crêpes you can’t screw up.

I’ve converted the English volumes into metric and/or masses, since I like to weigh ingredients whenever possible to minimize my dish cleanup.

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp or 45 g butter
• 3 large eggs at room temperature¹
• 3/4 cup or 104 g flour
• 3/4 cup or 178 ml milk, at room temperature²
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Heat up a 12″ cast iron skillet to 425 °F / 220 °C in the oven.
2. While that’s happening, make the batter.
   1. Beat the eggs in a blender a few seconds at a medium speed until frothy.
   2. Add all the rest of the stuff except the butter and zip it a few seconds at low speed to combine thoroughly.
   3. Zip it at high speed a few seconds to smooth everything out; you want homogeneity to the max.
3. Take the pan out of the oven, melt the butter in it, and swirl it around, and don’t let it burn. Have the batter ready at this point; it needs to go into that pan while as hot as possible. Dump in the batter and bake it for 13 minutes or until it looks like this:

Topping Options

There is quite a lot you can do here. Lemon juice and powdered sugar, perhaps a rhubarb compote, any kind of jam you like, your favorite “hazelnut spread” or cookie butter… I opted for a cherry sauce with Schattenmorellen taken from Sarah’s American-style Cheesecake recipe. Bascially:

1. Drain the juice from a jar of cherries into a saucepan and boil it.
2. While that’s happening, scoop out 3 tbsp. of the juice and mix it in a small bowl with 2.5 tbsp. of corn starch to form a slurry.
3. When the pan juice is boiling, stir in your slurry and reduce the heat down to a weak boil.
4. It’s done when you’ve got the thickness you like. Add the cherries back in. Top your Dutch Baby. Enjoy.

Finished product:

Notes

1. Convection baking makes it lighter, poofier and fluffier, but more likely to burn; conventional baking results are a little denser and spongier
2. The batter scales easily down to a single (large!) serving
   • 2 eggs, room temperature
   • 2 T / 30g butter
   • 1/2 C or 70g flour
   • 1/2 C or 120ml milk, room temperature
   • 2 t granulated sugar
   • 2/3 t salt
   • 1/3 t vanilla extract
   • Scale the pan down, too (e.g., a 10-incher instead of the 12)
   • 
3. Savory Variation: take out the sugar and vanilla and make savory babies. Consider as toppings:
   • bacon³
   • herby goat cheese
   • minced shallots
   • gruyere
   • ham
   • refried beans
   • hot sauce
   • cotija or feta

Crispy bacon crumbles, shredded gouda, and sauerkraut make a lovely combination.

1. Not a problem for us; our eggs are sold and stored unrefrigerated. But you can warm them up quickly in a small bowl of warm water if you need to. [↩]
2. Microwave it a little bit to warm it up. [↩]
3. Duh. [↩]