Dutch Babies—Puff Pancake

Saturday was my birthday, and my family let me sleep in, a nice treat!  How exciting it was to be awakened with this special breakfast!  If you are not that fond of eggs, here’s how to get the nutrition of eggs without the taste.  With whipped cream (stevia sweetened), blueberries and mashed strawberries, this tastes just like dessert!  Yummy!

Why the name Dutch Babies? Well, all I can imagine is that those little babies raised on Holland’s nutritious milk and delicious cheese must be as plump and wholesome as this dish.  Enjoy!

Dutch Babies

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup whole wheat flour (I prefer “white wheat”)
  
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2-3 tablespoons butter or coconut oil (sweeter taste with coconut oil, richer taste with butter)

Choose a cast iron frying pan or a baking dish that is no deeper than 3″.  Cast iron skillet is a great choice, but a baking dish will do.  Put butter in the pan and put it in the oven which has been heated to 425 degrees.  Put eggs and milk in the blender and blend, gradually adding flour.  Remove pan from oven when hot, tipping to spread the butter or oil around the bottom of the pan. Pour in the batter, and return the pan to the hot oven as quickly as possible.  Bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown and crisp on the edges.  Makes one skillet or 9 x 13″  baking dish, which is about 4 servings.  Oooh, delicious!

Cinnamon Apple Dutch Babies

To make this delicious variation, use a heavy cast iron skillet preferably.  Preheat over to 425 degrees. In the iron skillet, saute 2 large apples, sliced thinly, in 1/2 cube of butter until tender and translucent. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons cinnamon and a sprinkling of sweetener (1/4 cup brown sugar is what the recipe calls for, but I prefer a few tablespoons of honey or maple syrup or 4 drops of liquid stevia). Toss to coat. Put skillet with contents into hot oven to heat up while you mix the batter (recipe above).  Pour batter evenly over the apples and return immediately to the oven.  Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.  It will puff very high in the cast iron skillet!