Sometimes known as a German pancake, a Dutch baby is a cross between a soufflé and an omelette. It is oven-baked in a hot fry pan rather than cooked on the stovetop. Here we embellish the Dutch baby with an apple-cranberry compote.
Ingredients:
2 Pink Lady apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch slices
3/4 cup fresh or thawed frozen cranberries
1/4 cup plus 1 Tbs. granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
5 Tbs. unsalted butter
1/2 cup water
3 eggs
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup milk
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
Maple syrup for serving
Directions:
In a bowl, stir together the apples, cranberries, the 1/4 cup granulated sugar and the cinnamon. In a 9-inch French skillet over medium heat, melt 2 Tbs. of the butter. Add the apple mixture and sauté until the apples are tender and the cranberries have broken down, about 12 minutes, adding the water halfway through cooking. Remove from the heat.
Put an 11-inch French skillet or ovenproof sauté pan in a cold oven. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Meanwhile, put the eggs in a blender and blend on medium speed until very frothy, about 1 minute. Add the flour, salt, the 1 Tbs. granulated sugar and the milk and blend on medium speed for 2 minutes, stopping the blender to scrape down the sides as needed.
When the oven is preheated, put the remaining 3 Tbs. butter in the hot skillet and return it to the oven until the butter melts; do not let it brown. Carefully pour the batter into the hot skillet, then distribute the apple-cranberry mixture evenly on top. Bake until the Dutch baby is lightly browned and the sides have risen, about 25 minutes.
Remove the skillet from the oven, dust the Dutch baby with confectioners’ sugar and serve immediately with maple syrup. Serves 4 to 6.
Williams-Sonoma Kitchen.
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If you have ever had a great big puffy skillet full of apple oven pancake, this is similar. Since the apples are not baked into it, the whole thing comes out crisper. For the fruit, you can change with the seasons: Use strawberries (green leaves removed) in early spring, blackberries and raspberries in early summer, peaches and nectarines (peeled and pitted) in mid-summer, and apples and pears (peeled and cored) in fall and winter. (Citrus fruit like oranges and grapefruit are really too juicy to use.) For an over-the-top experience, dollop some lightly sweetened whipped cream (or not-so-over-the-top yogurt) on the fruit before sprinkling with sugar.
Ingredients:
2 1/2 ounces (5 tablespoons) butter
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups fruit (see note above)
A little powdered sugar
Syrup (such as maple or blueberry, but any syrup will do)
Directions:
Do this first
Oven: Adjust the rack to the upper third of the oven. Turn on the oven to 450°F.
Fruit: Cut the fruit (except small berries) into small pieces about 1/2 inch.
Syrup: Warm the syrup over low heat or in a microwave at 50% power for 1 minute just before serving.
Melt the butter
Put the butter in a very large (12-inch) skillet with an ovenproof handle. Set in the oven for 5 minutes to melt the butter completely (okay if it begins to brown).
Make the batter
While the butter melts, measure the flour into a large bowl. Add the eggs, milk and salt. Beat until smooth, using a whisk, large spoon or handheld electric mixer.
Bake and serve
Pour the batter into the hot pan. Return the pan to the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the sides are puffed up and dark golden brown. Remove from the oven. Loosen the Dutch baby from the sides and bottom of the skillet, then slide it onto a serving plate. Pile the fruit in the center and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cut into wedges. Pass the warm syrup to pour on top. Serves 4 to 5.
Adapted from Rick & Lanie’s Excellent Kitchen Adventures, by Rick Bayless & Lanie Bayless, with Deann Groen Bayless (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2004).