“Dutch Baby with Fresh Carolina Peaches”
This week as we are about to embark on a trip to The Netherlands I was reminded of one of the things I love to eat when traveling there, Pannekoeken, Dutch Pancakes….Dutch Babys. This is a post I wrote last summer in honor of these lovely light & airy pancakes that I love to eat while sitting alongside a canal watching the world float by.
A couple of Sunday mornings ago it was one of those extraordinary dawns for early summer in Nashville. A bit chilly, the sun dappling through the trees, a cup of steamy hot coffee and the newspaper, nothing pressing..nothing to do…these times cry out for a quick & easy Dutch Baby for breakfast.
Dutch Babys are essentially puffy pancakes. They are easy and quick. They come out of the oven very puffy and quickly deflate. They are very delicious hot out of the oven savory or sweet, with fresh fruit or thick slices of crispy bacon. To the best of my knowledge Dutch Babys are not from The Netherlands, but from Germany…go figure?
If you have never made one of these beauties then you must. It is foolproof and fun. Kids love them..big and little kids.
Sitting on our kitchen table was a wooden bowl of perfectly ripe South Carolina peaches. The downtown Farmer’s Market had just gotten them in by the bushels & baskets. Soft & fuzzy on the outside, juicy & sweet on the inside.
Recipe for a Dutch Baby Pancake
1/3 cup raw sugar mixed with the zest of 1 lemon
2/3 cup milk
3 eggs
1 cup all purpose flour mixed with 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg & 1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla flavoring
1/2 stick butter, softened
Raw Sugar for dusting + Lemon wedges
Fresh ripe peaches peeled & cut into slices
1. Turn oven to 450 degrees. Place a 10 to 12 inch cast iron skillet in oven to preheat with oven.
2. In an electric blender beat eggs until frothy. Add milk, flour mixture & vanilla to blender and beat until well blended.
3. Remove hot skillet from oven and add butter. It will sizzle & melt quickly.
4. Pour batter into skillet quickly and place in oven. Bake for about 20 minutes until pancake is golden brown and puffy.
5. Sprinkle pancake with the sugar-lemon zest mixture. Serve piping hot with slices of fresh peaches, lemon wedges to squeeze over pancake slices & additional raw sugar to top.
Dutch men named Wouter love Dutch Babys!
A little gallery of peaches: