A baby dutch pancake recipe
Posted: 27/09/2024
One week a few years ago, my stepdad experimented with making these tasty baby dutch pancakes for breakfast. Before then, I only thought of pancakes as being those thin, pikelet sort-of meal that was garnished in generous amounts of maple (flavoured...) syrup. Apparently, there's a whole world of other foods that also call themselves "pancakes". When my parents left for a few months overseas and I had to find something to cook in the mornings, I remembered those enormous pancakes and tried my hand at making them myself.
The first few had difficulties, for one major reason; I didn't butter the pan properly. It seems like recipes assume you know how to spread butter over a pan, but I was still getting my bearings and missed the fact that buttering the pan also meant the sides, not just to stick a knob of butter over the hot skillet and hope for the best. It may sound stupid now, but that is what I did; maybe if you're in the same position as I was half a year ago you can avoid making that mistake :)
The recipe is derived from the David Eyre pancake from the New York Times and another my stepdad sent to me.
The ingredients
For the pancake:
- 1/2 cup of milk
- 2 eggs
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon or nutmeg
- 2 tbsp butter
After baking:
- lemon juice
- caster or confectioner's sugar
Equipment necessary:
- A large skillet; I have an 11" pan but some recipes recommend 9"
- A mixing bowl
- A fine sieve to spread the sugar
The process
- Mix all the ingredients except the butter together in a mixing bowl, lightly.
- Let the batter rest for 20 to 25 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat the skillet to 200 degrees Celcius in your oven.
- Once the batter has rested for enough time, take out the skillet and melt the butter in it, taking care to spread the butter all around the pan and on the sides.
- Pour the batter into the skillet evenly. Try to cover the floor of the pan entirely.
- Put the skillet back into the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Take out the skillet and wait a moment to cool before pouring lemon juice over the pancake. Sprinkle sugar using a sieve.
One of my successful attempts at making the pancake
It's a surprisingly simple recipe for quite a striking dish, and with enough goes you can make this within an hour. Hope you enjoy it!