Home | Directory | Contact | FAQ | Recipes | Restaurants | Vietnamese Recipes | 100 Vietnamese Foods | Subscribe

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

German Oven Pancakes

For my Catholic readers, Happy Mardi Gras/Shrove Tuesday/National Pancake Day!

German oven pancake 1

According to Wikipedia, Shrove Tuesday or National Pancake Day, pancakes are associated with the day before Lent because rich ingredients such as eggs, milk, and sugar had to be used up before the 40 days of fasting.

And also a welcome to Jewcy.com readers! In case my regular readers didn't know (I think I might have one Jewish reader who might know?), I, and Dylan of Eat, Drink, and Be Merry both had recipes featured on Jewcy today in an article titled, "Tuesday Taste Test: Happy Chinese Jew Year." "Never has there been a sweeter love affair than the one between Jews and Chinese food," said writer Helen Jupiter. "In honor of that enduring affection, and also because Chinese New Year is this week, we asked a couple of food bloggers to share their favorite Chinese recipes." I told her Jews probably learned to like Chinese food by default. After all, what else is open on Christmas Day except Chinese restaurants? :P Nonetheless, I offered up my interpretation of Shanghai-style sticky rice siu mai dumplings because they resembled moneybags to bring wealth in the Year of the Rat. The Chinese sausage in the recipe can easily be omitted in keeping with Jewish dietary laws. Haha!

So what's a nice Buddhist girl like me doing on a Jewish website, and giving you a recipe for a Catholic holiday? Food baby! Food unifies people! Don'tcha love it? Well, I don't observe Lent but I did have a pancake recipe in my queue. I had always referred to these as Dutch baby pancakes, ever since I ate my first one long ago in Oregon. Turned out, "Dutch" might have been a mangling of Pennsylvania "Deutsch," which means they really are German.

Isn't it beautiful? The pancake falls quickly after it's taken out of the oven so just imagine how lovely and poofy it looked before I took time to photograph it. Traditionally, these pancakes are served with fruit toppings, syrup, lemon juice, or powdered sugar. I like topping mine with cinnamon-sugar apples so it's almost like eating an apple pie.

German oven pancake 2

German Oven Pancakes 

For pancake, you'll need:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup milk or soy milk
3 eggs
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 tblsp of butter

For cinnamon-sugar apple topping, you'll need:
1 or 2 apples, peeled, quartered, and sliced thinly
1 or 2 tblsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tblsp butter

Optional: Squeeze lemon juice on pancake instead of a fruit topping. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top.

Peel, quarter, and thinly slice apples. Toss with 1 or 2 tblsps of sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon.

In a saucepan on medium heat, melt 1 tblsp butter. Add apple-cinnamon mixture and stir every five minutes or so to make sure everything softens evenly.

Meanwhile, pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Place 1 tblsp of butter into cast iron pan, or oven-safe pan. I used a 10-inch cast iron pan for this.

Pop 2 tblsp butter for about 30 seconds into microwave until just melted. Beat in 3 eggs. Then add 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup milk or soy milk, 2 tsp sugar, and 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Batter should be smooth. Don't overmix or the batter will be too hard.

Open the oven and with oven-safe mitts, swish the pan so the butter is evenly distributed. Then pour in all of the batter. Don't forget to monitor your cinnamon-apple mixture in the meantime.

At the 12 to 15 minute mark, check and see if your pancake has risen. It should look like the photo below.

German oven pancake 3

Top your pancake with the apple-cinnamon mixture, which should be nicely softened and saucy at this point. Add powdered sugar if you wish. Slice into wedges and serve.

German oven pancake 4

Enjoy!

*****  
1 year ago today, Pupusas with Beans and Cheese.

20 comments:

  1. Being German, I'm sometimes surprised what foods are considered to be German. I have never ever seen a pancake being prepared in the oven in Germany. But it looks delicious anyway ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Where in Oregon did you first encounter German Baby Pancakes? The Original Pancake House in Eugene made, and still makes, the best there's ever been. Never seen them offered anywhere else. Thanks for the great post.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I usually have Dutch Babies at a friend's house during high nectarine/peach season. They do it in the oven and serve with fresh fruit topped with powdered sugar. Good memories :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh I'm so making these pancakes. Thanks so much for sharing :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Happy Lunar New Year!! well between pancake and rice siu mai i think i'll prefer the siu mai rice hahaha im really asian :-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. And to you, friend, Chuc Mung Nam Moi!

    So pleased I found your site. I'm always reading, even if I'm not always commenting!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I can't believe it! I make this all the time! It's so cool to finally say that I've made something you've made...other times, I just sit here in awe of your kitchen prowess, and then sulk in my own laziness and lack of talent.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I think bananas might be good as a topping, too? I have never have German pancakes though.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow, a lovely and universal food! Looks so tasty.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Amazing how food brings people together! Lovely pancake!

    ReplyDelete
  11. A nice change for me after all the Chinese food feasting back home :P

    Happy Lunar New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a delicious sight!! Looks almost like an apple tart...yumm!! Anything baked with apples and cinnamon is soo good! I'm sure you enjoyed yourself :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Jaden,
    It's not nearly as gorgeous as yours.

    bmblb,
    According to Wiki, it's derived from the German Apfelpfannkuchen. :)

    Chucka,
    I first ate this at Sammy's on NW 23rd in Portland, but I don't think the restaurant exists anymore.

    Nikki,
    Oooh, I bet peaches would be scrumptious on this!

    EMWK,
    Me too! :)

    Michelle,
    You should be able to find these ingredients in Italy right? ;)

    Dhanggit,
    Haha. As long as it's either of my recipes, I don't mind. ;)

    Oanh,
    You too! I'm glad you came out of lurkdom so I could find you.

    Elmo,
    Ha! You do not! Besides, your lomo saltado looks pretty darn amazing!

    RM,
    Oooh, slightly carmelized bananas would be awesome on this!

    Cakespy,
    How can anyone not like cinnamon apple pancakes. :)

    Daphne,
    I think food brings everyone together.

    Tigerfishy,
    Ha! I got you to say lunar instead of CNY. ;)

    Alexandra,
    That's what I like about it. Similar in taste to an apple tart but a lot less work.

    ReplyDelete
  14. these look really lovely. I'm sure they taste just as good. now all i need is a cast iron pan to get started.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I'm gonna try this. Looks great! What kind of apples do you prefer to use?

    ReplyDelete
  16. They sure look good. :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. just sending you my warmest message of love...happy valentine's day!!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Kate,
    You can make it with any oven-safe pan. Try using a pie tin.

    WoRC,
    I just cook with what I like to eat. So usually fujis or red delicious.

    CN,
    Thanks!

    Dhanggit,
    Awww, thanks for thinking of me sweetie!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for stopping by. I try to respond in a timely manner, but am not always able to do so. If you're awaiting a response, check the post in which the comment is made or click the "Notify me" option.

If you're not a blogger and you'd like to leave a comment, you can do so using your Google/Gmail account.

I welcome questions, discussions, and feedback, but please be mindful that this is my home online. I reserve the right to delete any comment that is anonymous or unknown, rude, promotional, or has a link.

Thank you for reading!