a warm send-off: cinnamon apple dutch baby

Last week it was cinnamon waffles and now I'm posting about cinnamon dutch babies. I'm breakfast-crazy or at least cinnamon-crazy. Either way, I'm not complaining. This is a simple but impressive breakfast and it takes the not-so-humble dutch baby and makes it, dare I say, even a bit better. It's a sweet and cozy way to spend a Saturday morning with a pot of hot coffee and the crosswords.

It's been a pretty crazy couple of weeks. We've been tying up loose ends, wrapping up projects and beating deadlines so we could make some time for a visit with family. Tomorrow we're flying to Ontario to visit my mom in the hospital, so it will be pretty quiet here until next week or so. I've got a stack of books, some homemade fig newtons (my parent's favorite) and a few Ritter Sport bars to help keep my mom in good spirits.

cinnamon apple dutch baby
2 T butter
2 small apples, sliced
1 T cinnamon
1 T brown sugar
4 large eggs
½ c all-purpose flour
½ c skim milk

For the topping:
juice of ½ lemon
powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 400. In a large cast iron pan, heat butter and add in sliced apples, cinnamon and sugar. Saute until the apples are golden brown and the sugar has melted into a delicious caramel sauce.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs together and add in flour and milk. Whisk until combined and pour over the apple mixture. Place skillet in oven and bake for 20 minutes or so, until the pancake is fluffy and golden brown. Remove from oven and squeeze lemon juice over top and sprinkle generously with powdered sugar. Serve immediately.

dutch breakfast

A few months ago, I came across a dutch pancake recipe on orangette's food blog (via not martha) and I was eager to try making myself. The only thing holding me back was the fact that the only cast iron pans I owned was a teeny-tiny 3 inch pan that I used to toast nuts with and my La Cruset grill pan. Neither would work for this recipe. Fast forward to post-wedding gift bounty and our lovely new 8" La Cruset cast iron beauty.

Below is the recipe how it appeared on Orangette's page. I used about 2T of butter and not 4T (or 6T) and it still came out buttery and delicicous. I definitely recommend using the lemon juice and powdered sugar as a topping and no, we didn't add more butter to top it all off. The recipe made enough for two 8" pans worth. Cornelius' comments: "Marvelous! Can we have this everyday?"

Jimmy’s Dutch Baby Pancakes

Jimmy likes to make his babies in two 6-inch cast-iron skillets, but you can also make this recipe in a single 10- or 11-inch one.

For the pancakes:
4 Tbs unsalted butter (or, if you’d prefer to try it as we did with today’s happy butter accident, try using 6-8 tablespoons, and then do not add clarified butter when serving)
4 large eggs
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup half-and-half

For the topping:
4 oz clarified butter (or, if you’re not into clarifying, simple melted butter will do)
Juice of 1 lemon
Powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Divide the 4 Tbs butter between two 6-inch cast-iron skillets, and melt it over low heat.

In a blender, whir together the eggs, flour, and half-and-half.

Pour the batter into the skillets over the melted butter. Slide the skillets into the oven, and bake for 25 minutes.

Remove the puffed pancakes from the oven, transfer them to a plate or shallow bowl, and pour on clarified butter, sprinkle on lemon juice, and dust with powdered sugar. Serve immediately.