What a name! I couldn’t have done it any better myself. The history of the dutch baby is a little mysterious. According to sunset magazine the name probably came from one of Victor Manca's daughters, at Manca's Cafe in Seattle, Washington. "Dutch" was probably her way of saying the German deutsch. So anyway, there are some similar pancakes like the Danish Pancake Æbleskiver, the american popover, English Yorkshire pudding, and the German pfannkuchen. But it’s not really any of those things. The Dutch Baby is on its own. Out there in the world as some sort of eggy, puffy pancake baked in a hot cast iron pan and topped with what ever you are in the mood for. Foie Gras? Sure. Maple Syrup? Of course. Fresh berries and honey in the summer time. Yes, please. Compte cheese and chanterelle mushrooms? Why not? How about black walnut butter with maple sugar and lemon? i think we have a winner.
3ea eggs (room temperature)
2/3 cup Milk (room temperature)
1/2 cup A.P. Flour
1 Tblspoon Sugar, (maple sugar is best.)
Pinch Salt
Pinch Cinnamon
3 Tblspoons Butter, unsalted
Plus toppings:: maple syrup, foie gras, cheese, confectioners sugar, black walnut butter.....
Heat your oven to 450 F with a 10 inch cast iron skillet in it. Make sure it’s hot enough. Turn it on and let it heat up for at least 5 minutes. Unless you have a nice, new, super baller oven that heats up really fast. I don’t have that. I have a rental apartment bottom of the line gas oven so i usually give it a solid ten minutes on the heat up. Plus its winter so it heats the house a little bit and my rented apartment has cold air drafts coming out of every window and door way. The oven ripping is a welcome addition to the morning breeze.
Also important that your skillet is well seasoned so nothing sticks to the pan.
Put all ingredients except the butter in a blender and blend for 30 seconds to 1 minute on high.
Take the super hot skillet out of the oven and add 1 T butter to the pan. It should sizzle and skate around. Lift the pan and swizzle the butter around trying to get a layer of butter all over the surface of the pan. Move quick so the pan doesn’t loose much heat.
Pour the batter into the pan and put it in the oven for 15 minutes.
Take out your baby.
Top it with cinnamon and the rest of the butter and whatever you are in the mood for.