Monday, February 27, 2012

German Puffed Pancakes

Does the weather impact your food choices?  For two days we reached the 70s last week, but over the weekend, we were back in blowing snow.  While I should have been thinking salad, I really wanted something warm and comforting.

I grew up with German pancakes, which I'll blog about sometime.  But my mom never made these German or Dutch puffy pancakes.  It wasn't until I was an adult and happened upon a recipe for them that I tried them.

The recipe makes one pancake that puffs up in the oven.  Bring it to the table immediately since it's lovely to look at but deflates quite quickly.  Cut into 4 pieces and serve while hot.

It makes a nice breakfast, a second course or dessert with a light dinner, an after school snack on cold days, or a quick midnight snack for those nights when no one can sleep.

Recipes for this kind of pancake vary wildly, which suggests to me that there's really no wrong way of making them.  A lot of the older recipes call for beating the egg whites separately and folding them into the rest of the batter.  But that's getting out of the range of quick and easy recipes, which is what I think this one should be.

THE JOY OF COOKING calls for four to five eggs.  Other recipes call for one egg and a yolk.  Some recipes call for 1/2 cup of butter, but I think that's overkill.  Interestingly, the amount of flour and liquids don't vary much.  Let's face it, eggs, milk, and flour equal pancakes.

I used three eggs here, but you'll notice that the recipe says two to three eggs.  Mine were huge, and next time I'll only use two of those gigantic eggs.  This recipe also calls for blueberries, but you can use other berries, or none at all.  There's not much sugar in these, so you might want to eat them with fruit, jam, maple syrup, or (shh!) a scoop of ice cream.

What doesn't vary is that the pan must be hot when you add the batter.  While you might be tempted to cut back on the butter, don't cut back much!

And don't forget to use an oven mitt!



German Puffed Pancake

2 tablespoons butter
2-3 eggs (3 small or 2 large)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
dash nutmeg or cinnamon
dash salt
splash vanilla
1 cup frozen blueberries

1/2 lemon
1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 10-inch oven-safe omelet pan


Preheat the oven to 425. Place the butter in the oven-safe pan and insert in oven. (Don't let the butter burn.)

Whisk the eggs until blended and a bit frothy.  Whisk in the milk, flour, nutmeg or cinnamon, salt, and vanilla.  Stir in blueberries.

Roll the melted butter around in the pan and return to oven for a couple of minutes.  When pan is hot, pour in batter and slide pan into oven.  Bake about 20 minutes or until puffed up with golden edges.

Meanwhile, get the powdered sugar and lemon ready because you'll want to work fast when it comes out of the oven.

When baked, squeeze lemon over pancake and sift powdered sugar on the top.  Cut into four pieces and serve.



10 comments:

  1. WOW, this looks good. You now every time I post here I say the same thing LOL! But it is true it always looks good!

    This is another recipe I will be keeping and yes trying REAL SOON!

    I agree, the weather does affect how we eat, at least in our house.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Shawn! I hope you and your gang like this recipe. I think it's a nice treat for nights when everyone is out late and wants a little something to eat when they come home.

      ~ Krista

      Delete
  2. Hey Krista, I used to make these years ago, with sliced apples that were sauteed and spread over the top. The blueberry looks even better!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lucy, I'm positive that it's delicious with sauteed apples! But the blueberries are easier because you don't have to cook them first! ; )

      ~ Krista

      Delete
  3. Hi Krista, I loved seeing this recipe. When I was young my great grandmother would make something like this, she came from Germany when she was in her 20's. My mom never did get her recipe but made something similar. I will have to make this as a dessert tonight after after the vegetable soup and cornbread. The boys will love it and it will bring back a lot of good memoires.

    Babs
    Babs Book Bistro

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Babs, that's so sweet. You have made my day. I hope it's close to what your great grandmother made and that your boys love it. I'm delighted that it brings back such wonderful memories.

      ~ Krista

      Delete
  4. That looks soooo good! I do believe I'll be making this.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I hope you like it, Christi. Warning: it can be addictive!

    ~ Krista

    ReplyDelete
  6. I remember making these as a girl. Love the blueberries in the recipe. Deliciously beautiful and simple!

    ~Avery

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you have good memories of them, Avery. I'm sure they could be easily made with a gluten-free flour. I use a bean flour very successfully in German pancakes.

      ~ Krista

      Delete