My Aunt Lynn used to make Dutch Baby pancakes whenever we went on vacation. They always seemed so complicated and fancy, probably because they were only made on special occasions. My mom suggested I make them this week, and my aunt assured me that they are actually very easy. I never realized they only have four ingredients! That’s definitely in my skill range. My aunt’s recipe comes from an old issue of Sunset Magazine. It’s really delicious and fluffy and I’m already craving another one.
Dutch Baby Pancakes
You need:
butter
eggs
milk
flour
I know, you’re like, “Heather, you forgot the measurements.” The amounts you use are dependent on the size of the pan you bake it in. Here is a chart from the original recipe:
My first question was, “How do I figure out what size my pan is?” You do it by pouring water into your pan. My mom let me borrow her 3-qt. cast iron pan, but you can use a paella pan, baking dish, or foil roasting pan. Really, anything, as long as it isn’t more than three inches deep. Once you’ve figured out your pan size, you know how much of each ingredient to use. It’s like magic.
Pre-heat your oven to 425°. Put your butter in the pan and put it in the oven.
While the butter is melting, you need to quickly blend up your batter. Mix your eggs for a minute, then slowly add the milk, followed by the flour. Once all the ingredients are added, mix for an additional 30 seconds.
By this time your butter should be melted. Remove the pan from the oven and pour in your batter. The pan will be hot. I’m really only typing that to remind myself that DUH, THE PAN WILL BE HOT.
Put the pan back in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the pancake is fluffy and brown.
The Dutch Baby will probably deflate when you remove it from the oven. Also, my oven cooks really hot. That Dutch Baby is DONE.
My deflated but still super-delicious Dutch Baby.
Annie had been dancing around in the kitchen the entire time this was baking. She knew it was a pancake and she was stoked to eat it.
.
They both loved it. Annie kept asking for more. I will have to make a bigger one next time! I dusted mine with powdered sugar, but Mike put syrup on his as well. You can top with anything, really – fruit, pie filling, jam, whatever your heart desires!
Enjoy!
- Butter
- Eggs
- Milk
- Flour
- (see picture above for measurements)
- To make, place butter in pan and set in a 425° degree oven.
- While butter melts, mix batter quickly. Put eggs in a blender or food processor and whirl at high speed for 1 minute.
- With motor running, gradually pour in milk, then slowly add flour and continue to whirl for 30 seconds. (if you use a bowl, beat eggs until blended gradually beat in milk then flour)
- Remove pan from oven and pour in batter.
- Return the pan to oven and bake until pancake is puffy and well browned, about 20-25 mins depending on your pan size.
- Dust pancake with powdered sugar.
Daisy says:
I make a similar pancake that we call “German pancakes” around here. I bake individual ones in pie tins for each person and I top them with powdered sugar and fresh squeezed lemon juice which makes a delicious glaze on top. Yum. I’ll have to try your recipe soon!
GreenInOC says:
Fresh squeezed lemon juice with powdered sugar and generous amounts of butter is the BEST topping for a Dutch Baby in my opinion!!
Becca_Masters says:
thats pretty much the recipe for Yorkshire puddings! I LOVE them.
the only difference is that you use vegetable oil (or beef dripping(yuck!)) in the muffin tray / roasting tray, instead of butter.
and you season the batter with some salt and pepper (and maybe some english mustard powder)
i love how eggs/milk/flour combo makes so many good things!
Lanie says:
Thanks for the recipe. As a complete aside I love the ove glove!
jeannine says:
that looks good and easy! Does anyone have any idea if you could make it with a traditional gluten free flour, or an almond flour or coconut flour?
Kate says:
Logic says that if you can use gluten-free flour in place of normal all-purpose flour in other baking recipes (i.e. cookies), you could probably do it here. But I have no idea other than logicking it out!
jeannine says:
I made them tonight with a few modifications and they turned out great. GF flour just doesnt always cook the same especially if you use coconut flour or almond flour. But i just used a ‘regular’ gf flour
My recipe for anyone interested was:
2 eggs
2 egg white equivalent (kirkland) (1/2c)
1.25c Bobs all purpose GF flour
2 Tb sugar
about 2 tsp cinnamon
about 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
a pat of melted butter (i suck at measuring) in the batter and 3x that in the pan
1/2c + a little more almond milk (vanilla)
1/4tsp ground sea salt
I dont have a cast iron pan so i cooked it in an oval ceramic pan..
We topped with lemon juice spritzed on it and cinnamon powdered sugar, and sliced strawberries. My husband and mil and kids were impressed and want to have dutch babies again! (my son of course asks, when can we have dutch mommies and daddies… silly. (4y)
Rebecca says:
Yes Please. I’ll have seconds. Now I’m hungry. Thanks
Also, are you sure Annie isn’t giving you the “L” for loser sign? Anyhow, she is a doll.
Skye says:
Yum! I love pancakes of any kind. I’ve never heard of a Dutch Babies! I’m very intrigued. They sound somewhat similar to poffertjes (mini puffed pancakes), which were my favorite food when I visited Amsterdam.
Emerson says:
That’s what I was expecting too!
My parents are Dutch and I’ve never seen this recipes before, but poffertjes and pannenkoeken are both super Dutch and super delicious.
Krystal says:
Up here in the NW we have Dutch babies at tons of restaurants, I’ve never made them my self though because they seemed like it would be complicated, but now I will definetly make it myself. My favorite way to eat them is with powdered sugar and lemon. Mmmmm!
Sleeping Mom says:
We recently made Dutch Babies too based on a recipe from Simply Recipes blog. I had no idea what they were before making them but thought it was so cool how they float up while in the oven. And wow they tasted awesome.
Betsy says:
We used to eat a restaurant specializing in these, although they were called “Pannekukens” (spelling?) and that was the name of the restaurant, too. Blue and white, with a windmill theme. Memorable for the fact that the servers would RUN those puppies out trying to get them to you before they deflated, yelling “Paaaaanakoooooken!”
Alexandra :) says:
That thumbs up reminds me of the Glee Loser Like Me L
Auntie_M says:
I LOVE Dutch Babies!!! Thanks for reminding me! I used to make them with the kids when I taught preschool and we would make strawberry “syrup” while the pancake was baking. (Frozen strawberries that had been defrosted & gotten gushy; then blended w/a bit of sugar.) They loved them~it was like magic watching the pancake rise & puff up. Fun!
I’m going to make these the next time my nieces and nephew are over!
I LOVE Annie’s face as she’s eating! Pure happiness! And her thumbs up! Adorable!!
Karen says:
Love Dutch Babies! I grew up eating them at my grandpa’s house (and I distinctly remember making them in home ec class in middle school) and now make them for my daughter from time to time. We mix powdered sugar, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt to make a glaze, then pour that on top. Delish – I should make that for breakfast tomorrow!
Sue says:
I laughed at Rebecca’s remark about the “loser” sign. I was thinking that same thing,,,but we know better. Annie knows that her Mama is a winner all the way!!! I can see that Mike is giving the thumbs up, but did Annie actually let him have any of the pancake!!?? LOL
TamaraL says:
I *think* Annie is giving Mike the loser sign because he ate most of the pancake!! No way she is giving her mama the L!!
I AM A DUTCH BABY!! I am not actually Dutch but I was born in Holland! I have never heard of this recipe before but would love to try it!
Megan says:
I’ve never heard of dutch babies, but these look similar to the funnel cakes I get at carnivals. They’re deep-fried though, of course.
Sarah G says:
I made these this morning for a Sunday morning treat – super easy recipe and really yum! The only bummer was how long it takes for them to cook in the oven. Thanks so much for continuing to post recipes, Heather.
Danielle says:
Any guess as to why they’re called ‘Dutch’? They look delicious but I’ve never seen them before (and I’m Dutch ;-)) although they remind me slightly of pannenkoeken. But we don’t use an oven to make those.
Jennifer King says:
My husband makes these for our special occasion breakfasts! Yum! We do powdered sugar and lemon juice and it is so so good!
Christina says:
We made these this morning. First time ever making them and they were a big hit! Thanks Heather!
Stacy says:
I’m not sure if it’s normal or not, but I made mine in a 13×9 pan and it came out looking all crazy with the sides/edges up like a wave. My daughter gave me the strangest look like I was nuts to say this would be good. She(8), my son(4), and myself(mind your own business) damn near finished off the whole pan! I had to hide the rest just so there’d be a piece for hubby when he gets home from running errands! Good lord was that tasty! Thanks for the super easy and delish recipe!
Lori says:
We make these often and usually for dinner! We love them with a little fresh squeezed lemon or lime and a generous portion of powdered sugar! Delicious!
AmazingGreis says:
I want this NOW!!!
gayatri . lifeunordinary says:
you have the cutest aprons!
tracey says:
I made these for Sunday breakfast, and they were amazing! I can’t wait to try them with lemon juice and powdered sugar :o)
Trish says:
I was SO excited to make these for my daughter this morning. She was thrilled to see something covered in syrup and powdered sugar, and just as she lifted the first bite to her mouth, she asked “what’s this called, mom?” I told her Dutch Babies, and she dropped her fork and said “NO WAY!!” I promised her they were yummy and finally threatened that if she didn’t eat it, I was turning off My Little Pony. She took one bite, spit it out, and said (and I quote) “ew, it tastes like a baby”
I then finished off the entire pan. (DELISH!!!)
Will try again next weekend, with a new name.
Rhonda says:
Heather,
Thank you so much for your effort to put this together. I saw Dutch Baby’s on a cooking show and have been researching the web for recipes only to find there are many variations to add ingredients and how many eggs to oven temp. Also the recipes all use 10″ skillets. My cast iron is 12″. So thank you for sharing the old fashin’ recipe with table for pan sizes! And for keeping it simple. Or as I say “dumbing it down” for those like me who need the grass roots recipe. I can’t wait to try them this weekend and experiment with various toppings and to share with friends this summer.
Robin says:
I am so glad you published this! I had the original Sunset magazine and I misplaced it! You would have thought that I had committed it to memory but alas … I am just an old woman. We are wanting Dutch Babies this weekend. You totally Rock!
Sandy says:
You can also add brown sugar, cinnamon and apple slices before it goes into the oven. We have a restaurant here that sells them as “Baby Apple” for the small size and a larger one that I usually share with a friend. I have made them at home as well…so easy and delicious.Yummy!
Michelle says:
Love the step by step photos … this is one of my favorite recipes when we have guests! It is always a wow factor.