Dutch Baby with Cinnamon Apples

I now invite you to hear a tale of classic food blogger-ness, one in which an innocent Sunday morning breakfast was turned into a grand photography expedition. You see, I set out to make a quick, simple Dutch baby for my brother and me while our parents were out of town. I whisked together the ingredients, melted some butter, poured everything into a mini cast iron skillet and threw it all in the oven. Easy, right? And that it was–until I pulled the poor pancake out and decided that now was as good a time as any to do an impromptu food photoshoot.

I had this image in my mind of this beautiful Dutch baby in its adorable skillet against a black background, flecks of powdered sugar cascading down on it from my favorite old shaker. I took out the camera, the tripod, and the black poster board. And, leaving all my sanity at the door, I plunged right in to the deep abyss that is food photography. By the time I’d actually finished my shoot, it was an hour later and the food was freezing (not to mention me). But all’s well that ends well, I guess, because I wound up with some great shots and a yummy (cold) breakfast.

So I thought I’d share the recipe! For those of you who don’t know, a Dutch baby is like a baked pancake that gets nice and puffy in the oven and falls when you take it out. The perfect blank canvas for a traditional dusting of powdered sugar and sprinkle of lemon juice or some sautéed cinnamon sugar apples if you want to take it up a notch. Super delish and super easy  (so long as you don’t go all food blogger-crazy like me!)

The recipe starts by just whisking together some flour, whole milk, a couple of eggs, and a pinch of nutmeg. Next melt a fair amount of butter in a 12-inch skillet (or two smaller ones, which is what I did). Cast iron is best here, but any old skillet that can go in an oven will do just fine. Once the butter is nice and hot, go ahead and pour in your batter and stick the whole thing in a hot oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes…

And you’re done! Your Dutch baby should be nice and golden by now.

Bring on the powdered sugar!

To make the sautéed cinnamon sugar apples, just heat some butter in a pan and lay in some apple slices in a single layer. Sprinkle on a generous coating of cinnamon sugar, flip when golden and cook until soft! These make a great crepe filling as well.

And there you have it! Easy as pie (or pancakes).

Oh, and before I forget: I have to apologize for my brief (3 week) hiatus. Things have been crazy at school (and in life in general) but I’m doing my very best to keep working on new content for you guys! Stay tuned for some new recipes coming very soon.

Dutch Baby with Cinnamon Apples

from crumbsandnibbles.com, adapted from Food52

Makes 1 12-inch pancake

Ingredients:

For the Dutch baby:

1/3 cup flour

1/2 cup whole milk

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Pinch of nutmeg

1/2 stick (I actually used a bit less) unsalted butter

For the toppings:

Confectioner’s sugar

1 medium apple, halved and cut into thin slices

Cinnamon sugar

Butter for the pan

Directions:

For the Dutch baby:

1. Preheat oven to 425 F.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, milk, eggs and nutmeg.
3. Heat the butter in a 12-inch oven-proof skillet until very hot and pour in the batter. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until puffy and golden. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with cinnamon sugar apples (directions below).

For the apples:

1. Heat a bit of butter in a medium pan and add in the apple slices in a single layer. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar and cook until golden on the underside. Flip and continue to cook until the apples are soft.

Happy nibbling!