Think of this Apple Dutch Baby as a light, fluffy, pillowy pancake. Easy to make, sweet, soft, and buttery, and topped with brown-sugar-and-cinnamon apples, it goes from oven to table in just 35 minutes!
Looking for more delicious, hot breakfast ideas? Check out these popular posts for Banana Bread Pancakes, Biscuits and Gravy Breakfast Casserole, and Apple Cinnamon French Toast.
Dutch Babies are a favorite in my household. Also known as German Pancakes (or if you’re my kids, “Patty Cakes”), they are made with a similar batter to regular pancakes but they fluff up as you bake them in a hot skillet in the oven.
They’re part fluffy pancake, part popover that doesn’t quite pop in the middle, and 100% delicious. Top with apples, berries, syrup, powdered sugar, or all of the above if you have a hard time deciding.
Why this Recipe Works
Fast — This apple Dutch baby can be on your table in as few as 35 minutes. That’s quicker than making up a whole stack of pancakes!
Apples — Apples are in season right now so that makes them taste even more delicious (and you can use any variety you like). But, even if they’re not in season, they’re easy to find in the grocery store and this recipe is a great one for using up apples that may be getting old and need to be eaten as you’ll be cooking them down a bit anyway.
Customizable — No apples? No problem! You can substitute berries, bananas, (for a great berry and/or banana recipe try this Blueberry Crepe Filling, or this Banana Crepe Filling), or just eat these Dutch baby pancakes with syrup or powdered sugar.
No leftovers — Okay so this might be one instance where I’m happy to have no leftovers. This recipe makes the perfect amount for our family, which means I can make it once and feed everyone and not worry about having to put away any leftovers.
Here’s How you Make it
Making the Dutch baby
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Add 4 tablespoons of butter to a 10-inch oven-safe skillet (I love to use my cast iron pan) and put the skillet into the oven on the center rack to melt the butter.
- While the butter melts, make the batter by combining eggs, flour, milk, and salt in a blender and pulsing till it’s smooth. Alternatively you can whisk the mixture together by hand till it’s smooth.
- When the butter is just melted (keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn), pour the batter into the center of the skillet and pop it back in the oven.
- Bake the German pancakes for 20 minutes, then turn the oven off and leave it to bake in the oven for another 5 minutes. It should be puffed and golden brown.
- While the pancake bakes, make the apple topping.
Preparing the apples
- Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, slices of apple, and brown sugar in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.
- Saute the mixture until the butter melts, then keep stirring till the brown sugar melts and starts to combine with the melted butter to make a syrup.
- Stir some more till the whole apple mixture is bubbly and thicker and the apples are tender.
- Take the apples off the heat and stir in the cinnamon.
- Serve the apples on top of the Dutch baby pancakes and add powdered sugar top if you like.
Why do they Call it a Dutch Baby?
How do dishes get their names? I have so many questions on so many recipes, but this one in particular.
It turns out, even though these Dutch babies are actually basically a German pancake (confused yet?), served at a restaurant called Manca’s Cafe in Seattle in the mid-1900s. It is thought that Victor Manca’s (the owner’s) daughter named them Dutch babies as she was trying to say they were “deutsch” as in German.
Kind of confusing, right? Whatever you want to call them is a-okay with me as long as you make them ASAP.
Why does a Dutch Baby Rise?
You might be wondering why this Dutch apple baby rises and puffs while regular pancakes do not.
The answer is: steam. When you combine the hot skillet with the melted butter in it and the well-beaten or whisked batter, what you get is a lot of air in the batter that is trapped when the steam hits it. The cool batter hits the hot butter, oven, and skillet and steam instantly escapes, puffing up the baby as it cooks.
Expert Tips
- Don’t burn the butter! Make sure you’re keeping an eye on the butter while it melts in the oven. You want it to be melted but not browned or burnt. This will change the whole taste of the Dutch baby and make the bottom crust burn.
- Make a fruit-filled Dutch baby by adding diced fruit (apples, peaches, berries) to the bottom of the pan (spread it out on the bottom) before pouring the batter on top.
- Do blend the batter if possible. Whipping that batter to a frenzy in the blender ensures lots and lots of air bubbles which translates to a puffier, airier Dutch baby!
More Breakfast Recipes to Try
- Apple Cinnamon French Toast
- Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake
- Strawberries and Cream French Toast
- German Pancakes Recipe
- Super Fluffy Blueberry Pancakes
Did you make this Apple Dutch Baby recipe? YAY! Please rate the recipe below!
Apple Dutch Baby
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ½ cup milk
- 6 tablespoons salted butter - divided
- 1 apple - peeled and thinly sliced
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon - optional
- powdered sugar - for serving, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Place 4 tablespoons butter in a 10-inch oven-safe skillet and place the skillet in the oven on a center rack to melt the butter.
- While butter is melting, prepare the batter by combining eggs, flour, salt, sugar, and milk in a blender and pulsing til smooth OR whisking in a bowl until smooth.
- As soon as the butter in your skillet is melted (be sure not to let it burn), pour batter into the center of the pan.
- Bake for 20 minutes, then turn off the oven and bake for about 5 minutes longer. Pancake should be puffed and golden. While pancake is baking, proceed with the next step.
- To prepare the apple topping, combine remaining two tablespoons butter, apple slices, and brown sugar in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.
- Saute until butter is melted, then continue to stir until brown sugar has melted and combined with the butter to make a syrup. Keep stirring until bubbly and thickened and apples are tender. Remove from heat, stir in cinnamon.
- Serve apple topping over pancakes with a dusting of powdered sugar if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
- Don’t burn the butter! Make sure you’re keeping an eye on the butter while it melts in the oven. You want it to be melted but not browned or burnt. This will change the whole taste of the Dutch baby and make the bottom crust burn.
- Make a fruit-filled Dutch baby by adding diced fruit (apples, peaches, berries) to the bottom of the pan (spread it out on the bottom) before pouring the batter on top.
- Do blend the batter if possible. Whipping that batter to a frenzy in the blender ensures lots and lots of air bubbles which translates to a puffier, airier Dutch baby!
This is the best recipe I have tried so far. It is even better than the NYT
This is always impressive. Super easy to make. I like to add blueberries to the apple mixture.
Excellent! I didn’t have apples so I used peaches. Delish!
When do you add the tablespoon of regular sugar?
It’s added into the blender with the other ingredients in step 3. I have updated the recipe. Thank you for bringing that to my attention! Sorry for any inconvenience.
Delicious. I used Splenda Blend in place of sugar…yummy!