If you want to impress your house guests this holiday season, serve them an Apple Dutch Baby for breakfast. It is made with a combination of caramelized apples and a custard style batter. The whole process is done in the oven creating one large puffy pancake that is absolutely scrumptious!
It all starts with melting some butter in a heavy skillet in the oven. I use my favorite Lodge cast iron skillet. A sprinkle of brown sugar, apples and cinnamon sugar on top are added to the hot pan and put back in the oven to caramelize. Depending on the type of apples, you can vary the amount of sugars used. I used my Talley Farms Pink Lady apples and they are crisp and tart so I followed the recipe as is and it worked out perfectly.
Once the apples are sizzling and caramelized, you add the batter which melds with the apples to make a beautiful puffed pancake. After you pull it out of the oven, expect the pancake to deflate and become somewhat flat in the middle.
If desired, you can sprinkle it with a bit of powdered sugar. It’s more for looks than flavor as it is usually sweet enough already, but I love the look and taste of a little powdered sugar on it!
Apple Dutch Baby
Serves 4
- 3 apples
- 4 tablespoons sugar, divided
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup whole or 2% milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 5 large eggs
- Powdered sugar, optional
- Heat the oven to 400°F. Peel, core, and quarter the apples, then cut them into medium slices (1/4-inch thick or less). Then cut the slices in halves or thirds. You should have about 3 cups of chopped apples.
- In a small bowl, mix 3 tablespoons of sugar with the cinnamon and ginger and set aside.
- Cut the butter into chunks and place them in a deep cast iron skillet or 8×8-inch baking dish. Put the skillet or baking dish in the oven for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the butter is melted. Take the pan out of the oven and sprinkle the 1/3 cup brown sugar over the melted butter. Carefully spread the apples on top of the brown sugar and sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture over the apples. Put the pan back in the oven to caramelize the apples and sugar.
- Whisk the flour with the remaining tablespoon of sugar, salt, and nutmeg. Gradually add the milk, whisking constantly with a large wire whisk to beat out any lumps. When the flour is smoothly incorporated into the milk, beat in the vanilla and the eggs, one by one. Beat by hand for 2 minutes, or until foamy. Let the batter rest for 5 minutes. By now the sugar should be bubbling around the apples.
- Take the pan out of the oven and pour the batter over the apples. Bake for about 20 more minutes, or until center is set and sides are lightly browned. The pancake will puff up dramatically but fall after a few minutes after you take it out of the oven.
- If you want, serve with a sprinkle of powdered sugar.
2 opinions on “Your Holiday Guests will Swoon over this Breakfast Dish!”
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I have a similar recipe from many years back. It is fabulous to eat and serve…a little extra work, but worth it. Enjoy!
I have made other similar variations in the past too. I liked the fact that this one was all done in the oven in the same pan!