Baked Pancake

So, I made this baked pancake. I am choosing to call it that, instead of Dutch Baby, or German Pancake, because the truth is, that is not how it’s supposed to look like. It’s supposed to be much puffier on the sides, almost shaped like a bowl. It didn’t happen. But flavor did happen! So I decided to post this anyway and count it as a success, even though it doesn’t look like I wanted it to. It still tastes great and I will make it again for sure!

I decided I wanted to make my boys some pancakes, but I don’t have my griddle anymore and I didn’t want to deal with flipping pancakes for a while. They can eat a lot. So I found a recipe for Dutch Baby and decided that was our breakfast. I had some blueberries and strawberries on hand and it was go time.

Oven-Baked Pancake with Blueberries and Strawberries

4 tbs unsalted butter
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt 3 eggs
1 1/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking powder 1 cup blueberries
1 cup quartered strawberries
powdered sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 450 F. Place the butter in a 10-in oven-proof skillet (preferably cast iron), and place it in the oven. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. In another bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla. Add this to the dry ingredients, and whisk until combined and smooth.Wearing an oven mitt, remove the hot skillet from the oven (the butter should be bubbling), and pour in the batter all at once. Sprinkle the berries evenly over the top, and return the skillet to the oven. Bake until the pancake is nicely browned and puffed around the edges, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the pancake from the oven. Carefully transfer to a serving platter, and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

I basically took the Two Tarts recipe and changed it up a bit. I don’t have an iron skillet (working on that one!), so I used a different oven proof pan. Since it is a bit larger than a regular iron skillet would be, I upped the ingredients a little bit, and here is where my mistake happened, I added baking powder. It just seemed to me like it should be there. After all, it puffs stuff up, and it goes into regular pancakes as well. Yes?
No.
I mean, yes. It goes into the normal pancake batter. But, obviously by the look of my baked pancake, it does not go into Dutch Baby. It wasn’t in the original recipe so if you are going for Dutch Baby look, please follow the original recipe. Do not add the baking powder.
At least that is where I assume things went wrong. I am making another attempt at ‘real’ Dutch Baby soon, so I will be sure then! But you know what? This was still a great breakfast. It really was.

It came out of the oven looking like this, a bit of a disappointment at first, but I was able to see the beauty in it as soon as I smelled it 🙂

It was puffed, even though not in the right places, it had a crispy bottom but yet a fluffy melt in your mouth center. The fruits were wonderfully sweet and gooey and I loved it more than a regular pancake, for sure. My husband is a bit of a traditionalist here, so he said he preferred a regular pancake, but don’t trust him, try it! Make a large family baked pancake!
I just wished I had some whipped cream for topping…but blackberry honey also worked great for us! Sometimes mistakes turn into ‘it was meant to be’ moments. Specially when my three year old climbed up in his chair for breakfast and exclaimed he loves me, because I made him a pizza for breakfast. I just love him so much, he says the cutest stuff!

Need more proof? Look at picture bellow.
All gone.
I rest my case 🙂