German Pancake – Dutch Baby Pancake Recipe

Bring this spectacular German Pancake – Dutch Baby Pancake breakfast or brunch dish to the table as soon as it comes out of the oven for a lot of oohs and aahs!  This German Pancake or Dutch Baby Pancake is one of the simplest dishes to prepare and one of the most impressive to serve.

This fantastic egg dish is a cross between a souffle and an omelet – it is a light and airy pancake with sides.  The eggs also get puffed (this egg mixture billows up to unbelievable heights) and crispy around the edges while retaining a pancake-like tenderness in the middle.  The sides of the pancake rise high above edges of the pan, creating a light, puffy crust with a tender, custard-like middle.  This pancake is also know as Bismarck Pancake, Dutch Puff Pancake, and also David Eyre’s Pancake.

Learn all about Eggs and how to cook them, and for more great brunch ideas, check out my Brunch Recipes.

German Pancakes

German Pancakes - Dutch Baby Pancakes Recipe
Prep Time
15 mins
Total Time
15 mins
 
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: German
Keyword: Dutch Baby Pancake Recipe, German Pancake Recipe
Ingredients
Small Pancakes - Makes 2 servings:
  • I used my 10-inch cast iron skillet for this batch.
  • 3 eggs, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup milk, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup bread flour, sifted or all-purpose flour*
  • 1/8 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
  • 7 teaspoons butter
  • Lemon juice, fresh-squeezed
  • Powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar)
Medium Pancakes - Makes 4 servings:
  • I used my 10-inch cast iron skillet for this batch.
  • 6 eggs, room temperature
  • 1 cup milk, room temperature
  • 1 cup bread flour, sifted or all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
  • 5 tablespoons butter
  • Lemon juice, fresh-squeezed
  • Powdered sugar (confectioners' sugar)
Large Pancakes - Makes 6 servings:
  • I used my 12-inch cast iron skillet for this batch.
  • 9 eggs, room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups milk, room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups bread flour, sifted or all-purpose flour*
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
  • 8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) butter
  • Lemon juice, fresh-squeezed
  • Powdered sugar (confectioners' sugar)
Topping Ideas:
  • Butter
  • Fresh applesauce with a dash of cinnamon
  • Pineapple, crushed and drained
  • Whipped cream and sliced fresh strawberries
  • Syrups (maple your favorite fruit syrup, or honey)
  • Canned pie filling, cold or warm
Instructions
  1. 1.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  

  2. It is very important that you preheat your oven.  Place oven rack on the middle rack of your oven.  Place a large, heavy ovenproof frying pan or a cast iron skillet, in the oven until hot and sizzling.  While pan is heating, prepare your batter.

  3. Use a shallow pan, not more than 3 inches deep (pie pans, cast iron skillets, oven-proof fry pans, baking dishes, paella pans).  Like I said before, I prefer using a cast iron skillet or pan because it acts as a heat reservoir, retaining the heat and distributing it evenly.

  4. cast iron skillet


  5. 2.
      In a large bowl or blender, beat the eggs until light and frothy; add milk, flour, vanilla extract, and cinnamon; beat for 5 minutes more.  The batter will be thin, but very smooth and creamy. You can also use your blender or Vitamixer.

  6. Using pot holders, remove the hot skillet from the oven; add the butter; tilting the pan to melt the butter and coat the skillet.  I never remove the hot skillet from the oven, but just pull out my oven rack.

  7. Melting Butter

  8. 3.  Pour the prepared batter into the hot skillet, all at once, and immediately return the skillet to the oven.

  9. Pouring batter into hot skillet

  10. 4. Bake approximately 20 to 25 minutes or until puffed and golden brown (bake until the pancake puffs up around the edges - it may puff irregularly in the center.  The timing will also depend on the size of your pan or skillet.

  11. 5.  Carefully remove the pancake from the oven and serve immediately.  Either bring the pancake to the table in its pan or slide it onto a serving plate.  Once out of the oven, the pancake will begin to deflate.  I normally serve the pancake in the pan it was cooked in.

  12. German Pancake done baking

  13. 6.  To serve, cut into serving-size wedges and transfer to individual serving plates.  Top with your favorite topping and serve immediately.  For a classic German Pancake/Dutch Baby, sprinkle with freshly squeezed lemon juice, and dust the top with powdered sugar.  See other Topping Ideas below.

  14. Cutting German Pancake

  15. The photo showing the thicker custard-like filling is from making the large Dutch Baby Pancake.

  16. Variation Ideas:

  17. Blueberries - Pour prepared batter over approximately 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries and then place the skillet in the oven.

  18. You could also top the cooked pancake with berries of your choice.

Recipe Notes

* Bread flour is a high-protein flour.  The high protein helps the pancake rise.  All-purpose flour may be substituted but the results will not be as spectacular.



Comments from readers:

I just wanted to write and tell you that I had been searching for a few years for this recipe, as I was always told of the amazing German Pancakes I used to have every Sunday at a friends were a form of waffle.  Well I decided to do a search for images and put waffles in and nothing looked like the mysterious food I used to eat.  I figured what the heck, I will put pancakes in the search.  Then I seen your picture of the pancakes and I knew they had to be them!

Well I got all the ingredients last week, including the cast iron skillet, and intended on making them this weekend which I have just done about 20 minutes ago. They were delicious!!  Not as poofy as I remember, but I did the 2 to 3 serving in a 10-inch skillet and used all purpose flour.  Anyway just wanted to say thank you for the amazing easy-to-follow recipe and beautiful pictures.  This will be a regular weekend recipe for our family! – Brandi Abernethy, Ontario, Canada

 

Categories:

Breakfast & Brunch Main Dishes    Christmas    Easter    Father's Day    Mother's Day    Pancakes   

Comments and Reviews

25 Responses to “German Pancake – Dutch Baby Pancake Recipe”

  1. Rosemarie Szewczyk

    This is the best German pancake recipe that I have found. Works perfect every time. Just like the ones in the restaurants. The recipe is easy to follow , easy to make and oh so easy to eat with my favorite topping….strawberries……

    Reply
  2. Rhonda

    Never heard of German pancakes, never tried them before. I found this recipe and made it today. It was GREAT!
    Thank you, I will make it again! 🙂

    Reply
  3. Linda

    Why is everyone calling it German pancake when the name is Dutch pancake? Dutch is from the Netherlands, Deutsch is from Germany..
    Having said that, I am Dutch and we don’t have this style of oven baked pancake, ours are like crêpes, thin and fried in a frying pan.

    Reply
    • Melanie

      Because the German word for German is Deutsch. It’s a version of that word.

      Reply
  4. Noel bosse

    “Dutch” Baby name – another cite said a young boy associated with a Seattle restaurant could not say the correct pronunciation of the German “Deutsch”, and pronounced it as “Dutch”, and it was a popular item at the restaurant, hence the current name of “Dutch Baby”. My understanding is that it possibly originated in Germany with other variations throughout Europe?

    Reply
    • Doc

      Why do so many people want to make a mountain out of an ant hill? Does it really matter where the name came from? Except in a game I don’t see that all of that has anything to do with anything. Thanks for the recipe. I shall try it as soon as possible, which for me, is tomorrow, so don’t ask “With who, or whom?” nor “At what time?”

      Reply
      • Donna Stark

        Exactly what i was thinking ! Some people j7st want to think they “know” EVERYTHING !

        Reply
  5. Dan Donahue

    Yes thats the same recipe i have been making for 40+ years. Elmers pancake house chain also has made it for decades. After bringing out of the oven, I put lots of butter in the center and get it all wet on the inside, put in the powered sugar and lemon, your making your own surup . then fold it up in a square, holding all the stuffing inside. When you cut the square, all the stuffing material ooozzzes out and is wonderful. My favorite breakfast. And yes I’m german and the recipe was handed down from my great great grandmother. I can send pictures also, smiles.

    Reply
    • JoAnne Hubbard

      Dan, I would love to see your photos of your “square” with the filling…

      Reply
    • Tammy Reh

      Yes can you send pictures and your version of the durch baby pancakes?

      Reply
  6. Yuen Mi @ A Travel Diary

    Never heard of this before or seen it at the restaurant. Will have to give it a try since I’ve never had such thick pancakes before. I’m curious to see the taste.

    Reply
  7. Karen Holleyhead

    My Grandmother born 1865 in Germany, made German pancakes – they were like a thick crepe and curled up on the edges. We grew up in Cincinnati. One of the KEYS to the pancake (not made in the oven but in a cast iron skillet on the burner) was the use of CRISCO. We begged always for more – they were the most delicious. I don’t remember them puffing up at all. The toppings we used were confectioners (powdered) sugar, but we made a Blintz, where you put cottage cheese, cinnamon and sugar stop and rolled the pancake up. It was the BEST.

    Reply
    • Carol Beattie Shead

      My mother made this recipe calling it an”oven pancake.” I saw a similar dish at a pancake house where it was called a “German pancake.” Now, just for fun, I will tell you that she also made “Norwegians,” which apparently were crepes made from thin batter, were cooked in a small range top skillet, and were rolled up with syrup inside. So, when I made the acquaintance of a young lady from Norway, I asked her whether she had ever heard of them. Of course, the answer was. “No.” I suspected it was one of those deals where a recipe was renamed somehow. We enjoy Oven Pancake, Norwegians, and good ole toast and jelly, it’s all good!

      Reply
  8. Nancy Nortz

    Have been making for years not using vanilla or cinnamon. Also add melted butter back into batter after preparing pan. Secret is to froth eggs, finish batter and put in oven immediately, then it is very fluffy. Like idea of blueberries, will try!

    Reply
  9. Nancy Nortz

    Also, for double batch I use the bottom of broiler pan, works very well!

    Reply
  10. ruth bringer

    I make these all the time. Known as “Dutch Baby”, but I saute apple wedges (not slices) in butter and sugar/cinnamon. Then pour batter over apples and pop in oven. Delicious!

    Reply
  11. Petra

    Well, I am german and still living in Germany. Found this site with Pinterest. I can tell you first hand that german pancakes like crepes and not like a cake. But it doesn’t matter for me how you call it, I will try your version of it. 😉

    Reply
  12. J

    Any clue how many carbs per serving, as is?

    Reply
  13. RJ

    7 teaspoons? How do you measure butter in tsps?

    Reply
    • Nancy

      7 teaspoons converts to 2.33 tablespoons, If it is confusing to measure the smaller recipe, I would just make the larger recipe, you’ll want more of it anyway.

      Reply
  14. Dennis

    I have been using your recipe for a couple of years now and it has become a family favorite. I use it when I want to get the family together for breakfast. I never have any refusals.

    Reply
    • Nancy

      It is a great brunch recipe. We always have to double the recipe because it goes fast!
      Nancy

      Reply
  15. Mike

    440 and 20 mins always equals burned. I do 420 and 12 mins.

    Reply
  16. Taylor

    @Linda – You know the only people who care? The Deutsch and the Dutch. The other 7 billion people in the world don’t.

    Reply
  17. Nikki

    These look good but I’m from Germany and have never seen these in my life. Our pancakes are more like crepes that we roll up with strawberry jam or the like. Maybe northerners eat them though, I don’t know a lot of their food lol

    Reply

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