German Puff Pancake or Dutch Baby

This is another popular and quick recipe. I have heard it called by the above two names as well as by some unpronouncable name in Dutch. By any name it is a fantastic breakfast or brunch food.

I use the recipe out of Colorado Cache but have doubled it and added zest to the mixture. I have also changed the amount of butter needed for the pan and have lengthened the pan heating time.

The following feeds two:

6 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon zest
4 tablespoons melted butter
1 tablespoon unmelted butter for pan
lemons
powdered sugar

Pre-heat oven to 450 and put large cast iron in to pre-heat. Beat your eggs with fork, add milk and flour evenly, add salt, add melted butter and mix well. Remove pan from oven and melt 1 tablespoon of butter, swirling pan to coat sides. Bake for 10-20 minutes, depending on size of pan used. Serve with powdered sugar and lemon squeezed over pancake.

I have found that the super-heating of the cast iron pan really makes for a nice puffy pancake. Oddly enough, it doesn't seem to matter how you mix the ingredients, the cake always tastes the same. I started off making them by using the mixer, and mixing for several minutes (this was according to the recipe found in Sunset Magazine's cookbook). This, it turns out, seems to be a waste of effort. However, that may be due to our high altitude. If you are at sea-level, you might want to give the mix a few minutes of beating, I don't think it will hurt the pancake.

Enjoy!