Dutch Apple Pancake

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

My children tend to suck the fun out of eating, since they summarily reject most fruits and vegetables that aren’t either plain and raw or lightly steamed. I find myself avoiding recipes because I don’t want to deal with the trauma of inflicting something as awful as an apple pie upon them. But every once in a while when the kids are out I make something just for me. This past Sunday I tried a Dutch Apple Pancake, also called a German Apple or Puffed Apple pancake.The recipe suggests Granny Smith or Braeburn apples, depending on if you like your pancakes sweet or tart. Since I’d never had one before I used a variety of different apples from my CSA to see which I preferred.

Dutch Apple Pancake
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
2 apples, sweet or tart, cored and cut into 1/2-inch slices
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 Tbs. granulated sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup half and half
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Preheat an oven to 425ºF.
Melt 2 Tbs. of butter in a 10 inch ovenproof fry pan. Add the apple, cinnamon and granulated sugar and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the apple begins to soften and brown, 5 to 6 minutes. .
Whisk eggs, half and half and vanilla until blended. Sift the flour and salt into the egg mixture and whisk until just blended.

Pour the batter over the apple slices. Bake until the pancake is browned and puffed up, about 20-25 minutes. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve immediately.