Oven Pancakes (Dutch Babies) Recipe: With Photos and 5 Variations

Author:: Joilene Rasmussen

Joy has always loved cooking and baking, and she has collected thousands of recipes. Nutrition, beauty, taste, and creativity are criteria.

What Are Oven Pancakes?

Similar to a Yorkshire pudding—but without the beef grease—oven pancakes, also called Dutch babies, are simple, beautiful, and scrumptious.

Versatile and Beloved Pancake

When I was a child, my family ate this souffle-like pancake often for breakfast. It was consistently delicious, beautiful, and warming—especially in winter. My mother usually served it plain, except for a sprinkling of powdered sugar. (My brother heaped sugar into the curled fortress walls of the corner pieces, like blizzard-driven drifts.)

When I had a family of my own, I introduced my husband to this dish early in our marriage, and he fell in love with it. I discovered that it not only filled bellies with minimal effort, but the leftovers made fine snacks straight from the refrigerator.

My husband and I sometimes took a batch with us when we hunted geese or ducks, as it needed no additions, and it made an agreeable finger food. So what if the occasional piece was coated with hard-set butter? In a pre-dawn chill, the extra fat was very welcome!

Performance of Batter Under Varying Conditions

This recipe has only enough flour in it to give the batter some body. Otherwise, it would be a baked omelette. You may adjust the amounts of almost everything until you find the perfect balance for you. Just be aware that different flours, and the textures of cheeses, fruits, and other additions, can radically alter the ability of the batter to rise, for which it relies on air beaten into it. Sometimes you may have a flatter pancake, sometimes it may almost overflow the pan. Changes in atmospheric pressure and humidity can play roles, as well.

Start with the basic recipe, which is fairly reliable, and work your way up from there.

Cook Time

Prep time	Cook time	Ready in	Yields
10 min	45 min	55 min	3 to 4 hungry adults, or 2 to 3 teens

Ingredients

1 cup white all-purpose flour*
2 cups milk, dairy or plant-based
8 large eggs
1/2 to 2/3 cup butter or coconut oil, roughly chopped**
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon, optional

*A combination of other flours may be used, including whole wheat, oat flour, powdered sorghum, finely ground corn, rice, coconut flour, or anything else you want to try—see note below.

**The larger amount of fat will make a softer crust, but it may pool excessively in the bottom of the pan

Note About Using Different Flours

Flours without gluten may be used, as may flours of differing consistencies. However, flours of widely varying weights will probably separate during baking, leaving layers cemented with egg. This is true of white flour and whole wheat flour, as well as most other whole grain meals or flours.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400° F. In a 9x13-inch baking pan, or a 12-inch cast-iron skillet, put chopped butter, distributed across the bottom.
Put pan in still-heating oven to melt butter, with oven rack in lower or middle position. (Lower for dark pans or cast iron, middle for lighter or glass pans.)
Place flour(s) in a batter bowl or medium-size mixing bowl. Add salt, and any spices, herbs, or dried fruits. (Fruits coated with flour are less likely to sink during baking). Stir until additions are evenly distributed.
Add eggs on top of flour, and break yolks with a fork or whisk. Stir slightly into flour (mixture should remain liquid on top). Add a dash of milk, stir a little, then add small amounts of milk until all of it has been whisked in, with no lumps remaining. The batter will be quite runny.
Stir in meats, cubed cheeses, and any chopped fruits you want mixed with the batter.
Sprinkle on any fresh or frozen fruits or seeds, as well as any shredded cheeses of your choice.
Take the pan from the oven and carefully pour the batter into the melted butter; return to oven. Bake for 40 minutes, or until puffs and peaks form, the top begins to crack and brown, and a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
Cut in pieces and serve immediately.

Variations and Additions

Sorghum Flour	Oat Flour	Buckwheat Flour
Rice Flour	Potato Flour	Coconut Flour
Almond Milk	Coconut Oil	Coconut Milk
Poppyseeds	Sunflower Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, etc.	Almonds, Walnuts, etc.
Blueberries	Raspberries	Blackberries
Rhubarb, Pureed or Chopped	Strawberries	Cranberries
Plums, Wild or Domestic	Other Stone Fruits	Mango, Chopped or Pureed
Orange Juice	Raisins, Golden or Dark	Chocolate Chips
Greens, Chopped	Vegetables--Broccoli, Carrots, Onions...	Cheese--Cheddar, Mozzarella...
Tomatoes, Sliced or Chopped	Salsa--Tomatoes, Tomatillo, or Fruit	Herbs, Black Pepper, Lavender...
Pepperoni, Summer Sausage, Other Sausage	Ham	Steak Bits