Dutch Baby vs. Skillet Pancake

I recently scoured the internet looking for a perfect representation of a lemon blueberry dutch baby. What I came upon was a beautiful feast for the eyes as represented above, thanks to Jennifer Dorman on a lovely website called Brunch and Batter . I thoughtfully asked if I could use the photo to represent a “dutch baby” thinking the two were interchangeable. Boy, was I wrong! As it turns out, a skillet pancake is something quite different than a dutch baby. This information threw me a little off kilter as I’d apparently been misinforming people.

“Dutch babies,” said Dorman, “are made without any chemical leavening (such as baking powder), and instead, they get their rise from trapped steam coming from the hot pan and the batter. The batter rises super tall in the oven, then slowly deflates after removing. It gets puffy around the edges, and the inside stays thin and almost custard-like. The picture is of a blueberry pancake, made in a skillet. It’s the same batter as an American-style pancake but baked in the oven. Since the photo is taken from above, it can appear similar to a Dutch baby, which is often baked in a skillet, particularly cast iron. The notable difference in a Dutch baby would be puffy, uneven edges, with a deflated center.”

That explains why mine turned out like this:

It’s delicious and custardy…just not all that pretty. Here’s the recipe, courtesy of eatwheat.org.

Lemon blueberry Dutch Baby

• 4 Eggs
• 1 Cup blueberries
• ½ cup Milk
• ½ cup Flour
• 1 tsp. Vanilla
• ¼ tsp. Salt
• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• 4 Tablespoons melted butter (divided)
• Zest of one lemon

Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Mix eggs, flour, milk, salt, vanilla, sugar, lemon zest, and 2 T. melted butter in a blender.

Heat 2 T. butter in an oven-safe skillet and add 1 cup of blueberries. Immediately add the batter, then transfer it to the oven.

Cook for 15 minutes. It will puff way up and then collapse as it cools. It should have a custardy texture. Dust with powdered sugar. Top with maple syrup (optional).

To make the beautiful skillet pancake seen in the main photograph, follow this link at brunchandbatter.com.