Dutch Baby Pancakes taste like Crepes but in pancake form. The batter puffs up to form a billowy crust with a custard-like center. We also included instructions for making a Berry Dutch Baby and even a Double Dutch.
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A dutch baby (German pancake) is simple to make but is truly special. Watch the video tutorial and see the magic that happens in the oven. My husband and kids love this and always ask for seconds.
Dutch Baby Video Tutorial
We love special breakfasts on weekends and holidays, from Poached Eggs to Quiche and Ricotta Pancakes (a family favorite). If you love breakfast as much as we do, this Dutch Baby recipe is a must-try.
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What is a Dutch Baby Pancake?
A dutch baby pancake is sometimes referred to as a puff pancake, a dutch puff, or a German pancake. It is essentially a large popover or Yorkshire pudding with a custardy base and crisp tall edges. It is typically served for breakfast.
Ingredients for German Pancakes
- Eggs – Eggs make this rise. To quickly bring eggs to room temperature, place in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes.
- Whole milk – to bring milk to room temperature, microwave for 15 seconds.
- Flour – we use all-purpose flour
- Sugar – 1 Tbsp makes this lightly sweetened
- Vanilla Extract – we love homemade vanilla
- Pinch of salt – to balance the flavor
- Pinch of nutmeg – optional but nice
- 3 Tbsp butter – softened or melted. We use unsalted.
How to Make Dutch Baby Pancakes
- Preheat Oven. Place pan into the oven to preheat at 425˚F for at least 8 minutes.
- Blend Batter. Add ingredients to the blender and blend until smooth, scraping down the jar to catch any stuck flour.
- Butter the Pan. Melt softened butter into the skillet and brush butter up the sides of the skillet.
- Add Batter. Pour all batter into the center of the pan.
- Bake. Immediately return to the oven and bake 16-18 minutes, until puffed and browned at the edges.
Tools you will need
- 10” oven-safe skillet – use cast-iron or seasoned stainless steel
- Hot Mitts – to transfer the preheated skillet in and out of the oven
- Blender – any type of blender will work.
- Spatula – to scrape down the sides of the bowl
Common Questions
Dutch Baby pancakes are derived from German Pancakes. The name “Dutch” was coined by Manca’s Cafe (1900-1950), a restaurant in Seattle. The owners’ daughter mispronounced the German word “Deutsch” which means German and it was originally served as 3 small (baby) pancakes, hence the name, “Dutch Baby.”
You can whisk the ingredients together in a bowl and whisk vigorously until well blended. You can also use an electric hand mixer.
It needs to be an oven-safe skillet or casserole. We use a 10″ cast iron or stainless steel pan, or even a deep pie dish for a dutch baby pancake. Use a 9×13 casserole to make a double dutch.
Dutch baby needs a generous amount of butter on the bottom and sides of the pan to prevent sticking and allow the sides to rise properly.
This is likely because your ingredients were not at room temperature. Also, a blender helps to achieve a super smooth consistency.
Serve With
Dutch baby pancakes should be served right away or they lose their dramatic puffed appearance, so have your toppings ready. We love to serve these with:
- Powdered Sugar – a.k.a. confectioners sugar
- Fresh fruit – seasonal berries or sliced stone fruit
- Strawberry Sauce – homemade and so easy
- Honey Butter – whipped with cinnamon and honey
- Raspberry Maple Syrup – blended with real raspberries
Make-Ahead
Dutch baby pancakes are best eaten fresh but you can make the batter ahead of time and refrigerate until ready to make the pancake. Give the batter quick whisking just before using it. For safety, avoid pouring cold liquid into any glass bakeware.
To Make a Berry Dutch Baby
To add berries, add batter into the skillet then scatter 1 cup of berries (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, or sliced strawberries) around the center of the pan. Bake the pancake as directed.
For an Apple Dutch Baby: Make an apple filling like we did for Apple Turnovers and sprinkle it over the top of the dutch baby batter before baking.
Doubling the Recipe
You can double the recipe making it a “Double Dutch.” Preheat the oven to 425˚F and preheat a 13×9 casserole dish. Remove hot casserole and add 4 Tbsp melted butter, brushing the bottom and sides with butter. Pour in batter and bake 20-23 minutes or until puffed and browned at the edges.
More Breakfast Ideas
If you love this Dutch Baby, then you won’t want to miss these breakfast favorites.
- Breakfast Burritos – make ahead and freezer friendly
- Buttermilk Pancakes – easy and so soft
- Blueberry muffins – bursting with fresh blueberries
- Pumpkin Pancakes – fluffy with great pumpkin flavor
- Banana Bread – so good with your morning coffee
- Green Smoothie Bowl – energizing to jump-start your day
- Sourdough Dutch Baby – if you love sourdough
Dutch Baby (German Pancakes) VIDEO
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature (put in warm water 5 minutes)
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup whole milk, at room temperature (microwaved 15 seconds)
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- Pinch of nutmeg, (optional)
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425˚F. Place an oven-safe skillet such as cast iron into the oven and let it preheat for at least 8 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in the jar of a blender, combine eggs, flour, milk, sugar, salt, nutmeg, and vanilla, and blend 30 seconds on high speed until smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender halfway through to make sure all flour is incorporated.
- Carefully remove the pan from the oven using hot mitts. Add 3 Tbsp butter to the hot pan and swirl to coat bottom and sides of the pan. The butter should sizzle.
- Add batter to the buttered pan then bake for 16-18 minutes or until pancake is puffed and golden brown at the edges.
- Carefully remove the pan from the oven with hot mitts and serve pancake right away.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
My aunt would serve this with canned peaches sweetened with brown sugar and nutmeg. So yummy.
Great idea! Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Krista!
OMG, this is so easy and fun to make. 🙂
Thank you for this recipe, I have an alt. for regular pancakes.
You’re welcome! I’m glad you loved and enjoyed making this recipe.
I bake this recipe in a 9×13 pan. After it comes out, I pour cooked vanilla pudding in the center of the pastry, then roll it up lengthwise. Then I slice it into portions. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and add fresh fruit as a topping…WOW to die for!!
I’m so glad you loved it! It sounds like everything worked out perfectly!
Made this in my old faithful Griswold #10 Cast Iron Skillet and on my first attempt came out beautiful (and tasty)!
Now I’m wondering if same recipe could be used in muffin pans for popovers?
Thank you. I was raised in Germany (German mom and American father) and I have never heard of these.
This is so easy and quick to make without a blender. Just make sure milk and eggs are at room temp. And mix everything by hand in this order: flour, sugar, salt, eggs, add milk slowly and vanilla at the end. Mix very good with a whisk. Puffs up beautifully every time!
I love your recipes and look forward to trying this one! I was wondering if using a Le Creuset Dutch oven instead of a skillet is possible with this recipe?
HI Fal, I honestly haven’t tried that so I’m not 100% sure how that would work out to preheat and use a dutch oven. My only concern there is that the enamel coating isn’t truly non-stick and might stick more than using a seasoned cast iron skillet.
I made this with coconut milk, gluten free flour mix and plant butter and it turned out beautifully. Just thought that you would be interested in the fact it can be made gluten and dairy free. Delicious?
Nice to know that it turned out delicious! Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for your video nand recipe for making Dutch Babies. I used your recipe, but found out I had no vanilla, so I substituted almond flavoring, and when I poured the batter in the pan I sprinkled it with sliced almonds. It was scrumptious and my husband loved it! Thanks for such an easy and delicious recipe. I like that the pancake does not have much sugar; my husband is diabetic so this was a good dessert for him.
I’m so glad that worked out Vickie! Thank you so much for sharing that with me!
This is a great version of a standard I have made for years- thank you Natasha for the recipe!
You’re welcome, Shelley!
Great recipe, and easy to make. I only bake for 10 minutes so be sure to check before baking 16-18 minutes.
Thanks for sharing that with us!
I made this for breakfast this morning. It was so easy and extremely delicious! Thank you so much for this amazing recipe.
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Shelly!
made this twice as far this year. Love it. I didn’t have whole milk so I used 2% with a bit of whipping cream. Turned out great. Topped with strawberry and blueberry.
Great to hear that you loved the recipe!
Made this today for Christmas breakfast and it was delicious! Added a good shake of cinnamon to the batter, and 1 pealed and diced apple (sautéed in butter, sugar, and cinnamon) and fresh blueberries. Also didn’t have any whole milk, so made my own with skim milk and heavy cream (abt. 1/3 milk and 2/3 cream). Can’t wait to make it again. 😋
Hello Laura, thanks for the great feedback. I’m glad the substitutions that you used worked well!
I’ve always wanted to try these and finally did for Christmas brunch. They turned out terrific! Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Great to hear that you loved it, Sean. I hope you’ll love more recipes that you will try!
I am making it tomorrow morning for my husband and I …..I’ll send pictures….
The perfect Christmas treat! I hope you both love it!
Hi Natasha, it is looking very amazing, looking forward to make them. Please do not call them Dutch little pancakes, they are not. Please do not mix to countries Germany & the Netherlands, both countries have their own culture & recipes. Thank you in advance, Regards, Gemma
That’s what they are called, the post has an explanation of where the name came from, I did not come up with that myself. They are so yummy hope you get to try them soon.
So good! I make this frequently on weekends. We have a big crew and often guests too, so I quadruple the recipe and then bake it in two 9X13 trays. It’s enough usually for 8 hungry people.
Your recipes for honey butter and raspberry maple syrup to go with this have been great too. Thank you so much Natasha!
Hello Natasha,
The Dutch Baby Pancake looks simply mah-vah-lous!
I have a question. Can Almond Flour be used rather than All Purpose Flour?
Thank you in advance.
Regards,
Simone
Hi Simone, I honestly haven’t tested it to say for sure. Let me know if you experiment with almond flour.
So I need to make this for a group of people, about 10. I saw what you said about making a double dutch. Will it still rise and taste as good this way?
Hi Ashley, my preference is still to have two separate ones. They will always puff up higher.
Why mine didn’t puff up but the recipe is delicious thank you
A key for making sure it pops up is to preheat your skillet in the oven adequately. I hope that helps and I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe anyways!
would this recipe work to be made in 2 6-inch cast irons?
Hi Anna, I haven’t tested that but I bet that could work! I’d love to know how it goes if you try that out.
I love this recipe and my husband could eat it every day! We find a whole recipe too much for the two of us so I make half the recipe and bake in a 6 inch pan. It works great. I do stir up the 3 eggs and save half for the next day. I also find that it is important to preheat the pan and it puffs better if the eggs and milk are at room temperature (I mix them together and warm for 15-20 seconds in the microwave).
Thanks for sharing that with us, Suzie! I’m glad that you and your husband love this recipe so much!
I make these in two 5.5 cast iron pans.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me.