buttermilk dutch baby & berries

Dutch baby. A little blonde infant wearing tiny wooden clogs.

Apparently not. Who knew that this German pancake would have such an unassuming and precious name?

This trending breakfast staple has been blowing up my instagram feed. After reading all about it in the April issue of Bon Appetit, I had to jump on the Dutch Baby train. The recipe given in the magazine catered to savory Dutch Babies, served with eggs, avocado, steak, prosciutto, onions…you name it! Now that I have made two or three, I can tell you that if you can put it on a piece of bread or pancake or french toast or biscuit or muffin or pizza (you catch my drift)… you can put it on a Dutch Baby.  Not only is it versatile, but it is fast, easy and impressive. Ready to freaking make one yourself?

But first, can we talk about my new cast iron skillet? Don’t hate me, but when we moved from middle-of-no-where Pennsylvania to Savannah, I had to ditch a lot of random household items. The cast iron skillet was the first to go. It was heavy, bulky and I never (ever) used it.

Fast forward a few months in Savannah, our friends, one a Jew and the other an Indian, make incredible food for us on a weekly basis. Guess what? They cook EVERYTHING in their cast iron pan. They’ve made us naan, pizza, bagels, tortilla shells, and all kinds of Indian cuisine in this darn pan. So of course, I was super inspired to get one for my kitchen. This little beauty is from HomeGoods, cost me $12.99 and was pre-seasoned and ready to go. Um, to say the least, it’s a dream come true for home cooking.

Okay okay, it’s time to make our little Dutch Baby together. I will give you substitution and omission tips, so you can make this recipe sweet or savory.

ingredients

• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted and then slightly cooled
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons corn starch
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Additional butter for coating the pan

sweet

add-ins

• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• a few dashes of cinnamon
• some nutmeg

toppings

• berries
• powdered sugar
• melted chocolate
• ice cream
• ricotta
• freshly whipped cream

savory

add-ins

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• red pepper flakes
• a few dashes hot sauce

toppings

• prosciutto
• avocado
• sunny side-up egg
• steak
• spinach
• onions
• goat cheese

materials needed

• cast iron skillet
• blender

 

directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and place the cast iron skillet inside the oven as it preheats. Keep the pan in the oven for 15-20 minutes.
2. In a blender, blend eggs until frothy.
3. Blend the rest of the ingredients, including any savory or sweet ADD-INS in the blender.
4. Carefully take the cast iron skillet out of oven and swirl around 2 TABLESPOONS BUTTER to coat the bottom of the pan. Hurry, it will brown fast.
5. Quickly pour the batter in the skillet and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until top is golden brown.
6. Decorate with sweet or savory toppings of your choosing and ENJOY.

This sweet baby had a crunchy (and buttery) outer shell with a soft custard-like center. The salty outer layer complimented the sweet filling and sour fruit topping. Hubby and I shared this Baby with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream that just melted all over. Such creamy goodness. I can’t wait to play with different combinations of sweet and savory Dutch Babies. Comment below on a combination you would like to try!