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Home | Oven-Puffed Apple Pancake Is a Breakfast Treat

Oven-Puffed Apple Pancake Is a Breakfast Treat

oven puffed apple pancake

This puffed pancake is a favorite in our house for breakfast. We make this puffy, custardy pancake with apples at this time of year, since we usually happen to have quite a few on hand after apple picking. It's equally good made with fresh berries, too. This big pancake is also called a "Dutch baby", which my kids think is funny. The kids love to watch this pancake cook through the oven window, since the batter puffs up dramatically as it bakes. This recipe works best with a 10-inch cast iron skillet but any heavy, oven-proof, 9- or 10-inch pan with a handle will work.

It's actually pretty easy to forget to put on your oven mitt or hot handle holder when you're moving the hot pan in and out of the oven — I know this from painful experience — so always make sure you have one on you hand before you reach in to grab the skillet handle. Needless to say, this probably isn't a recipe for little ones to help with, other than with mixing the batter.

oven puffed apple pancake

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 large tart apples, peeled and sliced
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • Maple syrup or powdered sugar for serving

oven puffed apple pancake

Directions

Preheat your oven to 450ºF. Melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat in a 10-inch heavy ovenproof skillet. Add apples and cinnamon and cook over medium heat until softened, about 5–10 minutes. Remove apples from pan and set aside. Put remaining 3 tablespoons butter in the skillet and put in the oven to let the butter melt and the pan heat.

oven puffed apple pancake

Meanwhile, combine flour and salt in a large mixing bowl, and eggs, milk, and vanilla in another. Add wet ingredients to the dry ones and whisk until smooth.

Put on an oven mitt (really, really important) and remove the pan from the oven. Pour the batter into the pan all at once, and then pour the apples in evenly on top of the batter.

oven puffed apple pancake

Return the pan to the oven and bake until the pancake is puffed and browned, about 12–15 minutes.

Remove from oven and carefully slide onto a serving plate (you may need a spatula here). The pancake looks spectacular when it just comes out of the oven but will deflate a bit as it cools. Cut into wedges and serve with maple syrup or dust with powdered sugar. Serves 4.