recipes – Page 2 – Ruthi's Reflections

This past weekend Mark and I made a dutch baby. Have you ever heard of them? I just recently did and thought it would be a good “last supper” kind of thing before climbing back up on the wagon. And let me tell you… it was so worth every single calorie, carb, fat gram… whatever! I read a couple different recipes but went with this one, that I originally read about on this delightful little blog. I will put the recipe at the bottom of this page as well. I used Mom’s old cast iron skillet, which traveled with us to the jungles of Suriname and back. Everything tastes better when cooked in a well loved cast iron pan. So basically you mix up this thin pancake batter while your skillet is heating up in a hot oven. You throw some butter in the pan and then pour the batter over the melt butter, put it back in the oven and watch it puff up all crazy like. In 20 minutes you have this puffed up pancake. Grate some lemon zest, mix with sugar and sprinkle over this hot baby and you have the most delicious pancake you have ever eaten. Crispy on the outside and popover like on the inside. Serve it for breakfast or as a dessert. Eat it as is or some fresh berries would be a nice addition. I read that it originated at a resturaunt called Manca’s in Seattle years ago. Anyways, it was DE.LI.CIOUS! We exercised a tiny bit of self control and saved one piece to see if it was good leftover. Not so good… so next time we will eat the whole thing!

Speaking of Dutch Babies…

That’s right! Come summer, Prince Charming will be given the role of Big Brother! We of course can hardly contain our joy. God is so good!

DUTCH BABY

1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
3 large eggs at room temperature 30 minutes
2/3 cup whole milk at room temperature
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Equipment: a 10-inch cast-iron skillet

Put skillet on middle rack of oven and preheat oven to 450°F.

Stir together sugar and zest in a small bowl.

Beat eggs with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and frothy, then beat in milk, flour, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and continue to beat until smooth, about 1 minute more (batter will be thin).

Add butter to hot skillet and melt, swirling to coat. Add batter and immediately return skillet to oven. Bake until puffed and golden-brown, 18 to 25 minutes.

Serve immediately, topped with lemon sugar.