Straight from kitchen of Rodney Williams and his gorgeous B&B cookbook, Memorable Mornings from the Strawberry Creek Inn, comes a recipe proving breakfast can be as dramatic and fun as it is delectable.
Light, airy and capable of pairing seamlessly with any number of breakfast sides, the following recipe for Dutch Baby Bunnies, Puffed Pancakes or German Puffed Pancakes as you might also know them, has become one of my favorites for serving overnight guests.
From the Memorable Mornings cookbook...
The magic that makes these pancakes so special for entertaining involves their expansion in the oven---from the steam created by the liquid and high temperature---following immediately upon their removal by a dramatic collapse. So much more dramatic than the ordinary American pancake.
There are endless ways to vary the batter to your liking, and there are endless ways to serve these. For instance, try tossing some fresh apples into the melted butter just before pouring the batter and baking, or mixing some fresh berries into the batter for a fruity surprise. They can be baked (and served) in a cast-iron skillet, or why not small, individual cast-iron skillets or gratin dishes?
If you adapt these Dutch Baby Bunnies at home with other fruits or even savory ingredients, why not let us know what you tried and how they turned out? Rodney and I would love to hear how you tailored these oven-baked pancakes to create your very own memorable morning!
Dutch Baby Bunnies (a.k.a. Puffed Pancakes)
A "Best of" Inn Cuisine, recipe courtesy Strawberry Creek Inn B&B
Yield: 1 individual pancake (ingredients may be doubled, tripled and so forth as needed; simply multiply ingredient measurements below by the number of guests you are feeding)
Cook’s note: to create the Dutch Baby Bunny Pancake pictured above, the following recipe was tripled and baked in a 7-inch round casserole dish.
ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 large egg, chilled
- 1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk, chilled
- 1/4 teaspoon aromatic bitters (optional) *see Angostura Bitters
- 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
suggested toppings & garnishes
- 1 teaspoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- fresh fruit (any combination of strawberries, bananas, blueberries or whatever is in season and handy)
- powdered sugar
- toasted almonds (or any other toasted nut)
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Place butter in an ovenproof standard-size ramekin, small round baking dish or individual-sized skillet, and heat in oven until butter is melted (watch butter carefully; it will melt fast due to high heat). While butter melts, beat the egg in a food processor, blender, or bowl with a wire whisk until light and bright yellow. Gradually beat in the buttermilk and other liquid ingredients. Gently mix in the dry ingredients. Pour the batter into the hot ramekin (or round baking dish/skillet) with melted butter and return to oven. Bake until the pancake is puffed and golden, approximately 12-15 minutes depending upon the accuracy of your oven. Serve at once, accompanied by selected toppings.
Additional notes: If doubling or tripling this recipe, you can bake larger pancakes in a skillet, paella pan, pie plate or any other relatively shallow, round, ovenproof dish and cut into wedges to serve; baking times may be altered, so judge doneness by appearance (pancake should be puffed & golden). Temperature is very important in getting the pancake to puff since there is no chemical leavening. The batter should be ice cold and the oven very hot. For that reason, you can mix the dry ingredients the night before and freeze them to ensure the batter will remain as cold as possible when mixing dry & wet ingredients together. You could also prepare the batter, allowing it to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes up to a few hours before baking.
How happy you've made me to see another post on Inn Cuisine!! The Dutch Baby Bunnies sound delightful!
Posted by: Susan | 02/29/2012 at 05:15 PM