Perfectly crisp edges and a soft, crepe-like center
The best weekend mornings start with a cast-iron skillet and involve copious dollops of whipped cream. This Buttermilk Dutch Baby is one of my favorite ways to make sure my weekend involves both. A simple almond and nutmeg-spiced buttermilk batter nestles into a puddle of melted butter in a cast-iron skillet. After a turn in the oven, the resulting sweet breakfast bake offers perfectly crisp edges encircling a soft, crepe-like center prime for drizzling, dolloping, and smearing with all manner of sweet toppings.
What is a Dutch Baby?
Have you ever struggled to decide if you're more in the mood for waffles, pancakes, or crepes? A Dutch baby is like a delicious combination of all three with a crisp outer edge like a waffle and puffy batter that rises in the oven like a pancake before deflating into a soft, almost custardy, crepe-like center as it settle outside of the oven.
There are some key differences though. Compared to traditional waffles, pancakes, and crepes, which are generally cooked in a pan on the stovetop or on a griddle, Dutchy babies are always cooked in the oven. They also don't usually contain any chemical leavening agents, such as baking powder or baking soda, like pancakes and waffles usually require.
Dutch Babies are also often referred to as a Dutch baby pancake, Dutch puff, German pancake, Bismark, or American popover.
How to top your Buttermilk Dutch Baby
Most of the time, I opt to top my Buttermilk Dutch Baby with warm fruit and fresh whipped cream. I've included an optional recipe for brown butter spiced apples, peaches, and blueberries in the recipe below, but we also love to top this Dutch Baby with fresh strawberries or raspberries, depending on the season. If I'm feeling particularly indulgent I might sprinkle some chopped nuts on top or drizzle it with a bit of my homemade Nutella or a dollop of nut butter as well. If you prefer a simpler topping than fruit and whipped cream, a sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar or powdered sugar is a really nice alternative.
WHAT TOOLS DO I NEED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE?
- A medium mixing bowl
- A kitchen scale (or measuring cups for less accurate measurements)
- Measuring spoons
- A whisk
- A rubber spatula
- A 10-inch cast-iron pan or other oven-safe pan
If making the optional fruit topping, you will also need:
- A cutting board (omit for bluberries)
- A chefs knife or paring knife (omit for blueberries)
- A medium saucepan
- A wooden spoon or spatula
Are you looking to upgrade to your cooking tools or replenish your pantry? Check out my kitchen tools shop page and pantry staples shop page to find my must-have kitchen tools, pantry items, and other Whip & Wander favorites.
Buttermilk Dutch Baby
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 1 Dutch Baby 1x
- Category: Breakfast & Brunch
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Dutch / German / American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
The best weekend mornings start with a cast-iron skillet and involve copious dollops of whipped cream. This Buttermilk Dutch Baby offers perfectly crisp edges encircling a soft, crepe-like center prime for drizzling, dolloping, and smearing with all manner of sweet toppings.
Ingredients
Buttermilk Dutch Baby:
- 80g (roughly ⅔ cup) all-purpose flour
- 160g (roughly ⅔ cup) buttermilk
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tbsp sugar
- ½ tsp almond extract
- pinch ground nutmeg
- 3 tbsp cold unsalted butter
Optional topping - Brown Butter Spiced Apples, Peaches, Blueberries:
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 tbsp brown sugar, tightly packed
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp cardamom, optional
- pinch Kosher salt
- Choice of one of the following fruits:
- 2 medium apples, cored and sliced into wedges*
- 3 medium peaches, fresh or frozen, pitted and sliced into wedges
- 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F / 230 C.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, buttermilk, eggs, sugar, almond extract, and nutmeg until well-combined.
- Place butter in a 10-inch cast-iron pan (or other oven-safe pan) and place in the oven. Allow the butter to melt fully. Watch closely, lightly browned butter is fun but do not allow the butter to burn.
- Once the butter is fully melted, give the pan a quick swirl and then add the batter to the pan on top of the butter. There will be some separation of butter and batter but do not be tempted to stir this into your batter or your Dutch baby will not bake properly.
- Return the pan to the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Then lower the heat to 300 degrees F / 150 C and bake for another 5 minutes.
- Remove pan from oven and dress with your choice of toppings. I prefer warm fruit (see below for brown butter fruit recipes) and whipped cream or a sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar or powdered sugar.
Optional topping - Brown Butter Spiced Apples, Peaches, or Blueberries:
(If you prefer that your apples on the softer side, start them before you begin your Dutch baby. If you prefer your apples to have a bit of bite to them, you can begin after placing the Dutch baby in the oven. I generally start the peaches and blueberries after the Dutch baby goes in the oven).
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, stirring occasionally. The butter will foam and then as the foam starts to dissipate the butter will begin to brown quickly. Once the color is amber, remove the pan from heat and immediately.
- Add the brown sugar cinnamon, nutmeg, and fruit of your choice, stirring to combine. Return the pan to heat over medium-low, stirring often until the fruit has reached your desired level of softness. If the sugar syrup begins to boil, lower the heat so it maintains a simmer.
- Serve over top of the Dutch baby with a dollop of whipped cream.
Notes
Nutritional information on Whip & Wander is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
*I prefer to mix Honeycrisp and Granny Smith but use whatever apples you prefer. I don't usually peel them, but if you apples have thick skins or you prefer them without skins, you can peel them first.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ½ of recipe without topping
- Calories: 446
- Sugar: 13 g
- Sodium: 182 mg
- Fat: 25 g
- Saturated Fat: 13 g
- Carbohydrates: 40 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 17 g
- Cholesterol: 48 mg
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