D is for: Dutch Baby
DUTCH BABY (aka Crazy Eggs)
Servings: 2 - 4
Total Time to Complete Recipe: 25 min
Active cook/prep time: 5 min
Inactive cook/prep time: 25 min
Special Equipment Needed: 9 x 13 glass/metal pan
One of Garin's best friends, Nate, is crazy. Not in a bad way, but yes - he is completely crazy. Of course we love him dearly and his sweet family means the world to us. But they are all crazy. Perhaps that's why we love them so much? We've been able to visit Nate & his family a few times over the last so many years, and each time - without fail - he cooks us up some Crazy Eggs for breakfast. I'd never heard of Crazy Eggs before, and when I saw them... I knew I'd never seen them before. And when I ate them, yummmmm... I'd never had them before but I was convinced I must have them again.
Sometime after the Crazy Egg experience, I visited an iconic breakfast restaurant in Portland called The Original Pancake House. They have one of the largest breakfast inspired menus I've ever seen. (And it's all amazing). One particular dish caught my eye - the Dutch Baby. So I ordered it. Lo-and-behold - they brought out to me none other than Nate's Crazy Eggs! What?? Someone other than Garin's crazy friend knew about Crazy Eggs? And they call them Dutch Babies? Apparently everyone knew of these (except for me). They can even be referred to as German Pancakes, another very common name. I'm still a fan of Crazy Eggs... and I think in our home that's what we'll continue to call them, but for readers sanity (and for online searching assistance), I figure using a standard name such as the Dutch Baby makes a whole lot more sense.
And regardless of what you call them, they're delicious. Traditionally, a squeeze of lemon and a generous dusting of powdered sugar is all you need on this dish. But we even like to eat them with fresh home-made jam, a good syrup, or even a sprinkle of some cinnamon and sugar. The best part about these eggs? Watch them the last ten minutes of cooking! You're kids will squeal! Like a souffle, it'll puff up huge and is quite the show for the interested tykes.
TIPS & TRICKS
- Just follow the recipe. I can't tell you how many fancy other Dutch Baby recipes I tried until I got ahold of this version. Worked like a charm and per Garin, will now be our regular Sunday morning staple.
- I used chilled eggs & milk, but I think next time I'll experiment with room temperature eggs & milk. The less distance the batter has to go to get warm, the better it'll react. So, we'll see how much bigger I can get this "baby" next time!
- This is the basic recipe, but feel free to improvise with flavors: add some sugar and cinnamon, or some nutmeg! Yumm!
- Oven MUST be at 420 before putting in eggs. If you put the eggs in before the oven has warmed up, they will not rise correctly.
- When melting butter in oven, make sure it's melted - but not browned. Just keep an eye on it that you don't burn it before adding the batter. (No! I've never done that!! Don't even suggest it!)
- Do NOT (DO NOT) open oven to check on eggs. They will deflate. This is your first warning.
INGREDIENTS
3 Tbs Butter
6 eggs
1 Cup Milk
1 Cup Flour
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Vanilla
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 425 F and place rack just below middle of oven (and ensure no additional racks are above your cooking rack).
- Place butter in 9 x 13 glass/metal pan. Put pan in pre-heating oven until butter is melted and pan is hot.
- In a large bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients until smooth (and flour no longer has lumps).
- Pour batter into heated pan with butter and place immediately in pre-heated oven.
- Bake for 20 minutes. DO NOT OPEN TO CHECK ON PROGRESS. (This is your second warning)
- Serve immediately with favorite pancake condiments.
Recipe Origins: adapted from Crazy N8
My mom and grandma made these when i was growing up. My grandma made me a scale-able recipe depending on how many you're feeding. Quite handy for company - I make these for the missionaries for Sunday dinner. Skillet apples or buttermilk syrup are good on them, too.
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