Dutch Baby!

How Dutch Babies have eluded me my whole life I have no idea! I love 'em!

This is a "baby" Dutch Baby, with chocolate chips and fresh whipped cream.

They were baked in mini cast iron skillets, and the large Dutch Baby was baked in a 12" cast iron skillet. They are amazingly simple to make and so much fun to eat! I used a recipe from Williams Sonoma's website for the large Dutch Baby, and a Cooking Light recipe for the mini ones so that I could compare the two recipes.

Both recipes are delicious and I'm not sure I can even tell the difference. They are so fun to watch baking. They take about 10-15 minutes and you can watch them creep up the edge of the skillet.

They have a wonderful "custardy" texture. You can top them and fill them with just about anything you can think of... baked apples, strawberries, peaches and nectarines, oranges, bananas and nutella, maple syrup, or just butter and lots of powdered sugar!

Time for breakfast!

Like many of my favorite breakfasts this can make a great dessert too... some vanilla ice cream... chocolate sauce... Enjoy!

Bob's Dutch Baby- (Williams Sonoma website)

2 1/2 ounces butter (5 T.)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3 eggs

3/4 cup milk

1/2 tsp. salt

3 cups fruit

Powdered Sugar

Directions-

Oven: Adjust the rack to the upper third of the oven. Turn on the oven to 450 degrees.

Put the butter in a 12" skillet with an ovenproof handle. Set in the oven for 5 minutes to melt the butter completely (okay if it begins to brown).

While the butter melts, measure the flour into a large bowl. Add the eggs, milk and salt. Beat until smooth, using a whisk, large spoon or handheld electric mixer.

Pour the batter into the hot pan. Return the pan to the oven and bake for 15-20 mintues, until the sides are puffed up and dark golden brown. Remove from the oven. Loosen the Dutch Baby from the sides and bottom of the skillet, then slide it onto a serving plate. Pile the fruit in the center and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cut into wedges and serve.

Adapted from Rick and Lanie's Excellent Kitchen Adventures, by Rick Bayless and Lanie Bayless, with Deann Groen Bayless (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2004).

 Dutch Baby- Cooking Light

( I left out the bananas, but they sound delicious!)

3/4 cup 2 % milk

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 T. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

2 large eggs

2 T. butter, divided

1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

3 large firm bananas, halved crosswise then lengthwise

1/2 cup Kahlua

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Place a 9-inch cast-iron skillet in a 450 degree oven for 15 minutes. Combine first 5 ingredients; stir with  a whisk until smooth. Melt 1 T. butter in a preheated pan until browned, swirling to evenly coat pan. Add batter; sprinkle evenly with chocolate chips. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes or until puffed and browned.

3. While Dutch baby bakes, melt 1 T. butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add bananas; cook 2 minutes on each side or until browned. Add liqueur, and simmer 1 minute; serve with Dutch baby. Top Dutch baby with whipped topping.

Fresh Whipped Cream-

Whip 1 cup heavy whipping cream with a handheld mixer until thick and smooth, then add powdered sugar to taste.