Dutch Baby aka German Pancake -Puffy Oven Pancake Recipe! {VIDEO} (2024)

FAQs

What's the difference between a Dutch baby and a German pancake? ›

A dutch baby pancake is sometimes referred to as a puff pancake, a dutch puff, or a German pancake. It is essentially a large popover or Yorkshire pudding with a custardy base and crisp tall edges. It is typically served for breakfast.

If the pancake was a little flat it is most likely that either the oven or the skillet (or other pan) was not hot enough. If the pan isn't hot enough then the liquid does not heat up and create the steam quickly enough and so the flour will cook through and set before the pancake can rise.

The idea of a Dutch baby pancake may have been derived from the German Pfannkuchen, but the current form originated in the US in the early 1900s.

Traditional German pancakes are cooked in a skillet on the cooktop, and are not as thick as American pancakes, and not as flat as crêpes. They are not the same as oven-baked Dutch baby pancakes (also ironically called German pancakes).

America has its famous fluffy and stacked pancakes, and the Dutch have pannenkoeken and poffertjes.

My kids get very excited for that moment when this amazing German pancake comes out of the oven! It has a bit of a custard like texture inside yet very light. We love eating these pancakes and have come to the conclusion that they taste like something in between a pancake, french toast and a crêpe!

There are two main culprits to flat, sad Dutch baby pancakes: Your oven wasn't hot enough. The hotter your oven, the more puffed your Dutch baby pancake will be. Make sure to preheat the oven for at least 10 minutes before baking the batter.

If you would like the inside of the finished dish to be a little less "egg-y" then cut the number of eggs down to 3, and many many reviewers also found that just 3 Tablespoons of butter worked better for them.

To those in the know, a Dutch baby really is just a large, puffy pancake, while Yorkshire pudding is a savory side dish that has graced meat-heavy meals in England for centuries. Yet, some people tend to confuse the two as being the same, owing to a similarity of ingredients and appearance.

To name just a few of the many names or endonyms for Germany: in the Scandinavian languages, Germany is known as Tyskland, in Polish as Niemcy, in Portuguese as Alemanha, in Italian as Germania, in French as Allemagne, in Dutch as Duitsland, and in Spanish as Alemania.

Why do they call it Dutch baby? ›

The term “Dutch baby” was coined by an American restaurateur whose use of “Dutch” was a corruption of the word “Deutsch” (“German” in German). “Baby” referred to the fact that the restaurant served miniature versions.

Why Didn't My Dutch Baby Puff Up? Like popovers and Yorkshire pudding, the thing that gives Dutch babies their signature puff is steam. In order for that steam to work the pancake into its signature peaks and valleys, you need two things: enough air in a well-developed batter and a piping-hot pan and oven.

A pannenkoek (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈpɑnə(ŋ)ˌkuk]; plural pannenkoeken [-ˌkukə(n)]) or Dutch pancake is a style of pancake with origins in the Netherlands. Pannenkoeken are usually larger (up to a foot in diameter) and much thinner than their American or Scotch pancake counterparts, but not as thin as crêpes.

A German pancake (a.k.a. a Dutch baby) is similar to a large Yorkshire pudding. Unlike other types of pancakes, German pancakes are baked in the oven instead of fried on the stove. They also don't contain leaving ingredients, such as baking powder or baking soda.

Both Netherlands-style Pannenkoeken and Dutch Baby pancakes make a wonderful breakfast option as the batter can be made the night before and, in the case of the Dutch Baby, the pancake is baked in the oven, making it a relatively hands-off recipe.