The Fall breakfast pancake dreams are made of! The beautifully puffy oven pancake known as the Dutch Baby with the most delicious Fall twist of fresh sliced apples, crisp topping, apple cider syrup and a dollop of cinnamon cream. One thing I love about Dutch Babies is how versatile they are and easy to adapt using different seasonal ingredients throughout the year and this Fall version is by far one of my favorites! What could be better to wake up to on the weekend than the gorgeous smell and taste of apple pie in pancake form, which is basically what this is.
Another thing I love about Dutch Babies is how easy they are compared to making regular pancakes. No standing over a stove for an hour making individual pancakes. With a Dutch Baby the pancake ingredients get mixed in a blender, poured in a preheated skillet, topped with items of choice such as our sliced apples and crisp topping in this recipe, then baked to a glorious puffy perfection, topped with a silky cinnamon mascarpone and drizzled with apple cider syrup. What’s not to love about that?
If you’ve never had a Dutch Baby it’s basically a giant popover so the texture has a distinctive light and eggy chew to it that is so addictive-like a cross between a crepe and Yorkshire pudding. For this Fall inspire version I’ve included options to gussy it up with extra delicious toppings like the crisp, cider syrup, and mascarpone cream, but if you don’t want those extra steps you can absolutely omit them and keep it super simple by drizzling pure maple syrup and sprinkling a little powdered sugar mixed with cinnamon over the top of the hot apple Dutch baby and it will still be incredibly delicious.
This is the perfect thing to whip on a lazy weekend morning when you’re craving a delicious breakfast and need to feed a couple or a few in the house but don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. Just mix up your batter and let the oven do the work on this one while you relax with a cup of coffee or duck back under the covers for a few extra minutes of sleeping in. Which is what the weekend is all about after all!
Make this Dutch Baby your way and warm up your chilly Fall mornings with its apple pancake magic!
Makes: 6 Servings
Prep Time: Approximately 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
For the Dutch Baby Pancake:
- 6 eggs
- 2/3 cup milk
- 2/3 cup flour
- 1-2 tablespoons white granulated or brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon or apple pie spice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2/3 medium gala or Fuji apple, cored, sliced thinly (about 1/2 inch thick-too thick and they will not cook through completely while baking) into half moons
For Crisp Topping:
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup old fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup equal parts white and brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons of butter softened but still chilled and cut into small cubes
For Cinnamon Mascarpone Cream:
- 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- A drizzle of pure maple syrup, optional
For Apple Cider Syrup: (You can also use maple syrup instead if you prefer to save a step but this is a delicious way to layer the apple flavors!)
- 1 cup apple cider
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter or heavy cream
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 425 and place a cast iron or enameled cast iron skillet with deep sides in the oven to warm while oven is coming to temperature.
- Make the crisp by combining flour, oats, sugars, salt and cinnamon in a small bowl. Massage butter cubes into the mixture with your fingers or use a pastry cutter if you have one, working until the butter is incorporated into the dry ingredients and crumbles form. Set aside while you make the Dutch Baby batter.
- In a blender combine the eggs, flour, milk, cinnamon, sugar and cinnamon.
- Pulse until batter is combined, for about 20 seconds. Scrape sides of the blender once and pulse to blend a couple more times if you have some flour clinging to the sides.
- Carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven. Add 1-2 tbsp of butter to the pan, swirling it around the pan until melted and foamy.
- Pour the batter directly in the center of the skillet.
- Place the sliced apples on top of the batter arranging them evenly throughout the center leaving the edges free so they can achieve the desired puff factor. It’s okay if the slices overlap each other slightly as long as they are evenly distributed for the most part.
- Sprinkle the crisp mixture evenly over the apples.
- Place the skillet back in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Don’t open the oven door while the pancake is baking or it will not be as puffy after baking.
Meanwhile Make the Cider Syrup:
- While pancake is baking combine apple cider and brown sugar together in a small saucepan, stirring to combine.
- Bring to a boil over medium heat, then lower heat slightly and simmer mixture approximately 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until mixture has reduced and thickened to a thicker syrup-like consistency. Add in the butter or heavy cream along with the cinnamon and nutmeg, stirring to combine and remove from heat.
- Make the cinnamon mascarpone by combining softened mascarpone, powdered sugar, cinnamon, drizzle of maple syrup, and vanilla in a bowl, mixing well to combine.
- Remove pancake from oven after 20 minutes and behold the glorious puffy magic!
- Place a big scoop of cinnamon mascarpone in the center of the pancake and drizzle generously with apple cider syrup or maple syrup. Add a sprinkle of extra cinnamon, if desired.
- Cut into wedges and serve immediately! This glorious puffy pancake starts sinking as soon as it comes out of the oven and taste the best served warm!
Want more Dutch Baby Magic? Try my recipe for this Savory Spring Veggie Dutch Baby with Basil Sauce!
Like this recipe or have a question? Please feel free to leave a comment below!
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