Dutch Baby with apples and apple butter

Neat twist on pancakes a fun treat!

If you’ve never had a Dutch Baby, you’re really missing out. A fluffy, baked pancake, usually cooked in a cast iron pan, this is what all breakfast foods wish they could be. When I spied both apples (from Hall’s Apple Market) and Apple Butter (from Barkey’s Apple Orchard) in my winter Farmers’ Feast basket from the Ottawa Farmers’ Market, I knew right away this was what I wanted to make. I enjoyed it with maple syrup, though my patient, taste-testing husband was really happy to slather his portion with more apple butter. Either way, it’s a fantastic breakfast treat!

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons (30 mL) butter
• 1 apple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons (30 mL) Apple Butter
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) milk
• 1 teaspoon (5 mL) vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons (45 mL) brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) all-purpose flour
• apple butter and/or maple syrup for serving

Method

• Preheat oven to 425F. Place butter in a 9” cast iron pan. Add apple slices then put the pan in the oven to heat and partially cook the apples minutes while you are making the batter.
• If the apple butter is extremely thick (like peanut butter thick), heat it gently and briefly in a heatproof dish in the microwave, so it softens and becomes a little thinner in consistency. Stir and set aside.
• In medium bowl, beat the eggs with an electric mixer or hand whisk then add the milk, apple butter, vanilla and sugar and beat to blend thoroughly.
• Add flour to egg mixture and beat until smooth.
• Pour the batter into the hot, buttered, apple-filled cast iron pan and return it into the oven.
• Reduce oven heat to 375F and bake for about 20 minutes, until the pancake is puffed and golden.
• Cut into wedges and serve immediately with apple butter and/or maple syrup on the side.

Serves 2.