So, Dutch Babies. Â An eggy batter is poured into a screaming hot skillet and baked at high heat. Â It inflates to make a giant, puffy, chewy pancake that can be offered a savoury or sweet treatment. Â I like both.
It will climb to teetering, nail-biting heights in the oven, but deflates almost immediately once removed – this is supposed to happen, don’t worry. Â It’s got a crepe-like texture and flavour, but with endearing puffy bits and a buttery, golden bottom.
In making a Dutch Baby, it’s important to have the ingredients at room temperature, as the only leavening comes from eggs and cold eggs won’t whip as well. I warm my eggs in just a few minutes by putting them in a large bowl filled with hot tap water. And I take the chill off of milk with about 20 seconds in the microwave. It’s crucial that you preheat the skillet as well.
My almost-3-year-old made it with me this morning – he actually did almost the whole thing. And he squealed with delight watching it rise. Â It’s a really fun, easy recipe to make with kids.
And this was a totally unplanned segue, but there’s something I’d like to share while we’re on the topic – I’m a volunteer judge for a kids’ cooking video contest called Hands On Cook Off that opens this Wednesday, April 20th. It’s open to residents of British Columbia and Manitoba, Canada. The purpose is to get kids (and their families) excited about cooking and eating together!  Family meals have so many benefits to kids – lower obesity rates, lower incidence of anorexia, teenage pregnancy and substance abuse (!), higher GPAs, better vocabularies, etc. etc.  And cooking together has the immense benefit of teaching  your kids the skills they need to feed themselves a lifetime of healthy, delicious meals.  These are things that I’m really passionate about.  If you live one of these places, I’d be so happy if you entered with your muchkins or helped spread the word (and the grand prize is $1,000 – that’d be a nice addition to the family summer vacation fund!)\
Rhubarb Dutch Baby
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- ¾ cup milk room temperature
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- ¾ cup all purpose flour
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter if using salted, reduce the kosher salt amount by half
- Rhubarb curd or blueberries and greek yogurt and/or maple syrup to serve
Instructions
- Preheat a 10" oven-proof skillet in a 425ºF oven.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until frothy. Â Whisk in the milk, vanilla, sugar and salt, and then add the flour. Â Whisk again just until most of the lumps are gone.
- Using oven mitts, remove the hot skillet from the oven. Â Add the butter and swirl to coat the bottom and sides of pan. Â Pour in the batter and (again, using oven mitts!) transfer to the oven. Â Bake until puffy and golden, 9-12 minutes. Â Serve with Rhubarb Curd or yogurt, blueberries and maple syrup.
