Recipe: German Apple Pancake

/ Tracy M

I’m going to give you a secret. This is the  most asked-for recipe in my arsenal. I’ve gotten phone calls and written note-cards asking for this recipe, and I’m going to give it away today. Some people call this a Dutch Baby, but I’ve always known it as a German Apple Pancake- and it’s simply one of the best things you will ever eat. Oh, and you simply must have a cast-iron skillet for this. If you don’t have a cast iron skillet- first, shame on you! and next, run to the second-hand store and grab one. They always have them, usually for only a couple of bucks. Google how to season it, and get going! Let me know how it goes…

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Dandelion Mama’s Apple Pancake of Yumminess (Official Title)

  • 1/2 stick butter, melted
  • 2 large firm apples ( I prefer tart) peeled, cored and sliced in wedges
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 4 large eggs
  • 3 Tbsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees, with rack in middle position.
  2. Melt butter in skillet over medium heat, setting aside 2 Tbsp in your blender.
  3. Add apple wedges to butter in skillet and saute until they soften and get some color. About 5 minutes, usually.
  4. While apples are cooking, add milk, flour, eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt to butter in blender and whirl until smooth.
  5. When apples are colored and soft, sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon, then pour batter over the top of the whole mess.
  6. Put the skillet in the hot oven and bake until pancake is puffy and golden, usually 12-15 minutes.
  7. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with real maple syrup.
  8. Die happy.
  9. I’m not kidding.

34 thoughts on “Recipe: German Apple Pancake”

  1. I adore these! The think that makes me sad about Dutch Apple Pancakes, however, is that their size is limited by the skillet. If you have a big extended family gathering, there is no way to feed DAP to everyone. I can see that you don’t have a solution for this, because you insist on the cast iron. Drat! I keep hoping that someone out there can tell me how to make this 9×13 or even larger. It is a hopeless hope.

  2. Pmom, you probably could double the recipe (or even tripple) the recipe and transfer everything to a caserole dish. It would work. It wouldn’t be the same, but I bet it would work just fine.

    I’m just being a snooty snob about the cast iron. I love cast iron, so that’s all that’s about. If you have an oven-safe pan, (I shudder) it would work. 🙂

  3. Okay so these look absolutely delicious and I cannot wait to try them. That being said, do you eat these for breakfast? Dessert? Being 6+ months pregnant like I am I can justify eating anything I want at any time but I am asking this for my husband who will be curious to know the generally appropriate or accepted time of consuming said deliciousness ….

  4. As soon as I stop barfing, I’m totally making this. It looks like something I might have enjoyed back in the day when food was appealing to me.

  5. We do this for weekend breakfast- accompanied by a scrambled egg- (or, as Abby calls, them Yellow Eggs).

    Just to my left, on my favorite English Transfer-ware plate, sits a steaming scoop of this pancake. After typing the recipe, I had to make one… MMMMMMMmmmmmmmm.

    And congrats are due, DYM!! I would add mine to the chorus at your place, but you’re pushing 100 comments now, so I’ll just sing over here, where a 15 comment day is a good one- Congratualions!! All the barf will be worth it, I promise!

  6. I am making one for dinner tonight. It looks and sound delicious. I really need to get up there soon so you can cook for me!

  8. And the carb count on that would be? If I knew, I could give enough insulin to cover…but it would still probably send my sugars soaring. Maybe I’ll have to make it and serve it to everybody else and eat a bite or two, but not a whole scoopful.

    Of course, you serve it with maple syrup, which is complete nastiness, but I’m sure that’s optional. 🙂

  9. Maple is optional, (and I agree that fake maple is utter nastiness, but a small drizzle of real Vermont- that’s good) and I think the carb count would be astronomical! At CalorieCounter.com, you can plug in any recipe, and it breaks it down for you, by serving. Might be worth it on this one…

  10. I have made this in a Pampered Chef stoneware lasagna pan and it was AWESOME!! I think my recipe is basically double what you have here.

  11. Wiz, I plugged the recipe into CalorieCounter, and it says, assuming a portion size = 4 servings per pan:

    Calories: 330
    Fat: 16.8 grams
    Carbohydrates: 37.5 grams
    Fiber: 2.3 grams
    Sugars: 23 grams
    Protein: 8.5 grams.

    Maybe I shouldn’t make this so often!!

  12. That is a great website, though. Thanks for the tip. I often wonder at the carb count of things I make. Looks like a spoonful would be enough. I bet there’s a lot of vitamin c, though, with the apples.

  14. You have to register first (it’s free, but you’ll have a username and password) Then go to the “recipes” tab, and click “new”- then input the ingredients, the servings per, and calculate.

  15. My family loves it when I make Dutch Babies! My recipe is very similar, and yes, a cast iron is a must!

  17. Wow, I love these. My mom has been making them for years. Our family version skips the apples and brown sugar. We top ours with sliced almonds, granulated sugar, and butter. Also, if you can’t find a cast iron skillet, or want something lighter weight, I have a sister in law who uses a 9X13 glass casserole dish. My mom also had a paella pan that she used for a lot of years…..Thanks for reminding me of this. I will have to make one for my hubby soon, and I’m so going to try it with apples.

  18. One more question – have you ever tried this with the cannery apples? I know some people make really good apple cobbler with them, but this looks better than cobbler (and 37.5 isn’t that bad a carb count for an entire meal) and I’m thinking yum, but I don’t have any “real” apples at the moment. Of course, I could always go to the store….

  19. I haven’t tried it, but I see no reason why it wouldn’t work. I love cannery apples. Just rehydrate them before you saute them.

    One way to knock the carb-count down would be to just leave the brown sugar out before you pour the batter over… You could probably substitute Splenda in the batter…?

  20. Wow, those look amazing. Of course, breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. When I was pregnant breakfast foods were usually the only things that ever sounded good . . .

  23. I don’t have a cast iron skillet, so there. I’m a rebel.
    I made this in my regular German Pancake/Casserole dish and they turned out fantastic! Just dumped the coooked apples in there and continued as usual.
    Of course, I also like the tart apples while my boys, apparently, do not. It was requested that I return to making them the “old way”. Uhhh, I’m going to have to switch apple types or resign myself to eating the whole thing with only the baby to help. Plan B it is!!

  24. Okay so we made these for my son’s 2nd birthday Saturday morning for his “special breakfast” along with scrambled eggs as you mentioned. I really did feel I could die happy. We did the powdered sugar but they needed no syrup whatsoever, just by themselves they were DELICIOUS! Thank you so much for this recipe, it is definitely going into our family favorites book 🙂

  25. If you substitute even half of the sugar with agave syrup the carb count will be lower, and the glycemic index will be much lower… That’s what we do 🙂 And you could always sub most of the butter with applesauce or yogurt for a lower fat version (Which we do not, lol)

  26. Pingback: German Apple Pancake « Strings and Yarn

  28. I just made your recipe this morning… It was PERFECT!
    Growing up I had a recipe for a “baked apple pancake” that came in my “First Cookbook.” I loved the recipe then, but I’ve got to say, I love your version even more! Yum!

  29. Pingback: Kara in the Kitchen · German Apple Pancake

  31. I have been looking for a really great sounding German pancake recipe for a brunch I am having this Sunday. I think I have found it at this site! Since I live in Vermont, I will use real syrup and local apples stored from the fall – Granny Smiths. Skipping the 10xxx sugar and using syrup sounds perfect! I might pass on the butter too and enjoy the awesome taste of freshly boiled maple syrup.

    Thanks everyone for the great ideas!

    Hom2VT

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