Thursday, March 14, 2013

Dutch Babies

Kinda sounds like gangster patois, doesn't it? 

Original photo! Shocking, isn't it?
 In Anaheim there is a restaurant called the Original Pancake House.  Along with simple, satisfying coffee you could get Swedish crepes and a dish of lingonberry jam or an apple pancake that can feed a small country.  On spring mornings, where the birds had been singing before dawn, and the air was as cool as the clear sky, we'd head over and I'd order a German pancake, also known as a Dutch baby.  Garnished with lemon wedges and powdered sugar, it was an ethereal treat, between the tang of the lemon and the sweet, and the crunch of the edges.

Easy to do at home, while the Meyer lemons are falling off the backyard tree:
(adapted from James McNair)

Heat your oven to 475 degrees
Place two tablespoons butter in a 4 inch baking dish (skillet, ramekin). Melt in oven.

Blend:
one egg
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp almond extract
lemon zest

Pour batter into melted butter.  Bake 10-12 minutes until the edges raise and crisp.  Garnish with lemon wedges and powdered sugar, or toppings that sing to you: sliced bananas, toasted walnuts, shredded coconut, fresh berries.

Make larger batches in pie plates.

Did it disappear too quickly? Easy enough to make another one.







5 comments:

  1. Oh, I think I've heard of that place = voted one of the top ten pancake houses around. Yes, the lemons are falling from the trees. Drives Mr V batty. Maybe I'll get a lemon tree for him

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  2. Mmm. Does it have that "lemon squares" taste?

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  3. I think we called the Angel Cakes.

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  4. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  5. Angel cakes? Are you sure that's not what your beaus called you?
    P--yes, if you squeeze enough lemon and add enough powdered sugar.
    PA: people also can those lemons, put salt on them or some such. Haven't tried it myself--

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