I’ve been a little obsessed with Dutch Baby Pancakes lately. They’re just so easy and fun that they make the perfect weekend breakfast splurge. And I’m all about doing up breakfast big on the weekend. I’ve made one per week for the past few weeks and have experimented with add-ins and toppings each time, finally deciding that this Almond Dutch Baby with Ricotta and Jam is my favorite mix of simplicity and YUM.
Why are Dutch Babies so fun? Because anything that grows that big and that quickly in the oven is fun to watch, plus it makes a different goofy shape every time. Okay, maybe I’m just a geek, but I love it. 😝
What is a Dutch Baby Pancake?
Think of a Dutch Baby like a cross between a popover and a crepe. It’s essentially a giant skillet pancake made with a thin, eggy batter that puffs up with steam as it bakes. Once it’s removed from the oven it does deflate, but its unique shape, which is different every single time, remains. The baked pancake is light, more eggy, and less cake-like than traditional American pancakes.
What Other Toppings Can I Add to a Dutch Baby?
If you’re not into the ricotta-jam combo, you can play around with other toppings. A classic combo of butter and maple syrup is never a bad idea, but here are some more ideas:
- Fresh berries
- Whipped cream
- Pecans
- Powdered sugar
- Hot buttered apples
- Applesauce
- Lemon curd
- Yogurt
- Nutella
Do I Have to Use a Cast Iron Skillet?
The key to a big fluffy Dutch Baby is that sudden burst of heat when the batter hits the hot skillet and that is definitely best achieved with cast iron, but glass and ceramic dishes also work well when pre-heated. If you do decide to stray from cast iron, make sure to preheat it with your oven to get it as hot as possible, and use something round, about 9 to 10-inches in diameter.
Almond Dutch Baby with Ricotta and Jam
Servings 4Ingredients
- 3 large eggs ($0.75)
- 2/3 cup milk ($0.22)
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour ($0.07)
- 1 Tbsp sugar ($0.06)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp almond extract ($0.07)
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract ($0.07)
- 2 Tbsp sliced almonds ($0.22)
- 2 Tbsp butter ($0.12)
Toppings
- 1/2 cup ricotta ($0.45)
- 1/2 Tbsp sugar ($0.03)
- 1/4 cup jam (raspberry or your favorite flavor) ($0.03)
Instructions
- Prepare the batter first, so it has some time to come up to room temperature. In a blender, combine the eggs, milk, flour, sugar, salt, almond extract and vanilla extract. Blend until completely smooth and no lumps remain. Let the batter sit at room temperature to warm.
- Place a 10-inch cast iron skillet in the oven and begin preheating to 425ºF. Let the skillet heat in the oven for an additional 10 minutes once the oven reaches the set temperature.
- Carefully remove the skillet from the oven and add the butter. Swirl the butter in the skillet and place it back in the oven for one minute. After one minute the butter should be beginning to brown.
- Carefully remove the skillet from the oven again and spread the butter evenly across the bottom and up the sides of the skillet (I used a silicone brush for this). Pour the prepared batter into the hot skillet and sprinkle the sliced almonds over top.
- Return the hot skillet to the hot oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until it is golden brown and has puffed along the edges and in the center.
- While the Dutch baby is in the oven, combine the remaining 1/2 Tbsp of sugar with the ricotta. Once the Dutch baby has finished baking, either add a dollop of the sweetened ricotta to the whole pancake and top with jam for presentation, or slice the pancake into four pieces and add 2 Tbsp sweetened ricotta and 1 Tbsp jam to each piece.
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Equipment
Nutrition
How to Make a Dutch Baby Pancake – Step by Step Photos
Make the batter for the Dutch baby first, so it has time to come up to room temperature. You’ll get better puffing that way. In a blender combine 3 large eggs, 2/3 cup milk, 2/3 cup all-purpose flour, 1 Tbsp sugar, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp almond extract, and 1/4 tsp vanilla extract. Blend until completely smooth, then set it aside.
Place a 10-inch cast iron skillet in your oven and begin preheating to 425ºF. Once the oven reaches 425, let the skillet continue to heat for about 10 minutes. You want the skillet to be SCREAMING hot. Once preheated, carefully remove the skillet from the oven and add 2 Tbsp butter. Swirl the butter in the skillet, then return it to the oven for 1 minute. After one minute the butter should be beginning to brown, so carefully remove the skillet from the oven again.
Make sure the browned butter is spread over the entire surface of the skillet, and up the sides (I used a silicone brush). Pour the prepared batter into the hot skillet, then sprinkle 2 Tbsp sliced almonds over top. Return the skillet to the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
While the Almond Dutch Baby is baking, combine 1/2 cup ricotta with 1/2 Tbsp sugar.
After 20 minutes the almond Dutch baby should be puffed up really high all around the edges, golden brown, and puffed in the center as well. Remove the Dutch baby from the oven. The pancake will immediately begin to deflate, but don’t worry, that’s normal.
You can add the sweetened ricotta directly to the whole Dutch baby for presentation, or slice it into four and add the ricotta and jam to each piece. Half of the fun of a Dutch baby is the presentation, so I prefer to add the ricotta and jam, then slice. :)
So much fun! And I promise, once you make one, you won’t be able to stop experimenting with flavors. You can even go savory!
I doubled the recipe and made it in my 14” cast iron pan. It fits perfectly and is delicious!
Thinking of trying to make a chocolate Dutch baby with this recipe (we’ve made it weekly since this recipe was posted on your site!) Do you think if I subbed some of the flour for cocoa powder it’d turn out alright? Would I need to add a bit more sugar to counteract the bitterness of the cocoa? Thanks for keeping my family fed!
Yes, I think you’ll definitely need a bit more sugar for the exact reason you stated. It’s tricky to predict how subbing some of the flour with cocoa powder will affect the outcome, though. That’s definitely one I’d have to test out to see what would happen! If you find a good formula though, please let me know! :)
Just made this. Turned out pretty good. Feels like somewhere between a pancake and french toast. I added in a scoop of protein powder to the batter for a bit of extra oomph. Ayummy with a sprinkle of cinnamon and some maple syrup.
This turned out fabulous! How have I made it through 35 years of living without trying this? It puffed up so huge and beautiful in my cast iron. And of course, was delicious. I used sweetened sour cream because I didn’t have ricotta, and also pumpkin jam. So amazing with the toasted almonds. Another winner!!
Made this the other day without the almond items and it was so good! My kids devoured it.
My recipe uses more eggs and cooks up HUGE. I do 1 C flour, 1 C milk, a bit of salt, and 6 eggs. It makes a thicker pancake than the one in your pictures, and I top it with berries and syrup.
I’ll have to try that version! Thanks for sharing!
This reminds me of German apple pancakes, one of my favorite breakfasts… looks amazing! May have to try it this weekend.
Also where do you get your jam?! :o Do you make it yourself from foraged berries or something?
Hahhaah, no girl, that’s Smucker’s easy squeeze. 😅
Oh haha! I was just surprised by the super low price of it.
I’ve made these for breakfast the last two days…husband LOVES it. It’s really good. We used yogurt & jam instead of ricotta, and also added just cut up bananas on top. Sooo yummy!!
Made this this morning….Perfect! We love a good Dutch baby pancake here, and usually make a gigantic one for our crowd in a Pyrex 9×13 pan. This was a delicious change. Thank you so much for helping us start our new year off right!
This was terrific. Have made it for breakfast the last two days, great way to start the new year!
Yum!
I also make mine in a bigger glass pan. My favorite is to saute green leeks, crisp up some bacon bits and evenly scatter into the pan with the batter. Served with some melting butter on top, raspberry jam and vanilla ice cream.
Wait, you do leeks and bacon with the jam and ice cream?? Or those are two separate flavors that you make?
This looks so delicious!!!
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I love Dutch Babies. My recipe (the ATK recipe) calls for a 12″ skillet, and the largest cast iron one I have is 10″. So I always make it in my 12″ tri-ply stainless steel saute/skillet. No problems with it at all. But I’ll have to give this one a try in my cast iron skillet and see how it turns out.
I have successfully used glass pie pans for these, they don’t get as big and puffy around the sides, but still very good!
I make Dutch Baby in a square cake pan (the same one I do brownies in). Mine is fairly good quality – I don’t know if it would work in a very thin one. Still, I’ve noticed that I really need to rush getting the batter it in the pan to get a good rise: pan out of oven, pour batter, back in oven as fast as I can manage. That part of the process is probably more forgiving in cast iron.
I make something similar in a glass pan, but at 400 degrees for 15mins. I put the butter in the pan and the pan in the oven while the oven preheat. I grew up calling them giant oven pancakes. I love the flavor ideas!