Apple Dutch Baby
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Loaded with sweet-tart apples, this Dutch baby recipe has become an AK community favorite! The batter comes together in no time, and 15 minutes later it’s done. Many readers have had success using gluten-free flour as well as dairy-free substitutes. See comments below!
This Dutch baby recipe is one of the most fun recipes to prepare as it comes together in just minutes, puffs dramatically in the oven, and feeds four comfortably (so long as you provide some bacon or sausage on the side.)
Having made this many times now, the critical step is to purée the ingredients to ensure the batter is not lumpy, which will ensure the Dutch baby cooks properly and emerges with custardy texture. You can use a food processor, a traditional blender, or an immersion blender.
I also use double the amount of apples suggested in the original recipe to ensure loads of tender apple slices fill every bite. Though the recipe does not call for it, a dash of cinnamon is a wonderful addition to this batter.
If you love this recipe, be sure to try this variation: Lemon-Blueberry Dutch Baby.
Apple Dutch Baby
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings
Description
Source: Gourmet
Ingredients
- 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
- 1 large sweet apple such as Honey Crisp, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup whole or 2% milk
- 1/2 cup (64 grams) all-purpose flour
- 4 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Confectioners sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F.
- Melt butter in a 9-inch oven-safe skillet over moderate heat, then transfer 2 tablespoons to a blender or food processor. Add apple slices to the skillet and cook, turning over once, until beginning to soften, 3 to 5 minutes. (They don’t need to caramelize, just soften.)
- While the apples are cooking, add milk, flour, eggs, granulated sugar, vanilla, and salt to butter in blender and blend until smooth. (Do do this step — I didn’t the first time around and the batter was really lumpy.)
- Pour batter over apple and transfer skillet to oven. Bake until pancake is puffed and golden, about 15 minutes. Dust with confectioners sugar and serve immediately.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Skillet
- Cuisine: American
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
123 Comments on “Apple Dutch Baby”
I need to try this as soon as I get some good apples. Looks delicious!
This reminds me of the apple pancake from Original Pancake House. Making this for sure! Looks very easy and delicious! Perfect for this apple season. Thanks.
I’m always looking for easy recipes to make in the morning and this sounds perfect. Can’t wait to try it!
This is a Dutch Baby….with apples!
This is so original; I have to try it!
They look beautiful.
My pancake woes were solved by a big WOAH! (My reaction, after trying this recipe, which is on the outside of a Star Wars pancake mold package, from Williams Sonoma):
Ingredients
2 eggs
2 cups (315 g) all-purpose flour, sifted
3 Tbs. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 1/2 cups (625 ml) buttermilk
4 Tbs. (1/2 stick / 60 g) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 to 2 Tbs. vegetable oil or nonstick cooking spray
Maple syrup for serving
Directions
1. In a bowl, using an electric mixer or a handheld whisk, beat the eggs on medium speed until frothy. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla. Stir just until the batter is smooth and no lumps of flour remain; do not overmix.
2. Heat a griddle over medium heat until a few drops of water flicked onto the surface skitter across it. Lightly grease the griddle and the inside surface of the pancake molds with vegetable oil, or spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set the molds, with the handles up, on the griddle and heat until hot.
3. Pour about 1/3 cup (80 ml) batter into each mold. Using a butter knife, spread the batter into the corners of the molds. Cook until bubbles form on top and the batter is set, about 2 minutes.
4. Remove the molds and, using a spatula, flip the pancakes over. Cook until golden brown on the other side, about 2 minutes more. Keep warm until all the pancakes are cooked.
5. Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more oil to the griddle and greasing the molds as needed. Serve with maple syrup. Makes about 15 pancakes, 5 of each shape.
The batter is really thin, but it cooks up beautifully. It is thin enough that you can use it to “draw” designs on the griddle, making fun shapes / pictures for kiddos or for those who are a kid at heart. Plus, the pancakes taste great. I think it is the buttermilk.
Hope this helps your woes!!
Josh, haha, I love it. THANK YOU for sending along this recipe. I am going to try it this weekend — I have some family coming into town. I wonder if I have time to get my hands on some pancake molds before then? I love the Star Wars idea, but I think I might like some farm animal shapes as well. I suppose I can always just use some circular ring molds. I will report back. Oh, I also have a ton of cookie cutter molds — the kids will LOVE that. Thank you thank you. Can’t wait to give this a go. I have a feeling it is going to be a good one with all of that buttermilk.
Made this, this morning for the man. I had some old apples tucked away in the fridge, used 2. This is a huge pancake, enough for 4 easily. We loved it, it’s a fun and different alternative to a standard pancake, but protein rich from all the eggs. A winner!
Shawn — so happy to hear this! You are right about the protein, and this recipe is a great way to use up old apples.
Hi, I’m Jessica and I discovered your website about six months ago..and I’ve since made sooo many recipes from your site – it’s fantastic 🙂
This recipe looks so similar to the Balzano Apple Cake you posted, a recipe I made two weeks ago for my mom’s birthday haha, is it that similar?
I was wondering, where did your recipe index go? Now all I see are the essentials, which are fantastic, but I also really really needed your complete recipe index! Did you plan to delete it forever? Please put it up again! 🙂
Jessica, hi, I am so sorry about removing the recipe index! It’s back! Honestly, I wasn’t sure if anybody was using it, and in a cleaning frenzy, I removed it. I won’t do that again. Thank you for your nice words about the blog. I can’t believe I didn’t compare this big apple pancake to the Balzano Apple Cake recipe, but you are right — they are very similar! I am going to take a closer look right now. I haven’t made the Balzano in awhile now, but I know it bakes at a slower temp and for a longer time. Thanks for writing in. Promise never to remove the index again 🙂
Yes, that is a Dutch Baby with apples added.
What a beautiful and simple way to use apples – I have so many right now and this would be a delicious way to use some of them up… I’m featuring this post as part of Food Fetish Friday (with a link-back and attribution) and thanks for making me drool!
Thanks JW!
I’M IN LOVE, in a big way. We just ate this for breakfast and absolutely loved it. It’s so light and fluffy and not too sweet and perfectly apply. I’m not sure what Shawn is talking about, but we managed to polish this off between 2 – gluttons? maybe! I used three apples – I guess mine were small – and a bit of cinnamon because I can’t seem to help myself when it comes to cinnamon and apple. Thank you thank you and happy weekend!
I’M IN LOVE, in a big way. We just ate this for breakfast and absolutely loved it. It’s so light and fluffy and not too sweet and perfectly apply. I’m not sure what Shawn is talking about, but we managed to polish this off between 2 – gluttons? maybe! I used three apples – I guess mine were small – and a bit of cinnamon because I can’t seem to help myself when it comes to cinnamon and apple. Thank you thank you and happy weekend!
Talley, well, I can’t tell you how happy I am to read this because the truth is that I made this one morning for myself and ate half of it in one sitting and the other half the following morning, cold, straight from the Tupperware container I had stored it in. I think 3 apples sounds perfect in fact and cinnamon — duh! Next time I will add a sprinkling of cinnamon, too. Happy weekend to you too!!
This is delicious and a cinch to make. Thanks for a great breakfast!!!!! Will definitely make again.
Anne — So happy to hear this! We are loving it too!
This looks really delish and I’m excited to try it. I was wondering what size skillet you used?
-SarahR
Hey Sarah, I used a 10-inch cast iron skillet. It’s so yummy! I hope you try it.
This is so pretty! Repinned it and need to make it! I have a cast iron skillet that’s begging to be put to use with this!
Averie — this is one of my faves. Definitely give it a go!
I have this in the oven for the second time in a week – it is fabulous! This time I put sprinkled some cinnamon and nutmeg over the apples as they cooked. Hope it turns out as well as the first!
Oh yay! So happy to hear this! I am due to make this…maybe tomorrow — get the week off to a good start. Thanks for writing in!
I made this gluten free by substituting gluten free baking mix. Also added cinnamon and I just happened to have some caramels which I melted down and drizzled over the top. Thanks for this great breakfast idea.
omg melted caramels sound amazing 🙂 Well done! I am totally craving breakfast right now. Thanks so much for reporting in on the gluten-free variation…so many people will love to hear this.
I’ve just discovered your blog and I’m already in love. So much so that I cooked two of your recipes in the space of one day. The first was this one, for brunch.
I really loved this– the fact that it was fruity and sweet, but still firmly in the breakfast category; that it was much less labour intensive thatn flipping pancake after pancake at the stove; that it was so, well, apple-y. I used three apples (a Granny Smith and two Pink Ladys) and could not contemplate using any fewer. Oh, and I almost forgot to say: it puffed up beautifully!
I think I would reduce the eggs to 3 next time, as I just wanted it to edge a bit more towards ‘pancake’ and slightly less towards ‘omelette’. Do you think this would jeopardise the scientific reaction that makes it puff up? I’ve seen other recipes for dutch babies that have used 3 eggs for similar volumes of flour, milk and sugar…
But seriously, it was effortless and delicious. I love the whole vibe of your blog–the beautiful pictures, the unique recipes, the technical tips. I’ve bookmarked many, many recipes already so thank you!
Hi Alex!
Thanks so much for writing in, and thank you for your kind words. I adore this recipe for all the same reasons you have mentioned, most especially that there is no flipping involved.
I say definitely go for the egg reduction — I don’t think it would jeopardize the scientific reaction at all, and I can totally see it perhaps improving the taste. I will try this next time, too, maybe sometime this week…I will report back if I do. I love the idea of making this less eggy and more pancakey — I’m a carb lover.
If you make it with 3 eggs, do report back. Would love to hear how it turns out. Thanks so much again for writing in!
Hey! I came over from buzzfeed 🙂 love the look of this recipe. sadly don’t have a skillet though. do you think i could just cook this in a pan and cover with a lid to cook through? I know it won’t have the same delicious effect but do you think it’d work?
Hi Julia — I’m not sure it will puff quite the same way?! Is the pan you have oven proof? Or do you have anything you can use on your stovetop that can then enter the oven?
Just finished eating this and it was incredible! My super picky mother-in-law had seconds, I’ve never seen her do that! I sautéed the apples in cinnamon and a pinch of brown sugar and nutmeg. This recipe is to die for! Thank you!
So happy to hear this! This is one of my faves, too, especially this time of year!
Can I use a stainless steel pan?
I might reduce by one egg, but I’m also going to make this easier by melting the butter in the skillet in the oven, then adding the apples and putting back in the oven to soften while i do the remaining ingredients in the blender. We shall see how this goes…I’ve done this in a similar recipe and it worked well.
Another excellent recipe from Alexandra. Delicious, easy, and pretty!
So happy to hear this, Kathy!
Made this this morning! Easy and satisfying! We like all of the recipes we’ve tried of yours, Alexandra. Thank you!
So happy to hear this, Hina!! thank you 😊 🙏 ☺️
I have just made it and it turns out pretty well. Thanks for the recipe.
So nice to hear this 😍
Exactly what we needed on a rainy day. Thank you! And works juuust fine in a Dutch oven for those who don’t have a cast iron skillet.
Great to hear, Andrea! Thanks so much for writing!
This was very easy to make and tasted very good. It did not flip out of my cast iron pan as I had hoped it would. Will serve out of cast iron pan next time… a keeper recipe for sure.
Great to hear, Jen! Bummer the pancake didn’t release as expected, but serving it out of the skillet is a nice idea, too.
I made this today, apple season is just starting here and we love love love it ! Thank you!
Wonderful to hear this!! I love apple season, too 🙂 🙂 🙂
Delicious! thank you for making morning so delicious!
So nice to hear this, Cheryl! This is a fall favorite. So glad you approve. Thanks for writing. xoxo
Did i miss it? What size skillet is used? I think that would make a difference in how it turns out.
Thanks.
Hi! Great point. It’s a 9-inch cast iron skillet … will edit the recipe!