I must have been in my twenties when I clipped a recipe out of magazine for an “oven pancake puff”. I’ve been making it ever since, for breakfast or brunch. It’s a giant popover, basically, which you whip up in about 5 minutes, pour into a cast iron skillet, bake and serve to ooh’s and aah’s. It billows up then slowly collapses, a glorious presentation that makes it look like you’ve spent hours in the kitchen. I top it with a squeeze of lemon juice and a sprinkling of sugar, and it really dazzles with some sliced strawberries on top.
Since then I’ve heard it called a Dutch Baby, although it’s said to have been invented in the States by a German cook. It’s also called a Bismark, a Finnish pancake, a German pancake, and a Swedish puff. It resembles an English Yorkshire pudding. This pancake gets around!
And now, it has earned a French connection. The pancake bears some similarity to gougères, those wonderful puffed concoctions, rich with gruyere cheese, which the French serve with aperos. You will find in any good French boulangerie. I never pass them up when I see them.
Above, gougères. from a French boulangerie. (How did they get these to stay puffed? That's an experiment for another day).
I recently came across Melissa Clark’s recipe for a Gruyère Puff, which is essentially my trusty Oven Pancake Puff, made savory with some sea salt, pepper, and grated gruyere. How inspired! I served it for dinner the other night, with a salad of kale, orange sections, marcona almonds and walnut oil, and it was sensational.
You don’t always hear “French cooking” in the same sentence with “quick and easy”, so give this one a try! You are bound to hear some “oh la la’s”!
The recipes, one sweet and one savory, are below.
RECIPE: Oven Pancake Puff with Berries
Photo from King Arthur Flour
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup whole milk
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter for batter, plus 1 for the pan
- 1 tablespoon sugar, either granulated or confectioners
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 cup or more of berries
Heat oven to 400 degrees (200C). Melt the butter in a 9" cast iron pan or oven proof skillet in the oven. When it's melted, whisk together flour, eggs, milk, melted butter, salt, and pepper in a bowl until smooth.
Put the skillet back in oven with 1 tablespoon of butter. Remove from oven when it's melted and hot; swirl to coat. Pour batter into hot pan and bake until puffed and dark gold in color, 30 minutes.
Sprinkle with lemon juice, then with sugar, top with berries, and serve immediately.
RECIPE: Gruyère Puff
From Melissa Clark, with small changes.
(Photo of my puff, at top of post)
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup whole milk
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter, plus 1 for pan
- ¾ cup grated Gruyère cheese (about 3 ounces)
- Coarse sea salt, for sprinkling
Heat oven to 400 degrees (200C). Melt the butter in a 9" cast iron pan or oven proof skillet in the oven. When it's melted, whisk together flour, eggs, milk, melted butter, salt, and pepper in a bowl until smooth. Stir in the cheese.
Put the skillet back in oven with 1 tablespoon of butter. Remove from oven when it's melted and hot; swirl to coat. Pour batter into hot pan and bake until puffed and dark gold in color, 30 minutes.
Sprinkle with sea salt if desired and serve immediately.
In the COMMENTS: Well lots of folks had interesting opinions about round-abouts, especially in the US! I did not know that New England has lots, and now Austin. I agree that Americans sometimes don't quite get them. When they added the first one in Charleston, everyone was up in arms–but now every neighborhood wants them. Frank, you made me laugh, I've done the same thing trying to photograph them!
A slightly belated felicitions to loyal reader Herm and his wife Sharron, who celebrated 57 years of marriage last month.
Favorite READS: Please take a moment today to cruise over to the blog A Small Village in France, and read a lovely post which is a great reminder to live every day, when possible, in a beautiful and kind way. Also our resident Champion Reader has a new book for us, a "page-turner": The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. Rebecca has some movie recommendations, and she likes Ann Patchett's new book, The Dutch House.
9 thoughts on “This Pancake Went Round the World”
A roundabout was added to my town a few years ago and it was quite controversial. Some neighborhoods in my area already had roundabouts before the one at a major intersection was constructed.
Melissa’s recipe does not mention when to put in the cheese so I just stirred into the batter at the last minute I think the recipe just forgot to say when the cheese goes in.
How funny.
I made a Gooseberry Stirabout the other day.
We had frozen gooseberries in the freezer.
You can find the recipe on line. It is Katie Stewart’s from The Times Cookbook.
It is basically a rich batter using the yolks of two eggs.
You make it beforehand and mix caster sugar and the fruit and add the two whites whipped up and then folded into the batter mix.
You cook it in a tin with melted butter and then in the oven at 200 degrees.
You can use any type of fruit you want of course.
I can’t wait to try this, My Mother used to make popovers so your post today brought back delicious memories! For the readers, I’d like to recommend “The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell”, No, Hell is not a typo, I thought it was quite a page turner,
Please keep the mouthwatering posts coming!
BTW,,,I love roundabouts!
If you take a paring knife and cut a small slit in the side of each of the gougères as they cool then they will stay poofy. You can also fill them with pasty cream once they are cool.
Lynn,these recipes have just dropped in from heaven!!
What a chef you are!!
THIS is dinner tonight!!YUM!!!
THANK YOU!!
Also really enoyed Small Village In France.I have been reading her for awhile now,and this latest blog absolutely gives meaningful ways to appreciate life–which as we all know,seems to race by way too quickly.
Thank you again!
PS Congratulations to Sharron and Herm!!
Thanks so much for the recipes. A friend sent me a Dutch Baby recipe, which I’ve made often, but I think she uses 1/2 C of sugar, and I don’t like sweets much, so when I make it, I just use 1 Tablespoon of lemon curd in mine. I bet I’d love the savory version with Gruyere. I have made gougeres before for my writers group. They are better served hot though, I think. I’m saving both recipes. Merci beaucoup!
The Gruyère Puff was a success using “00” Italian flour. I was unsure when to add the cheese so mixed it in with eggs. Served with Fortnum & Mason’s chilli lilli pickle relish at lunch. It was light and delicious. The baking fragrance was wonderful, too.
I’ve often thought of making that oven pancake but now you’ve inspired me to do this. I do make the best cream puffs with a filling that’s to die for. The recipe was given to me by an old Italian woman many years ago. It’s one of my well guarded recipes. Thank you for these recipes. Happy Valentines Day Lynn!