Love und German Pancakes

April 10, 2010 at 8:22 am | Posted in Baking, Cooking | 1 Comment

Yesterday I woke up craving for blueberry pancakes.  But alas, when I looked in the fridge I only had the smallest smidgen of milk left.  So I went through the fanny farmer cookbook (Ruth Reichl agrees with me, this book has some of the best breakfast recipes) and found a recipe for German Pancakes.

Last fall while I was visiting a friend in Lincoln Square Chicago, I stumbled upon a cute little breakfast restaurant called Panenkoeken.  They make huge dutch pancakes, that are a little more eggy, and filled with delicious things like apples-gruyere-and raisins.  Yum.  German pancakes are a bit more like a souffle than a “pancake”.  Maybe if a chicago deep dish pizza crust made love with a crepe, the outcome would be a German pancake.  Get the visual?  Well then, here’s a real one.

It’s nothing short of  than magical to put an eggy batter into a hot cast iron skillet in the oven, leave it for 25 minutes and come back to this.  Meanwhile, I made a homemade blueberry syrup laced with allspice and a bit of maple syrup.

We added dollops of marscapone.

And drizzled the blueberry syrup over the pancake.  Trying not to get distracted by our drooling…

We then swirled together the marscapone and the blueberry syrup with the back of a spoon and dusted with powdered sugar.  The end results were delicious, and eaten way too quickly.  I can’t wait to try a savory version of this recipe!  Maybe with ramps and gruyere, or with carmelized onions and mushrooms.  The possibilities are endless!

Here is the recipe for Fannie Farmer’s German Pancakes:

-3 eggs

-1/2 cup milk

-1/2 cup flour

-1/2 tsp. salt

-2 Tbs. Melted Butter

Preheat oven to 450

In a small bowl sift together the flower and the salt, set aside.  In a separate bowl, beat and demoralize the eggs until they are light yellow and frothy.  Slowly beat in the milk.  Once the milk is incorporated, slowly, SLOWLY, mix in the flower until the batter is just mixed and has no clumps.  Mix in the melted butter until the batter is fully incorporated.

Pour the batter into a buttered 12″ cast iron skillet that has been warmed for about 5 minutes in the oven.  Return the skillet to the oven and cook at 45o for 15 minutes.  After 15 minutes, turn the heat down to 350 for another 10 minutes and you are done!

Top with what have you, and enjoy!

Here is my blueberry syrup recipe:

1/3 cup water

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

1 allspice (or 1/8 tsp. ground) freshly ground.

1/2 tsp. salt.

3 Tbs. Maple Syrup

In a small saucepan cook the water and sugar over medium high heat until the sugar has dissolved.  Once the sugar has dissolved and the water is simmering, add the blueberries and turn down the heat to medium low.  The blueberries will take a few minutes to cook down, so be patient.  I gently mash the blueberries with a wooden spoon on the side of the saucepan to break them down a bit.  After 5 minutes have passed add the allspice and salt.  Continue to cook until you have a nice jammy-syrupy consistency, and the Maple Syrup to finish.  If the mixture is too thick you can add a few tablespoons of water to thin it out.

Try not to eat it all at once. (we did)

Until next time, Cheers and happy eating!

Katie G