I first shared this recipe with you 3 years ago. The dish is also called Apple Pfannekuchen. It’s such an easy recipe to make that it’s become one of my go to meals for a quick weekend breakfast.
Dutch Apple Pancake
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 6 tablespoons plain flour
- 2 eggs
- 6 tablespoons milk
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 medium apple chopped
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Preheat oven to 400°. Put 2 tablespoons of butter into a pie plate and set it in the oven while its warming up so that the butter will melt.
Whisk together eggs, flour, and salt until smooth. Add milk and blend well.
Mix sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl and set aside.
Once butter has melted, throw the chopped apple into the pie plate and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Pour the milk-flour mixture over the apples and bake for 18-20 minutes or until its puffed up and golden brown.
You can drizzle syrup on your Dutch Apple Pancake, sprinkle powdered sugar on it, or eat it plain.
If you’d like to print out the recipe jump over to the website where I first found the recipe here.
I love the recipe because it’s tasty, super easy, and makes the perfect amount for a quick breakfast with no leftovers for my family. After I made it a few times, it occured to me that it might have an Appalachian connection. I thought it might be a German recipe and since northern areas of Appalachia have more of a German influence than the southern Appalachians where I live, I asked my friend Matthew Burns who lives in West Virginia and loves Appalachian history and culture as much as I do if he was familiar with the recipe. This is what Matthew had to say about apple pfannekuchen:
Yes we have apple pfannekuchen back home. Good stuff. I personally prefer them with strawberries, or with thick bits of smoked bacon. But I have not turned down the apple ones either. My mom makes pfannekuchen for the kids using nutella and they seem to like it, but I’m not the biggest fan of nutella. You should check out a recipe book that many of my relatives contributed (years ago) called Mennonite Community Cookbook by Emma Showalter. It is all old German recipes. You can find it on ebay and places, it usually isn’t very expensive if you get new editions. It is based in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia (which is just on the other side of the mountain from where I grew up).
Tipper
When my hens are laying, I make these a lot – sometimes with apples, sometimes plain or with powdered sugar or a little grated parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. I make it in a Pyrex skillet. Sure wish my hens hadn’t closed up shop for the winter! Your picture looks soooo good!
I’ve always heard these called these Dutch Babies although I believe they’re German inspired rather than Danish. We always cooked the fruit separate from the pancake, adding it to the pancake shell later. And when we didn’t have fruit, we smeared it with preserves; strawberry preserves are especially yummy with it.
To my understanding “pfannekuchen” means pancake. “Pfanne” = pan “kuchen” = cake, although these beautiful light puffed up ones are far different from what one would think a pancake is in the US.
I’ve always made them in an iron skillet. They’re really easy, the oven warms a kitchen on a cold winter’s morning, and they’re yummy to boot!!!
God bless.
RB
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When my Daddy was with us we used to eat these all the time, thanks for the memory 🙂
They also go by the name Dutch Baby.
Tipper,
Wanted you to know that my change up recipe of yours was good. It didn’t look quite like yours, (probably the self-rising flour) but it was great none the less. Since I used Granny Smith apple, the addition of a sprinkle of powdered sugar and no fat no sugar Mrs. Butterworth’s syrup made it sweeter. My Granny Smiths this year were a bit sour…Ha
Thanks
Tipper,
I saw that Big Orange Moon when I came out of the shop last. All this smoke made it look Orange. They caught 3 of them Idiots that set some of the fires, looking for 3 more. Dope heads!
That pancake pie looks delicious, I like anything with Apples. …Ken
I thought Pfannekuchen was some kind of a Volkswagen. Maybe that was Fahrvergnügen?
Either way why do you reckon they gave a German name to a Dutch Apple Pancake?
I make this “apple pancake” for breakfast now and then. I discovered it in a cookbook created by mothers of an Olympic team (back in the early 80’s, I think). It immediately became a family favorite – we didn’t develop any Olympians while eating it but we are all very dedicated eaters!! 😉
I’m gonna be cooking making this one ASAP! I love anything with apples in it and this looks good. I don’t have any German in me but I’ll sure eat their food!
Well Tipper, between that MOON and your wonderful recipe I don’t know that anything else is going to get me going!
Eva Nell
I’ll bet Yates apples would be good ones for this recipe but it would probably take 4 of them at least. I think maybe apples and the smoky bacon together would be good also. Cracker Barrel or Bob Evans should have these on their breakfast menu.
There are Mennonite communities at Muddy Pond, TN and in White County, GA. They tend to keep a low profile and are not well known even where they live. There is a Country Bakery in Cleveland, GA that is Mennonite and it is a great place for lunch and baked goods of all kinds.
I printed this one out. It looks perfect for anytime
I was raised on these pancakes in PA and think I have some Amish and Mennonite cookbooks stuffed away somewhere. I will go looking and if I find them I will drop them off to you in the next few weeks.
I had forgotten how good these are and will start making them again. The only difference in your recipe and mine is I use a cast iron skillet.I have a pile of small ones so each person gets there own.
Gayle
Tipper,
It’s in the oven, had real butter for a change (from the Mennonite farm), no plain flour used self-rising instead, sprinkle of salt, skim milk cause that is all we drink, Granny Smith apple, fresh cinnamon/sugar!
We’ll see…it may rise and be and big as the moon this morning. Ha
Later, Thanks Tipper
My Grandma used to make this in the Fall when the apples came in. I haven’t thought about it in years. I saw pfannekuchen in a restaurant in Logan Ohio over the summer but passed it over. Nothing is ever as good as Grandma’s.
I’m making soup beans this weekend. Maybe I’ll fix some of this up for breakfast, too. We have a mess of Hocking County apples looking for something to do.
Ah, food ways.
It
Hi Tipper,
I am going to try this later this week. Never got around to it last time you posted it! I hope you are safe from the fires down there. Worrying about you and everyone else in Blind Pig country.
Tip, that looks wonderful! With apples, sugar, butter, and flour it’s got to be good. I think you need to have one of those cookbooks Matthew mentioned.
Tipper,
Well, I got that looksee at the super moon and a few pictures. WOW, It was really close and red my goodness, maybe it was because it was shining thru the smoky haze. Well worth the gettin’ up early this mornin’!
Now, I’m on to making that Apple pancake!
Have a good day and hope it is bigger than the moon today!
Tipper,
I woke up early this morning in hopes to get a look thru the smoky haze at the super moon. It is supposed to be closer at 6:00 AM and not be this close again until 2034. If I make it that long, I would be 93, same age as my mom when she passed.
I was just about to make coffee when I thought I’d check out your blog…
Well, I’m going to make me one of those pancakes, after I take a quick looksee at the moon.
Thanks for the recipe, I have mucho German heritage as well as Scot/Irish!
Gotta go only, only five minutes to the “moonarmagetton”!