Name: Simple Dutch Pancake Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1/2 cup all purpose flour; 1/2 cup whole milk or 2% milk; 3 large eggs; 1 tablespoon sugar (or maple syrup); 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1/4 teaspoon salt (omit if using salted butter); optional flavors, Note 1; 3 tablespoons butter; Topping/garnish options: Note 2

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Picture this. You enter the room with a beautiful golden puffed up Dutch pancake in a skillet. The ooh’s and ah’s for this impressive Dutch pancake recipe ring in your ears. Your guests don’t realize how simple it is.

You warn them to look quickly because the pancake collapses fast. But they are already busy adding fresh fruit and maple syrup on top, ready to dig in.

dutch pancake in skillet with dusted sugar and berries on top

The Dutch pancake – also called a German pancake, pannekoeken or a Dutch puff – actually originated in Germany, not the Netherlands. The story goes that a daughter of a Seattle diner owner served 3 small pancakes that she called Dutch babies when she really meant Deutsch (German).

The pancake is made with a batter of eggs, flour, milk, sugar and vanilla poured it into a buttered skillet and baked for 20 minutes. The sides puff up and get a bit crispy and you get a thin, slightly custardy center.

While the center does collapse minutes after coming out of the oven, the pancake still holds a shallow bowl-like shape.

Are all the recipes for Dutch pancakes on the internet the same?

Pretty much, yes. I compared 6 well-known, good quality websites.

The ingredients were identical.
The measurements almost identical.
All recipes use a 1:1 ratio of flour and milk.
Oven temperatures ranged from 375F/191 to 450F/232C with times ranging from 15-25 minutes.

Cooks Illustrated, however, was the only site that used a very different cooking technique for their German pancake. After adding the batter to a buttered cast iron skillet, they put the skillet into a cold oven. Then turned on the heat to 375F/191C to bake the pancake. All other sites add the batter to a preheated skillet, then bake the pancake at high heat.

I tried both ways. To be honest, there was not a lot of difference. I found the pancake with the cold oven method puffed up more, but then collapsed just as quickly as the hot oven method. It’s very handy if you forget to heat up the oven though!

dutch pancaked puffed right out of oven in skillet 1 — Cold oven method

dutch pancaked puffed right out of oven in skillet — Cold oven method

The Kitchn also tested a number of more nuanced techniques such as resting the batter longer, using a whisk instead of blender, beating some ingredients separately and beating them all together. Since the results were not drastically different, I went with the easiest – beating all the ingredients together using an immersion blender or whisk.

What’s the difference between a Dutch pancake and a regular pancake?

A Dutch pancake is like a cross between a French crepe and a popover (or Yorkshire pudding).
It’s much larger and much thinner than a regular fluffy pancake. The center is almost custard-like.
It’s baked in the oven (instead of on the stove top) and is puffed and taller around the edges.
No leavening agent such as baking powder is used.

What to serve with a Dutch pancake

Typically a Dutch pancake is served for breakfast or brunch, but my husband and I sometimes enjoy it for dinner. The standard way to serve the pancake is dusted with powdered sugar and a drizzle of maple syrup or a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Here are a few other great toppings.

berry sauce – see our recipe for berry sauce on pound cake
fresh fruit like blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, peaches or bananas
caramelized bananas – see our recipe for ricotta pancakes with caramelized bananas.
homemade no pectin low sugar strawberry jam or peach jam – warmed up. Or warm up store bought jam with a splash of water.
whipped cream, lemon curd or yogurt are pretty good too!

As part of a brunch menu, you can pair the pancake with a breakfast egg bake, carrot cake oatmeal, an easy potato skillet breakfast with ham, a side of crispy bacon or ham and a tropical fruit salad.

Or check out our full list of vegetarian brunch recipes for Mother’s Day.

How to make a Dutch baby pancake recipe

eggs, flour, sugar, butter, berries, milk, icing sugar — **Ingredients**: *Batter* – milk, eggs, vanilla, flour, sugar, butter. *Garnish* – berries, powdered/ confectioners’ sugar.

batter blended in bowl with immersion blender — Blend eggs, flour, sugar, vanilla and milk to a smooth, thin batter.

butter melting in cast iron skillet — Heat oven and an oven-proof skillet in the oven. Remove, add butter and let it melt.

batter poured into skillet — Pour pancake batter into buttered hot skillet. Place in preheated oven.

dutch pancaked puffed oven in skillet with berries on top — Dust with powdered sugar and add a topping of your choice.

slice of dutch pancake with berries on plate — Drizzle on maple syrup.

dutch pancaked puffed oven in skillet with berries and syrup on top p

Tailor To Your Taste

Here are a few variations to experiment with.

Technique and equipment

The commonly used method is to bake the Dutch pancake in a oven proof skillet in a hot oven. This is in the recipe.
We have also included Cook’s Illustrated cold oven technique in the recipe card.
Equipment:
- To blend the batter, you can use a blender, an immersion blender, an electric mixer, a food processor, a whisk or fork.
- A 9- or 10-inch cast-iron skillet (23-25 cm) or any other oven proof skillet will work.
The Kitchn tested several different methods that results in some fairly minor differences. A few takeaways:
- You can let the batter rest 10 minutes to a few hours – whatever suits you. An overnight rest is not needed, but certainly fine if more convenient. Take the batter out half hour before baking it.
- The easiest method is dumping all the batter ingredients together and blending them. That got my attention!

Topping options

Here’s where you can get creative. We’ve listed several options above – fresh berries, your favorite fruit, preserves, caramelized bananas, whipped cream, yogurt, lemon curd.
And of course, a drizzle of maple syrup, lemon juice, dark chocolate or nutella.
One more idea – you can also make a savory Dutch pancake topped with mushrooms, onions, a curry, lox, etc. Maybe I’ll post a recipe on that one day…

Batter flavors

You can substitute the white sugar with maple syrup.
Add lemon zest, orange zest, cinnamon or a pinch of nutmeg to the batter.

Shortcut

The only shortcut to take when serving a Dutch baby is with the toppings. Keep it simple if you prefer with fresh fruit and syrup and maybe a dollop of yogurt. The longer option is to make your own berry sauce or preserves.

Make Ahead

Because Dutch babies collapse soon after removing them from the oven, this recipe would not be a great candidate to make ahead and reheat.
You can, however prepare the batter ahead of time. If you make the batter the night before for convenience, store it in an airtight container. One site noted this apparently makes the pancake collapse a little quicker when removing it from the oven.

Simple Dutch Pancake Recipe