Puffy Pancake

As a kid, I was always fascinated by the Dutch Baby. Whenever I saw this gigantic puffed-up breakfast pastry on a menu, it usually came with apples baked into the dough and was enough to feed an entire family.

I thought it would be fun to serve one up for breakfast for my boys — who love homemade pancakes.

This recipe is healthier than traditional pancakes and is much easier and faster to make.

I'll be baking this again soon, so that I can try adding apples into the mix.  And now that I think about it, a banana blended into the batter would be delicious, too.

The Puffy Pancake would also make a great breakfast-for-dinner entree, especially if served with some bacon or sausage on the side.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Puffy Pancake

3 large eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
Fresh fruit or berries for serving
Powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Combine eggs, flour, milk, lemon zest, sugar, vanilla and salt in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Set aside to rest.

Place butter in a 10-inch cast iron skillet. Put pan in oven to melt the butter, about 1 to 2 minutes. Do not let the butter brown.

Swirl the butter in the skillet to coat bottom of pan evenly. Pour batter into skillet.

Return pan to oven and bake about 18 minutes or until pancake is puffy and golden brown.

Remove from oven and cool for about 5 minutes.

Top with fruit or berries and dust with powdered sugar. Cut into wedges and serve with maple syrup.