This week, my leadership certificate program resumed classes for the fall semester. After taking a week off in between the end of summer semester and beginning of fall semester, I have been mostly on the go. For the most of this year, I have been going to work, heading to school, working ahead on homework, squeezing in time to eat, and retiring to my bed once I got tired. During these busy days, I like to meal prep as much as I can. When I don’t have enough time to meal prep, I like to whip up some quick meals to satisfy my hunger. I try to eat healthier during the weekdays and save indulging on my favorite treats for weekends. Saturdays (and sometimes Sundays) are usually my cheat days. I typically reserve Saturdays for meal prepping, catching up on shows, and testing out new recipes. On Sundays, I often head to the gym, think about what I want to eat for brunch, and meal prep in my mind as I am running. Halfway into my run today, I decided to make a Dutch baby pancake with lemon whipped cream and fresh berries. I love making a Dutch baby pancake when I want something sweet and quick for breakfast on Sundays. Instead of just my usual Dutch baby pancake served with a dusting of powdered sugar, I also cut up some fresh strawberries, rinsed some fresh blueberries, and whipped up some cream with lemon zest folded into it. Pancakes pair very well with fresh fruits and citrus and this Dutch baby pancake was no exception. The strawberries and blueberries added a nice burst of sweetness and tanginess to the pancake. The lemon whipped cream added a good contrast and creaminess to the pancake. The batter itself is a thin batter, but puffs up quite nicely in the oven. Whenever I remove the Dutch baby pancake from the oven, I am always amazed by the height and puff of the pancake. The puff does deflate fairly quickly once removed from the oven, but it’s always impressive to look at. As we were enjoying our post-workout brunch, I filled Kevin in on this new series I started watching on the CW. The series was called Two Sentence Horror Stories based off of a thread which began on Reddit. I’ve only seen two episodes and both episodes were surprisingly creepy. I tried to convince Kevin to watch the episodes with me, but he declined since he wasn’t a fan of scary stories. He quickly changed the topic and raved about the Dutch baby pancake with lemon cream and fresh berries. The fluffy, eggy, and cakey texture of the Dutch baby pancake reminded us of the mini egg cakes we ate growing up. Kevin spent most of his youth living in Hong Kong and snacking on the mini egg cakes whenever he was around one of the food stands selling these treats. I grew up in New York City and spent many weekends getting my share of mini egg cakes whenever I headed to Chinatown in Manhattan. There was a food stand selling mini egg cakes along canal street in Manhattan’s Chinatown. For just a dollar, you could get 15 mini egg cakes. I missed being able to buy some mini egg cakes in Chinatown whenever my cravings kicked in. The Dutch baby pancake was a great alternative though and made for the perfect post-workout carb brunch. I was content with just the Dutch baby pancake and some tater tots (more carbs) for brunch. Kevin needed a side of breakfast patties though because for him, breakfast had to include some sort of meat. I ended up cooking two breakfast patties for him to serve alongside the Dutch baby pancake. The Dutch baby pancake was a fairly quick way to satisfy even my most intense carb cravings.
Dutch Baby Pancake with Lemon Cream and Fresh Berries
For the Dutch baby pancake:
· 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
· 4 large eggs, room temperature
· ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
· 1 teaspoon fine sugar
· ¾ cup all-purpose flour
· ¾ cup whole milk, room temperature
For the lemon whipped cream:
· ½ cup heavy whipping cream
· 1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar
· Zest of a small lemon
For serving:
· 6 strawberries, tops removed and thinly sliced
· handful of fresh blueberries
· confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 425°F. Place the room temperature butter on a 12-inch cast iron pan. Set aside.
2) In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, salt, sugar, flour and whole milk. Keep whisking until batter is well blended and frothy looking, about 3 minutes.
3) Once the oven is heated, place the cast iron pan into the oven for about one to two minutes, just until the butter is melted. Take out the cast iron pan and pour the batter into the pan.
4) Place the pan back into the oven and let it bake for 20 minutes. Turn off the oven and let the pancake sit in the oven for another 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the pancake rest for 5 minutes before topping with fresh fruits and confectioners’ sugar.
5) To make the lemon whipped cream, add the heavy whipping cream and confectioners’ sugar to a large bowl. Use a hand mixer to whip the cream on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Fold in the lemon zest.
6) To serve, top the Dutch baby pancake with fresh cut strawberries and blueberries. Dust the confectioners’ sugar on top of the pancake. Serve the lemon whipped cream on the side.
Takeaways: You can serve the Dutch baby pancake on its own with just a dusting of confectioner’s sugar and some maple syrup if you prefer. You can also swap in any fruits you have on hand. The Dutch baby pancake is very versatile and can be served with any toppings you would typically serve on pancakes. Using a cast iron pan works best for a Dutch baby pancake. I’ve tried using a skillet to make a Dutch baby pancake and the pancake did not rise as much as it did when I used a cast iron pan.