German Apple Pancakes

By
Jennifer McGavin
Jennifer McGavin
Jennifer McGavin learned to cook German food while living in Germany for 11 years and has worked in the food industry for many years.
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Updated on 01/18/23
Dutch Baby Pancake
Jon Lovette / Getty Images
Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 20 mins
Total: 40 mins
Servings: 4 servings

German apple pancakes and Dutch babies come from the Pennsylvania Dutch. Oddly, these kinds of pancakes. seem to be lost to modern, German cooking but are delicious, nonetheless.

The word "Dutch" comes from a mispronunciation of "deutsch," not from Germany's northern neighbor. The Pennsylvania Dutch migrated from southwestern Germany and Switzerland in the 17th and 18th centuries.

A German variation, known as Kaiserschmarrn, is a sweet omelet/pancake with raisins that is broken apart and allowed to brown further. It is served with applesauce, fruit compote or cherries. 

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1 apple
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 4 to 5 tablespoons sugar (divided)
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 3 eggs
  • 2/3 cup milk (room temperature)
  • 2/3 cup flour
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. You will need a 10-inch/25 centimeter ovenproof skillet.

  3. Preheat the oven to 450 F/230 C. Melt the butter in the pan in the oven. Be careful, it can burn if you leave it too long.

  4. Peel and core the apple. cut into slices. Remove pan from oven, add apple slices, 2 tablespoons of sugar and cinnamon. Stir and place back in the oven.

  5. While apples are sputtering in the oven, mix 2 to 3 tablespoons of sugar, lemon zest, and eggs on high in a blender or food processor for one minute.

  6. Add the milk and mix, then the flour and salt and mix until no lumps remain.

  7. Remove the pan from the oven, pour the batter on top and place back in the oven.

  8. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until set and puffy.

  9. Serve for breakfast with bacon and syrup or cut into smaller wedges for dessert with whipped cream.

  10. Enjoy!

Tips

  • If your milk is not room temperature, heat it in the microwave for about 30 seconds on high.
  • You can also keep the batter overnight in the refrigerator and bake this pancake first thing in the morning.
  • The best apples to use are a bit sour. You can toss the apples in some lemon juice to kick up the flavor before you add them to the pan.
  • This dish would make a good meatless, main dish that would be served for the midday meal in Germany. Flour-based recipes filled up hungry stomachs without spending a lot of money on meat, which was traditionally more expensive than it is today. It was also common to serve a main dish like this in the evening so that the children would not eat all the sausage and bologna (Wurst und Aufschnitt) as that was also expensive.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
261 Calories
12g Fat
31g Carbs
9g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 261
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 12g 15%
Saturated Fat 5g 23%
Cholesterol 168mg 56%
Sodium 503mg 22%
Total Carbohydrate 31g 11%
Dietary Fiber 3g 12%
Protein 9g
Calcium 125mg 10%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)