Puffed Pancake with Ice Cream & Berries
Just a reminder that the Salad ‘Stravaganza deadline is rapidly approaching — June 25th! Have you sent your entry in yet? No? I know you must have a great recipe tucked up your sleeve just waiting to make its debut. Come on and share with the rest of us before it’s too late!
I promised myself that this past weekend I wouldn’t even look at a recipe that had saturated fat in it. I’ve scoured through my cookbooks, tagged places in magazines, and have trawled the internet looking for great salads to make up for all the butter and cream I’ve been cooking with lately. Yes, I know salads can also be full of fattening things as well, but most often, there are also lots of very healthy ingredients included. Maybe…
So what did I make last night after this very conscientious promise to myself? Roasted pepper soup (with cream in it), a tossed green salad (with bacon and goat cheese in it). And this. 
So much for not not looking at those recipes I mentioned. Portion control anyone?
The recipe, available at Epicurious, is in this month’s issue of Bon Appetit and is a breeze. I’ve always enjoyed making what we call German Pancakes or Dutch Babies, and have most often served them for brunch or special breakfasts. Over the years, we’ve enjoyed them with a selection of toppings to include sauteed apples and pears depending on what the season was. They are always a hit with guests because of the presentation of the beautiful puffy pancake as it’s pulled piping hot from the oven.
I was pleased with how simple this version of the pancake is compared to others. There are some important considerations about these pancakes:
- Use the size of pan called for in the recipe if you want the "puff" to be dramatic. If you don’t have the exact size, go smaller before you go larger.
- A very hot pan works best. I usually do this by setting it in the oven while it’s preheating.
- Have toppings or fillings ready before the pancake is done as it needs to be served immediately.
I made the recipe exactly as printed, but served it with a scoop of Breyer’s vanilla ice cream and added some blueberries I had on hand. I don’t have to tell you there were no leftovers, right?
Puffed Pancake with Ice Cream and Berries
A well-used, but clean cast iron skillet works the best for puffed pancakes. Make sure it’s very hot before you drop the butter into the pan.
Make sure all the butter is melted before pouring the batter into the hot pan.
Notice the difference in the height of the "puff" above as it completes its
cooking time as compared to the photo below, only a few seconds after
being removed from the oven.
Have fun with this very easy recipe, combining different flavors and ingredients!
