Valentine breakfast

Dutch babies
Originally uploaded by jyew.

* (17 Feb) Update: Replaced the photo with another one I made again this morning (I know- how much butter can you ingest in a week right?). I think the key is really to make sure that the oven is at 425F and that the pan is searing hot too. This allows the pancake to really rise and achieve that crowning crust. And one more thing, you HAVE to be liberal with the powdered sugar!

One of the drawbacks of watching too much Food Network is that one gets easily caught up by the multitude of foods and cooking methods out there that you lose sight of the wondrous alchemy of simple ingredients. It is almost magical what happens when you bring together eggs, flour, half & half and then allow the oven to do the rest. I really can't claim much credit for today's breakfast except for turning the oven on, whisking the ingredients together, and dressing the pancake in the end.

I made a German Pancake- a.k.a a Dutch Baby Pancake. Honestly, this is one of the simplest things you'll ever make but oh is it glorious! You open the oven door after 25 minutes and all you see is this enormous golden crown of luscious goodness. Dressed with strawberries and powdered sugar, it managed to be sweet, rich, light and fluffy all at the same time. No one would believe it was made with just 3 simple ingredients. See one my favorite food blogs, Orangette for a more delectable description of this wondrous process.

Jimmy’s Dutch Baby Pancakes

For the pancakes:
4 Tbs unsalted butter
4 large eggs
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup half-and-half

For the topping:
4 oz clarified butter (or, if you’re not into clarifying, simple melted butter will do)
Juice of 1 lemon
Powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Divide the 4 Tbs butter between two 6-inch cast-iron skillets, and melt it over low heat.

In a blender, whir together the eggs, flour, and half-and-half.

Pour the batter into the skillets over the melted butter. Slide the skillets into the oven, and bake for 25 minutes.

Remove the puffed pancakes from the oven, transfer them to a plate or shallow bowl, and pour on clarified butter, sprinkle on lemon juice, and dust with powdered sugar. Serve immediately.

Serves two.

The original recipe calls for either two 6-inch cast-iron skillets or one 11-inch one, but we don't have a cast-iron pan so I used a 9-inch pie glass and pre-heated it in the oven. This also meant that I had to cut the ingredients down by about a quarter, which was easy to do. I also topped the pancake with strawberries at the end but you can probably put whatever fruit you like. I do have to warn you though that this recipe involves an almost obscene amount of butter, but what's a little indulgence on Valentine's Day? :)

Happy V-Day everyone!