by Lori Baltazar
I’m thinking that I may have a serious pancake addiction.
- The original Walker Bros. baked apple pancake
When I tried the Walker Bros. apple pancake three years ago, it sparked an epiphany ”“ but I didn’t know it then. After all, I had just one bite of that pancake and I don’t recall any bells or whistles or the sounds of angels playing harps on high. It was just a pancake, for crying out loud; and it wasn’t even my dish.
- this may be the thinnest pancake I’ve ever eaten
Fast forward to the present, and I find myself thinking more and more about that baked pancake. I can’t pinpoint what sets it off, but my incessant pancake reveries load the gun, and an onslaught of baked pancake recipes pulls the trigger. I make one baked pancake in 2007, two in 2008, and NINE in 2009, and this year’s only half over!
This isn’t just your average, Pancake House, stack o’ flapjacks pancakes that I’m talking about here, but baked pancakes. Also known as Dutch babies, Dutch Bunny, German Apple Pancake, or oven pancake, this doughy disc is a spectacular result of the lifting power of eggs and heat. The batter is simple: milk, flour, butter, salt and two to three eggs. Mixed in a blender for better aeration, it’s then poured over a shallow pan (usually 10-inches wide) in which some fruit (usually apples) has been caramelized with brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon. It’s baked quickly in the oven at high heat and it comes out like the diva that it is; dramatic sloped sides, a golden exterior pocked with burnished bits of molten sugar, and the now-translucent slices of fruit scintillating in juice, heady with the scent of melted butter.
Excuse me while I wipe the drool off my keyboard.
Because an oven pancake has no leavening (baking powder, baking soda), its texture is a cross between crepe, popover, and pancake. It’s quite dense, definitely not your typical fluffy buttermilk pancake. But it makes for a stunning breakfast or brunch centerpiece. It’s also impossible to stop eating. Most people blanch at its size, managing only a quarter portion, at most, half. I, on the other hand, can polish off the whole thing by myself.
My goal in making all these pancakes is to recreate the baked pancake that I had at Walker Bros. in Chicago three years ago. Though a return trip there would be ideal, it’s not possible at present, so I make do tweaking and trimming, refining and revising in order to achieve that slightly cakey, sticky-sweet Walker Bros. wonder that is my Holy Grail of Pancakes.
Related Posts:
Recipe here. (Just one of the many I’ve tried).
Pancake making in Rotterdam
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i’ve been hankering for pancakes since monday and your post didn’t help!
now i’m really desperate to have some pancake love!!!
yyyyuuummmmyyyy!!!!
Dutch baby! Hope you can share the recipe once you’ve nailed it. 😉
hi ms. lorie,
Walker Bros. is simply the best! was able to try it when i went to chicago last april to visit my parents. my parents and relatives brought me there. grabe, sarap! and the servings are huge! the ambiance of the place is also nice. i love their interior. 🙂
Aah! Dutch babies! I remember making these sometime ago. It was the reason I bought a cast iron pan in Quiapo. 🙂
this post made me crave for one!
Hi Laurie,
I have been following your blog for some time now. If you ever have the opportunity I highly recommend that you try my personal Holy Grail of Pancakes its the Kaiserschmarrn at Spago Beverly Hills.
I spend so much time trying to recreate foods I’ve had while out and about. When I get it right it’s incredibly satisfying, but like you, I keep trying until I’ve nailed it. 🙂
I’ve always wanted to make Dutch babies…my problem is a husband who doesn’t really eat pancakes, so when I make them, I have to eat everything myself! You description is sorely tempting me though 🙂
I see the bottle of stroop in one of the photos…I miss the pancakes in the NL!
Hi Lori,
A Kaiserschmarrn literally translates into Emperor’s pancake. Its a baked puffed up Austrian pancake traditionally served with apples. They have versions of it in Mickey’s Deli and the German Club but the best version I’ve ever had was in Spago Beverly Hills. Wolfgang Puck’s recipe is available online. You might want to try it out.
Best regards,
Tonico
Boo-hoo. I had to settle for blueberry pancakes from the Pancake House.
The most curious pancake I’ve tried is a Japanese pancake. No, not an okonomiyaki, but it is made out of a mochi block flavored with matcha powder and filled with mashed adzuki beans. Some stalls even baked it via a waffle toaster oven.
Mmmmm…. try making your own version. Yummy.
“Excuse me while I wipe the drool off my keyboard.”
LOL.
I always have a soft spot for pancakes, waffles and crepes. Dunno what it is about them that just makes me feel warm and cozy when eating them. But maybe, all these years, I’ve been missing out!
Gotta try making an oven pancake soon.
I love the pancakes from Flapjacks, but I always eat too much! Your pictures are making me hungry :))
argsh! so i was ready to dash out the door and head to wherever this “pancake” is sold only to find out that you have to make it! lori you are cruel!
I worked pastry at Spago in chicago. The Kaiserschmarrn is the absolute best. You MUST try it. Sometimes you can find it on menus at Austrian cafes or bakeries. do it!