A golden, oven-baked pancake made for bold toppings
A savoury Dutch baby has the same sense of oven drama as its sweet counterpart, but instead of a sweet dessert topping, you can fill it with a flavoruful savoury topping, to create a new favourite on the brunch table or for a fun every day dinner. My favourite is a bruschetta topping with tomatoes, mozarella and spinach.
How to make a savoury Dutch baby
To make the batter, add all the ingredients in a mixer and blend at high speed for a few minutes. The addition of the Dijon mustard to the batter gives some depth to the flavours of your pancake.
While the pancake batter rest, prepare your Bruschetta toppings. Dice the tomato and fresh mozzarella. Shred the Parmesan. Set everything aside while you wait for the pancake to cook in the oven.
Once the oven is heated, place an oven-safe frying pan in the oven with the butter and let it melt. Be careful when taking out the frying pan and adding the pancake batter to the hot frying pan. Place in the oven and watch the magic happen.
As it bakes, the edges rise high and crisp, while the center remains soft and slightly custardy, creating a perfect foundation for savory toppings. Place the spinach leaves on the bottom as your foundation, add the diced tomatoes on top and sprinkle with some salt. Then add the diced fresh mozzarella and drizzle it all with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and shredded Parmesan.
Finish off your creation with some basil leaves and serve immediately.
For full instructions and measurement, see the recipe card below.
Substitutes
Pulled from the oven puffed and deeply golden, the Dutch pancake is rustic and surprisingly versatile. If you do not like the bruschetta topping, then add the savoury ingredients you like. Why not try roasted vegetables, sautéed mushrooms or caramilised onions, or top it with your favourite cheese.
For the batter, you can leave out the Dijon mustard for a plain pancake batter. It will loose a bit of its sharpness but will bring out the taste of the toppings you use.
Batch cooking tips
If you have several oven proof frying pans, double the recipe, to make more Dutch babies and let them cook in the oven together. Or cook them one at the time, the batter can sit while one Dutch baby is cooking.
Other recipes to try
Its sweet cousin is the first of the recipes that comes to mind that you might like to try. For an equally delicious but quicker to make pancakes with orange zest is another favourite. Another savoury recipe is my smoked salmon waffle with wasabi cream.
For other spinach recipes try my Börek.
Savoury Dutch baby
Ingredients
Pancake batter
- 3 eggs
- 94 g flour
- 10 ml milk
- 1 lemon zest
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp salt
For the frying pan
- 3 tbsp butter
Toppings
Bruschetta
- 1 handful of spinach
- 1 tomato diced
- A pinch of salt
- 60 g fresh mozzarella
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 60 g parmesan shredded
- A few basil leaves
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to the batter in a mixer.
- Mix at high speed for a few minutes.
- Let the batter rest for at least ten minutes.
- Turn the oven to 200 °C (392 °F).
- During this time prepare your preferred savoury toppings.
- Dice the tomato and fresh mozzarella.
- Shred the Parmesan.
- Place an oven proof frying pan in the oven with the butter and let it melt.
- Take the pan out of the oven and carefully add the batter to the pan.
- Place the frying pan back in the oven for 30 minutes.
- Take the pancake out of the oven, and layer the toppings.
- Place the spinach at the bottom and add the diced tomatoes on top, sprinkle salt over.
- Add the fresh mozzarella.
- Drizzle olive oil, balsamic vinegar and shredded Parmesan, before adding a few basil leaves to finish off your creation.
- Serve immediately.
Leave a Reply