Brunch Dutch Baby
A delicious, fluffy, puffy American cousin to the Yorkshire pudding, the Dutch Baby is perfect served with sweet and savoury toppings… Brunch is calling!
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Join me (almost) daily as we reconnect with one of life’s most simple pleasures, food!
This recipe can be viewed as a cook along on the Culinary Cartel Instagram, by clicking here, or by viewing the “Dutch Baby ” highlight on Instagram stories.
Despite the name this dish has nothing to do with the Dutch or cooking babies, it’s simply an Americanised name for a Yorkshire pudding. Yorkshire pudding are magical puffy pancakes, served with a traditional beef roast, potatoes and gravy or filled with baked beans, sausages and the usual full English breakfast bits and bobs.
My distant Yorkshire cousins were positively horrified when, sweet toothed, seven year old, me suggested we fill our leftover puds with syrup and ice cream. Despite my British roots I have no cultural sensitivities around what “should” fill a Yorkshire pud, so I will be sticking with the American name. The Americans, like me, see this beauty for what it is, a puffy pancake and the perfect vehicle to build the brunch of your dreams.
Always the people pleaser, I have given two flavouring options here. One sweet, one savoury, both magical.
My versions are vegetarian, but feel free to add in bacon and sausages if that’s your vibe.
TIPS FOR SUCCESS:
Cooking vessel and heat: Cooking your Dutch baby in a large cast iron pan or Le Creuset will yield really fantastic results. You can however also use a casserole dish, or muffin tray (for mini babies).
The secret to sky high puffs comes in two parts. Firstly, pouring the batter in a really hot vessel will make them as light as a feather. Cast iron works well as it holds onto heat much longer than a muffin tray or ceramic dish. If you don’t have access to cast iron, be sure to pull the pan out the oven at the last minute, before adding the batter, to ensure it is as hot as possible.
Resting: This is the number one secret to puffy, airy, success. While you can let it rest for just 30 minutes, letting the batter rest overnight and up to 24 hours is going to yield an incredibly light final product.
If you try this recipe, let us know how it goes! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag your photo #theculinarycartel and #lockdownchowdown on Instagram so we can see what you come up with. Happy cooking!
Frequently Asked Questions
What other flavour combinations can I try?
I have a fantastic Cookies ‘n Cream version here. On the savoury side smoked salmon and chive scrambled eggs are a winner. Be creative – the options are endless
Why is resting the batter important?
Resting the batter is the single most important step for tall Yorkshire puddings. The rest yields airier rather than chewier results, and yields more complex flavours upon baking. As the batter rests the starch molecules swell and the gluten relaxes.
Brunch Dutch Baby
- Total Time: 1 Hour
- Yield: 2 Servings
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Makes 2 18cm wide Dutch Babies
Ingredients
For the batter
- 3/4 cup cake flour
- 1/2 cup full cream milk
- 3 large eggs
- 1 Tbsp water
- pinch of salt
Option 1: For the Cheddar & Herb Baby
- (Makes 2 Dutch Babies)
- 3 large Roma tomatoes
- 6 large brown mushrooms
- 2 large eggs
- 1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 Tbsp chopped parsley or basil, mixed with 1 Tbsp olive oil (for the herb swirl)
- 1/3 cup grated cheddar cheese
- pickled red onions (optional but awesome)
- 30g rocket (about a handful per baby)
- oil as needed
- salt
- pepper
- optional adds: crispy bacon, sausages, more eggs, more cheese… anything you fancy
Option 2: Cinnamon Bun Baby
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 Tbsp icing sugar (plus more for dusting after baking)
- 1/4 tsp vanilla essence
- 1 Tbsp boiling water
- optional adds: sliced fresh banana, berries, whipped cream, bacon
Instructions
Add all the batter ingredients together and whisk to combine. You can also pop the ingredients in a blender to blend it all which will make the batter super smooth. Pop the batter in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, but ideally for 8-12 hours for optimal results.
Cheddar & Herb Baby
- Heat the oven to 180C on convection.
- Cut the tomatoes in half, and place them cut side up in a tray with the mushrooms. Drizzle a little oil, salt and pepper over the veg. Dot the garlic slices over the mushrooms and tomatoes, before popping the tray in the oven to roast for 30 minutes. About halfway through, check the veg and make sure the mushrooms are not looking too dry. If they do, spoon over a little oil from the pan.
- Once the veg is cooked, increase the oven temperature to 210C and follow the instructions below.
Cast Iron method
- Heat two 15 or 18cm cast iron pans (or sponge tins) in the oven for 5 minutes. Once really hot, add enough oil to coat the pan in an even 3mm deep layer of fat.
- Quickly add the batter, filling the pans no more than ¼-1/3 full.
- Scatter the cheese over the batter (but not too much, to avoid weighing the batter down), and drizzle over a bit of the herb and oil mixture. Quickly pop the pans into the oven.
- Cook the Babies for 18 – 22 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown.
Ceramic Casserole Method
- Place your casserole in the 210C oven, with just enough oil in to coat the base in an even 2mm layer. Leave the casserole in the oven to preheat for 10 minutes, while you gather your batter, herb oil and cheese.
- Working quickly, pull the casserole (or casseroles) out of the oven. Immediately add the batter, filling the casserole ¼ full. Scatter the cheese and herb oil evenly over the batter and quickly return the casserole to the oven.
- Cook the Babies for 18-22 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown.
To Finish
- While the babies are cooking, boil or poach your eggs according to your preference (I like mine soft boiled, which takes 6:30 minutes using a extra large egg straight from the fridge). If doing a boiled egg, run the egg under cool water after cooking and remove the shell.
- Remove the Dutch Babies from the oven. Top them with roasted tomatoes, mushrooms, red onion pickle, eggs and rocket and serve immediately.
Cinnamon Sugar Baby
- Heat your oven to 210C on convection.
- To make the cinnamon sugar swirl, melt the butter and cinnamon together. Once melted, add the icing sugar, boiling water and vanilla and stir until combined.
- *You will only need about half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture to swirl over the babies, save the rest for topping your Dutch Baby at the end.
Cast Iron method
- Heat two 15 or 18cm pans over high heat. Once really hot, add enough oil or butter to coat the pan in an even 2mm deep layer of fat.
- Quickly add the batter, filling the pans no more than ¼-1/3 full. Using a spoon, drizzle some of your cinnamon-sugar mixture over the batter in a swirl.
- Cook the Babies for 18-22 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown.
Ceramic Casserole Method
- Place your casserole in the 210C oven, with just enough oil in to coat the base in an even 2mm layer. Leave the casserole in the oven to preheat for 10 minutes, while you gather your batter and cinnamon-sugar mixture.
- Working quickly, pull the casserole (or casseroles) out of the oven. Immediately add the batter, filling the casserole 1/5 – ¼ full. Using a spoon, drizzle your cinnamon-sugar mixture over the batter in a swirl.
- Cook the Babies for 18-22 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown.
- Once puffed and golden remove the Dutch Babies from the oven.
- Dust over a little more icing sugar, drizzle on more cinnamon sugar swirl and serve immediately.
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
