Looking for the best German pancake recipe? Also known as Dutch Babies or Puffed Oven Pancakes – these are a favorite in my family!!

I have been making this dutch baby pancake recipe since I was a preteen! And yes that is a LOOONNGG time!!

A friend of mine in middle school was the one that first introduced me to this deliciousness.

And the rest is history.

Well if you can count pancake baking as history 😂.

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But still – I made this for my family growing up and then continued making the puffed oven pancake recipe into my married and mom life.

This used to be a special occasion recipe – i.e. Christmas, Easter, birthdays, etc.

But really – isn’t every day a special occasion?

So now I honestly make it whenever anyone requests it.

Well not really – my husband has been requesting a Dutch Oven pancake daily for over a month lately.

And I have made it three times (mainly to get pics for this post – lol!).

In a rush?

The Best Dutch Baby, Puffed Oven, German Pancake Recipe:

There are clearly many different types of pancakes and this version even goes by a few different names.

Technically the German pancake version is a German apple pancake called Apfelpfannkuchen.

And the Dutch Baby name is believed to only be so because of the young daughter of a Seattle restaurant owner back in the 1900’s mispronounced “Deutsch” into “Dutch”.

So that restaurant renamed the Deutsch (German) pancake to Dutch Baby 🤪.

So that’s a silly little fact about this popover style deliciousness… thus ‘puffed oven pancake’ truly probably is the most accurate title for a German Pancake recipe.

Best German Pancake Recipe Tips:

• I like to whisk my egg and milk mixture to an almost foamy consistency to be sure my dutch baby is as light as it can be.

• Once you pour the flour into the egg and milk mixture – whisk fast.

• If you are using an older baking dish – I have noticed the pancake can actually stick to the bottom of the pan – even with the melted butter in the dish. If that is your situation as well, I started using a quick spray of cooking spray before I put my butter slices in the dish.

However, this year, I actually invested in these beautiful new baking dishes and get so excited to serve my German pancake recipe in them.

And I DO NOT need to add the cooking spray to these new dishes ;).

• Before you quickly pour the mixture into the hot dish in the oven, give the butter a quick swirl around in the dish to make sure the entire bottom of the dish is covered with the butter ;).

• Once the pancake comes out of the oven, I use a sharp knife to cut it into eight rectangles. Usually one rectangle is considered one serving but honestly my family is known for preferring two or three of them each!!

• While I have never actually tried refrigerating leftovers, I usually leave any remaining servings on the counter for the rest of the day that I make them, and they are ALWAYS eaten within a few hours of coming out of the oven ;).

• For Christmas morning, I make two dishes of this recipe. And yes – timing the fast nature of whisking and pouring into the hot pan is tricky when you are making two!! I usually have my egg/milk mixture done in two separate mixing bowls. Then move the bowls closer to the oven where I quickly add the flour to each bowl. I will give each bowl one more quick whisk before I pour into the dishes in the oven.

These are my old baking dishes that the baked pancake sticks to the bottom of when I bake them.

But they are the same size of my new dishes and two fit perfectly on one rack in the oven!!

Toppings

The traditional puffed oven pancake toppings are cooked apples or powdered sugar and fresh squeezed lemon juice.

However, I am quite partial to good old fashioned maple syrup and powdered sugar.

Oh – and I put a little pad more of butter on my serving.

But I am kind of a butter fanatic…

When I serve this dish on Christmas morning, I have a pretty bowl of defrosted frozen strawberries (only because fresh isn’t in season!) with sugar mixed in for anyone that cares to add that topping to their pancake.

The options are pretty endless as far as toppings go though – and you really cannot go wrong with any flavor you would like to add to it!!

No matter what you actually call this recipe – it is so insanely simple to prepare and will easily be a hit in your family too!

You can get menu ideas for a holiday that I have made this recipe for here.

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Oh Christmas isn’t just a day,

It’s a frame of mind.

~ Miracle on 34th Street

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Have a wonderful day my friend! I hope something makes you smile today ;).