Photography
julia calleo
my lavender blues
Chocolate Chip German Pancakes
Have I had german pancakes before? Sure I have. But I must admit, they were nothing until made in a cast iron skillet…. NO this post is by no means sponsored and I’m posting this AFTER they announced the winner of their “Dutch Baby” contest they have going on, so this is purely from the heart (and perhaps some soul).
I have been looking for the perfect “cheat” sweet during my “better me” challenge. I told you if I completely denied myself of everything I would literally fly off the handle and devote an entire days worth of meals to bad food choices. So by allowing myself the perfect sweet to look forward to (and it’s light enough that it won’t be feel like a guilty blob) I was able to eat, enjoy and continue with better choices for the rest of my day (unless you count Trader Joes dark chocolate almonds as a cheat, then I totally screwed myself).
But what was extra special about these german (or dutch) delights? I was able to make them in the Lodge Cast Iron 5″ mini skillet. Portion control at its finest. And when it is most needed.
I’ll leave out the part about eating two of them.
Shit.
;p
But no, you can make these in any oven proof skillet (10″ works best) or of course 4-5 mini skillets would work as well.
With these I think it’s best serving them with an array of toppings. These pancakes are great for any brunch gathering (think bridal showers, engagement parties, baby showers, whatever kind of party happens in the AM) I set mine up like a crepe station. I offered a bowl of blueberries, bananas, pecans, however feel free to add strawberries, slithered almonds, whipped cream, chocolate syrup…. sprinkles…. seriously anything works. Warmed maple syrup with a little sifted powdered sugar makes these eye catching and mouth watering.
***You can easily leave out the chocolate chips…. but why would you?
Also baking time may vary. I was using a brand new convection oven and they were done a good 5 minutes early. So please keep an eye on these after 10 minutes. You don’t want to sacrifice half the pancake to burnt ends. This ain’t no brisket.
- For the Pancake
- ½ cup plus 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- ⅔ cup half & half
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup chocolate chips (semi sweet)
- Butter for greasing
- For the toppings:
- 1 banana, sliced
- 3 tbsp chopped pecans
- ¼ cup blueberries
- Lemon for squeezing
- Maple Syrup
- Powdered sugar (couple tbsp at most)
- Preheat your oven to 500 degrees. In a medium bowl first mix your flour, salt and sugar. Then add your eggs, half & half, vanilla extract. Whisk until blended. Add your chocolate chips, mix.
- Next grease all skillets that you are using with some butter (make sure they are well greased unless you are using a non-stick pan) add batter (evenly) being sure to scoop/evenly distribute chocolate chips that tend to clump at bottom of batter.
- Place in oven for about 13-18 minutes. Start checking at minute 10 if your oven tends to cook quickly.
- Remove from oven and immediately loosen pancake edges if slicing/serving. If serving individually for aesthetic purposes, keep in pan and serve that way. Might be a little more cleaning, but looks really pretty!
*** This recipe was inspired from Cooks Illustrated, changes made were to fit my texture / taste palette.
[…] brings me to my next case in point. You also have to work with what you got. And in this case, the “dutch baby” is the macdaddy of pancakes, aesthetically speaking. And taste is right up there as […]
Julia these look incredible! I have been wanting to make a dutch baby for the longest time (something about the cast iron skillets, the magical puff in the oven and then that gorgeous end-result!) and this post has moved it to the top of my brunch to-make list! I don’t think anyone in their right mind would leave out the chocolate chips though – they look amazing with that maple syrup and banana <3
They are definitely the stove top pancake replacement along with the ease since I am a terrible flipper. I know. I don’t even know why I gave people an option to leave the chips out. I blame the wine…… or the tummy ache I had gotten from eating too many 🙁
Yes. . .why would you leave out the chocolate chips? Can I say that these pancakes look absolutely divine. I haven’t made pancakes in a skillet yet. . .but after looking at these. . .I’m thinking I might have to give it a whirl.
I know, I really don’t know who would leave them out and I’m sure they whoever would leave them out won’t be reading this post. Ooopsadaisy. Thank you though they taste so delicious!!!! And my usual pancakes always turn out unevenly cooked these are such a better alternative. 🙂
Definitely not leaving out the chocolate chips when I make these! That would be crazy! I love that these are made in mini skillets – what a delightfully decadent individual treat for a Sunday breakfast 🙂
Oh good please DON’T they would be nothing with out the chips, but I had to throw that in there for the rare/but occasional chocolate haters that actually live on this Earth 😉 Individual is best when portion control is a constant day to day battle that I am currently struggling with, whoops haha. You’ll have to try and let me know what you think, or may a gluten free version and I would love to try that as well!