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I nearly jumped for joy when I saw that picture. I thought you knew the secret of Yorkshire Puddings!

As great as I'm sure the Big Pancake tastes, for another type of taste and as an accompaniment to a moan course, try leaving out the sugar and other sweet stuff and filling that sucka with lashings of onion gravy.

Yorkshire pudding should really be cooked in super heated muffin trays with hot oil in the bottom to enable them to rise like your Big Pancake. However, it is so hard to keep all the "holes" hot while you are trying to pour just the right amount of mix into each (too much and you will get a gooey mess in the middle with burnt edges, too little and the whole thing will burn to a crisp) that the cast iron skillet on top of a stiove sounds like the answer to my prayers.

BTW, as should be obvious by now, Yorkshire Pudding is not a dessert but a side to a mian course such as potatoes and in Yorkshire is even served as a starter with the gravy. In my more juvenile days I used to take great pleasure in seeing the non-Brit customers in Tea and Sympathy eat the Yorkshire Pudding as if were bread. Nothing wrong with that of course but you miss out on so much that way.

Another BTW, T&S is the only place in NYC that I have found can actually get Yorkshire Pudding right. The Irish pubs cannot do it. They tend to make what feels and tastes like stale hard bread.

if my mom had a sister, i'd swear she was related to your mom
this is what we had EVERY single holiday breakfast my entire life
easter, xmas, t-day, every holiday, and i still love the bejesus out of it
she serves it generally with canned plums and powdered sugar
but, then, sometimes, she would make it much like jamie pup suggests above, as a savory dish for dinner with, say, slovakian mushroom gravy, or stew, or sauerkraut
mmmm... soo hungry
and so glad i inherited my gran's cast iron skillet!

What size skillet - I think I need to invest in one for this.

Wow! Someone other than my family knowing about the Dutch Baby! Promises of the mysterious "Dutch Baby" (muahahahah) was how I lured people to sleep over at my house when I was a child. This is a huge tradition in our family. We either sprinkle it with powdered sugar over butter or spread stewed fruit on it.

Being a poor college student, I found out that you can bake a dutch baby in almost any kind of pan, including a cookie sheet (the kind with edges). Expensive gourmet catalogs will sell you an "oven pancake" pan but you don't need it.

Veryveryvery important is to grab someone to peer into the oven while this is cooking. It makes these huge pancake bubble mountain things which look very impressive especially since they fall when they come out of the oven.

diana
i took a look at the one i inherited from my gramma, and it seems to be about 12"
its really old, so it doesn't have any measurments
i included a link (click my name) for lodge cast iron skillets at broadway p-handler
you could probably get away with either the 10 or 12" jobbies
just be sure to season the pan properly and to maintain the seasoning by not washing it with water and keeping it lubed up with oil
it will be something to treasure and pass along to future generations if well cared for!

We call them "Popeye Pancakes." I have no idea where that name came from. We've always cooked them in individual servings, using good oven-safe bowls. But next time, I'm going to try the skillet method.

THE BIG PANCAKES ARE AWSOME THE WAY MY DAD MAKES THEM

Ian, that's what we called them, too, but my mom always made them in a cast-iron skillet.

When I saw the photo I knew right away what it was. We love those pancakes - my mom used to make them, gave me the recipe and now I make them. They are delicious and so cool looking! I sometimes add pear or kiwi to the pancake before baking which is super yummy, too.

Do they taste like pancakes?

Nanana:

Dutch Babies, to me, taste like a cross between pancakes and an egg custard. They're heavenly!

Dutch Babies have been a Christmas morning tradition for years. We make individual babies in four 7 inch aluminum frying pans. Then there are no arguments as to who got the largest piece.

We call a German Pancake in our household and it was
one of the few things my Dad would make. He got the recipe from his Father, and I believe it came from the Settlement cookbook. He used and old enamel coated cast iron skillet, and he would butter the pan and put it in the frig over night. Our tradition was to load it with everything, butter, lemon, maple sugar and powered sugar.

Jamie pup, I thought the American version of Yorkshire pudding was the popover (something I adore stuffed with chicken salad). Dutch babies always reminded me of popovers, at any rate.

I saw dutch babies for the first time on Orangette. Definitely yummy.

I love making Dutch babies one lazy Saturday mornings! I top it with frozen Maine blueberries, powdered sugar, and lemon juice. Always so yummy!

We have always called them simply Baked Pancakes. We love them. They were a Christmas morning staple thanks to my stepmom. We make them all the time at our house, usually using pyrex pie dishes. I use a small squarish corning ware dish to make a perfect sized pancake for my daughter.

This pan is my favorite for German Pancakes:
http://www.amazon.com/Calphalon-Commercial-Hard-Anodized-12-Inch-Everyday/dp/B00006FX83/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1228254028&sr=8-2

I grew up knowing these as German Pancakes, but everyone else I know calls them Dutch Babies.

I like mine with fresh strawberries, but since those aren't in season for long, I make my own strawberry syrup/puree to use instead.

We always called them German pancakes too -- I think this is where "Dutch" (Deutsche) came from.

My batter is similiar:

2 eggs
2/3 C milk
2/3 C flour

It scales marvelously.

The key to good rising is to make sure the pan is adequately buttered. If the batter sticks to the walls, it won't rise well. Also, beat a lot of air into the batter.

I've used large muffin tins for individual servings. They come out similiar to a pop-over, but a little denser (eggier).

We like them with creamy Irish butter and homemade jam.

this looks really interesting and i'm not the best at baking but I am willing to give it a try.

Will the recipe cut in half fine, it's just my wife and I, and I don't want too big of one to test it with.

Any other tips for it?

Little confused on the butter part. Do i just plop the butter in the pan and then let it melt, or do i rub the butter all over it to coat the entire thing?

How about the time until golden brown, the first part? Approximation?

After your pan is preheated in the oven plop the butter in it to melt in the hot pan. After it melts just swirl the butter around the bottom. The dutch baby will push the butter up the sides as it rises. yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

luv2cook

jmorey - the recipe will cut in half no problem. Just make it in 1 pan, instead of dividing it in 2.

Put the pan in the oven while it pre-heats. You can either put the butter in once it's hot and swirl to melt, or just put the butter while the oven is pre-heating (that's what I do).

For 2 people I use a 9x9" glass dish and it works just fine. A 10" skillet also works.

This recipe says 12-15 minutes @ 425. I tend to do mine for 20 minutes, but I use a slightly different recipe. But I think 15 minutes will be safe.

My MIL makes these and they are wonderul. She serves them w/powdered sugar and a fruit compote that is dependent upon what is in season. Delicious!

Does anyone (from Minnesota) remember Pannekoeken Huis? It was a theme restaurant, and the pannekoeken was filled with apples or cherries or whatever gooey fruit mix you wanted. The waitress would come running out of the kitchen in this ridiculous Dutch outfit yelling "pannekoeken!" and would plop the pan on your table before the sides of thecaved in. The pancakes and the wonderful fake Dutch tchotchkes in the place were a fixture of my childhood.

Little did I know this restaurant is still around: http://twincities.citysearch.com/profile/5526496/maplewood_mn/pannekoeken_huis_family_restaurant.html

Thanks for the recipe!

This is yorkshire pudding (sometimes called batter pudding) (and is also the recipe for pancake batter which is exactly the same in England) just with some sugar added!

This is traditionally eaten in England as either a starter with gravy (to fill you up when there wasn't much meat coming for the main course) or as a side dish alongside sunday roast (you can't have roast beef without yorkshire pudding!).

Its usually only eaten sweet when used to make pancakes although in the North it would sometimes be eaten with jam.

It is my life-long comfort food - toad in the hole (or pigs in a blanket) is THE meal for a cold day!

I was thrilled when I saw the pic -- I don't get out much -- because it brought to mind some of my favorite Christmases. I dated a guy years ago whose mother and I got along very well. She used to make this Christmas morning and gave me her recipe. I at first thought she made it to make fun of me -- I am dutch. So I am glad to hear it is referred to as a "dutch baby" by everyone.

I made this for breakfast this morning and it was a hit! I served it with organic raspberries, powdered sugar, maple syrup, and a mimosa. OMG! It was so good. I made my husband and son come in the kitchen when I pulled it out to get some oohs and awes. I halved the recipe and it was fine. I also found a dutch baby cooking video that is really cute. They call it a puff daddy!

I am so glad I saw this. I just made my dutch baby tonight for a cheap dessert and my baby's daddy and baby loved it. I sprinkled powdered sugar and spread a little cherry butter on. It was a great reintroduction to an old favorite tradition. Thanks!

I just wanted to report that I made this for Saturday breakfast and it was DELICIOUS -- and so easy! It was so good that at my husband's request, we had it again on Sunday morning. I chopped up some thawed frozen strawberries and reduced them down to a sauce while the pancake cooked -- it was as good as any brunch at a restaurant. Thank you for the recipe!

We made something similar all during my childhood but called it German Apple Pancake.

The recipe is so simple: 1/4 cup flour per person, 1/4 cup milk per person, 1 egg per person and 1 apple per person.

After the batter is mixed we'd melt some butter in a big cast iron skillet and pour the pancake mix on top of the butter and let cook on the stovetop for a few minutes (gives the crust a wonderful butter flavor). Then into the oven: 10 min at 450 degrees, and then 15 at 375 degrees.

While it bakes, slice all your apples (no need to peel) and drop them in a saucepan with some butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. By the time the pancake is done the apples should be good and soft. The pancake comes out with a big puffed up crust and you pour the apples and their juice/syrup over it so it squashes down the middle (leaving the edges puffy and golden - more so than the variant in this post) and saturating the eggy middle with juices. Dust with powdered sugar to finish.

I now use the recipe to lure in friends and dates alike. It's so easy and it's SO delicious. Everyone we ever made it for was immensely impressed with it.

The longer baking time in this recipe gives the pancake a crispy crust (and frankly, a better appearance). Add shredded cheese to the batter, leave out the apples and instead place sausages on top of the wet batter for a psuedo toad-in-the-hole, savory pancake.

Finally made this and LOVED it! So delicious, and so much easier than standing over a griddle. Thanks so much for the recipe!

For anyone counting calories, I was able to make this with a little more than half the amount of butter it calls for. Turned out fine.

Dutch Babies are one of my family's most favorite celebratory weekend breakfasts. Be it Christmas, a birthday, 4th of July... anytime of the year, we'll gladly come up with something to celebrate to enjoy a fluffy, buttery Dutch Baby.

While living in Italy, my apartment came equipped with a mini toaster oven. To take care of my Dutch Baby craving, I bought a few 6 inch loaf pans that could easily fit into the oven. The best part was watching the puffy pancake rise! Although much more dense than usual, the babies turned out perfectly each time. I covered mine with fresh berries, a slight swirl of good old fashion maple syrup and a dollop of plain yogurt on the side. YUM! So tasty.

I make dutch babies for breakfast on Sundays throughout the year. Meyer lemons and powdered sugar ---heaven. There is just something about the color of the pancake and the flavor of the lemon that make me happy.

And, you can quarter this recipe-- one egg, 1/4 c flour and 1/4 c of milk-- and make a single size serving in a small ovenproof fry pan.

The most important thing the first few times you make this is to remember to put the pan on the back of the stove and leave it alone for an hour. The handle is red hot.

Sissy, another Minnesotan here. But I'm as surprised as you were to hear that Pannekoeken Huis is still around. I have a vague memory of having been at one somewhere in West St. Paul, way back in the early 80s. It was staffed by women in dirndle skirts and worried looks, and had dark paneled walls lined with Dutch kitsch.

This is what we have eaten for every Christmas and most Easter brunches for the past decade and a half or so. I use the recipe for Finnish Pancakes, from the Minnesota Ethnic Food cookbook (http://www.amazon.com/Minnesota-Ethnic-Food-Book-Kaplan/dp/0873511980). But y'all are right--German pancake, pannekoeken, Dutch Babies, sweetened Yorkshire puddings...they're all basically the same lovely, easy, eggy deliciousness.

I serve mine in the best of all possible ways: when I take the pancake out of the oven (I cook it all up in one big oblong enamel pan), I squeeze a fresh lemon over its billowy poufs. It deflates a bit. Then I slice big squares, and top each slice with preserved lingonberries and a spoonful or two of maple syrup, the good stuff. A side of thick cut bacon and oh yeah baby! It's Christmas!!

Dutch baby! that's the name!!! I've been trying to remember the name of these ever since I had them for breakfast during a stay in an Oregon b&b years ago! absolutely delicious!

cannot wait to try it!

To get it good and fluffy I usually put all the ingredients in the blender and let the batter whip up for 30 seconds. Then let it rest a little before going in the hot butter.
mmm, bake till the edges are a good golden color.
One of my faaaaaaavorite breakfasts.

Mine came out flat :( It still tasted amazing (i love love love dutch babies) but it didn't rise on the sides :( It looked like a pancake and not a dutch baby.

I've known this as the David Eyre pancake, and found the recipe in the NYT magazine:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/25/magazine/25food.txt.html
It's sure to impress everyone, all the time!