German Apple Pancake

Of course, this website would not do its name duty by not having at least one pancake recipe, right?? Well today, since I hadn't anywhere to go in the morning and I had some leftover Granny Smiths from the Thanksgiving apple pie, I decided upon German Apple Pancake or Apfel Pfannekuchen (I make pancakes all the time, by the way, just hadn't since I started this website.) I've made dutch babies before and they are quite fun watching them puff up in the oven. I used a Cook's Illustrated recipe for this one and I must say they fail to disappoint, as usual. It was full of tart, apple-ly cinnamon flavor in a soft, pudding-light bread of a pancake... which I could literally not stop eating. I have dishes to do but I dare not enter the kitchen lest I eat the rest of this heavenly dish!

I did think that the granny smiths were a bit too tart. I'd try using the Braeburn apples next time for a much sweeter pancake.

Note: I highly recommend you pick up Cook's Illustrated's Holiday Baking issue which is out in stores now. Lots of great recipes!

German Apple Pancake

For the batter: 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour 1 tbsp sugar 1/2 tsp table salt 2 large eggs 2/3 cups half-and-half 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the Apple filling: 1 1/4 lbs Granny Smith or Braeburn apples (3-4 large apples), peeled, quarted, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch thick slices 1/4 cup packed light or dark brown sugar 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon 1 tsp juice from 1 lemon Confectioners' sugar for dusting

Prep:
Set rack on upper-middle position and preheat oven to 500F.

Make the batter:
Whisk dry and wet ingredients in separate bowls. Then combine and beat until smooth.

Make the filling:
Heat the butter in a 10-inch ovenproof nonstick skill over medium-high heat until sizzling. Add the apples, brown sugar, and cinnamon and cook for about 10 minutes or until the apples are a golden brown. Take off the heat and stir in the lemon juice.

Assemble:
Pour batter around and over apples (make sure the batter is more on the sides than in the middle as the puffing can push the apples overboard onto your oven floor!). Put the skillet in your 500F oven but then quickly turn the temperature down to 425F and bake the pancake until it is golden and puffy -- around 18 minutes. Mine actually got a little charred on one side so I would watch it and move your pan around if it gets too brown on one side.

Eat!:
Remove pan from the oven and loosen sides with a rubber spatula. Invert onto a plate and dust with the confectioners' sugar. Serves about 4 but serves 1 if you can't control yourself. :)