My grandmother was so loving. She used to bake, cook, garden, and do may crafts with me and my sister. Our times together were very special. One precious memory was her German Pancake. She made this based on her German heritage. When I grew up in Belize, apples and grapes were only available during Christmas time. Though this recipe calls for apples, she would substitute other seasonal fruits when she made this at different times of the year.
Best if made in a non-stick 10 inch oven safe skillet. I use a well oiled/buttered cast iron skillet. This recipe is quick and easy if all ingredients are measured out the night before.
Ingredients:
Dry
1/2 cup Hungarian High Altitude unbleached flour (I use this because I live in Colorado). If you don’t you may use any unbleached flour,
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar (I like fine grown raw sugar too)
1/2 teaspoon salt
Wet
2 large eggs (I use fresh laid eggs, but I really like Pete & Gerry’s organic eggs too. These eggs never have that “egg-ey” taste.
2/3 cups half and half
1 teaspoon good vanilla. I make my own, but love Nielsen-Massey or Watkins brands
Stove top
2 tablespoons good unsalted butter. I like Dutch or Irish
3-4 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, quartered, cored, and cut into 1/2 inch slices
1/4 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon. I like Ceylon.
1 teaspoon juice from 1 lemon
Serving:
Confectioners sugar for dusting
Warmed maple syrup for serving
Method:
Adjust oven rack to middle. Heat oven to 500 degrees.
In a medium bowl, whisk to together all dry ingredients. In a medium bowl whisk together all wet ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until no lumps are visible, about 20-25 seconds. In skillet melt butter and saute’ all stove top ingredients on medium heat for about 10-12 minutes. Stir with rubber spatula often. Turn of heat and stir in lemon juice. Working quickly pour wet batter over cooked apples in skillet. Place in oven and reduce temperature to 425 degrees. Bake until pancake edges are brown and puffy. At this point, pancakes should have risen above skillet. This process takes about 17-18 minutes.
Using a potholder, remove from oven and place on a trivet. Loosen pancake edges with heat proof spatula, and invert pancake onto a plate or platter. Dust with confectioner’s sugar. Cut into wedges, and plain or with maple syrup.
Enjoy!