Dutch Baby

For those of you poor souls who don't know what a dutch baby is (also called a German Pancake), it results from pancake batter being poured into a sizzling butter-filled cast iron skillet, and bakes into a wonderful breakfast treat.  Don't ask me why it's called a "Dutch Baby"...because I honestly have no idea.  If I was to give it a name myself, I would name it "Heavenly Pancake Puff." I've been making this recipe for as long as I can remember, and I have no idea why I didn't post it sooner. I've grown up making this delightful pancake. It's slightly more eggy than your usual pancake...but totally not in a gross way.  It's also very light; I could probably roll the entire thing up and eat it myself.  Since eggs make foods puff up, they cause the sides of this pancake to rise high above the edges of the pan, creating a light, puffy, slightly crispy crust with a moist, tender, eggy middle.  The staple topping that makes this pancake so unique is lemon juice.  It sounds weird at first, but the flavors are perfect together and I can't imagine eating a dutch baby without it (just like you wouldn't eat a normal pancake without maple syrup).  I absolutely love watching this baby puff up in the oven!  It does make me sad to watch it deflate once you take it out, though...but then I take a bite and the incredibly delicious taste makes me [happy] again(:

Yield: about 2-4 servings

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and divided
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt (these have a better taste than table salt)
• 1/2 cup milk (preferably not skim...for best taste), room temperature
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Garnish: Lemon juice, powdered sugar, cinnamon
• ***jams, syrups, and fruit are also delicious toppings, but the 3 listed above are the most common (and in my opinion, most delicious) toppings for traditional Dutch Babies.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Place 2 tablespoons of the melted butter into a 10-inch cast iron skillet and place in the oven. Set the remaining tablespoon of melted butter aside to cool slightly. Wait 10 minutes before assembling the other ingredients.  If butter in the skillet is boiling pretty hard within these 10 minutes, remove it from the oven.  Lightly boiling is fine.

Place the flour, sugar, salt, milk, eggs, vanilla and remaining tablespoon of melted butter into the bowl of a food processor or blender and process for 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of a blender with a rubber scraper, if necessary.  Remove the skillet from the oven (watch out because it's very HOT so use an oven mitt!). Carefully pour the batter into the preheated skillet. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until the edges are puffed and brown. Do not open the oven or else the Dutch Baby may fall. Carefully remove the skillet from the oven, and use a thin spatula to gently coax the pancake onto a large plate. It may fall slightly once removed from the heat, which is totally normal. To serve, cut into wedges and sprinkle with desired toppings.