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| Chocolate Dutch Baby with strawberries, blueberries, and powdered sugar. *I know this plate isn't transferware, so see the bottom of this post. |
Three things were new to me in January 1977: a husband, a kitchen, and a Dutch Baby. Not a human baby, he came later, but a buttery, fluffy, huge pancake that was gorgeous to look at (for a minute before it deflated) and delicious to eat. The recipe arrived by mail in the January 1977 issue of Sunset Magazine. I liked the Dutch Baby so much that I think made it nearly every week for 10 years, and then I didn't. My kitchen grew old and my children complained. They wanted meat! Recently, two things happened. I remodeled my kitchen! And, a recipe for a Chocolate Dutch Baby arrived by email from the superb cooking blog, Smitten Kitchen. I had never thought of adding chocolate to a Dutch Baby. It seemed perfect without it. But I tried it and loved it, so I thought I'd share the recipe.
Smitten Kitchen's Chocolate Dutch Baby January 17, 2017. You'll get more information from the link, but I added some of my ideas here.
Heat oven to 425 degrees F.
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons (25 grams) sugar
1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
6 tablespoons (50 grams) all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons (15 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder, any variety, sifted if lumpy. (I used Peet's unsweetened Dutch Cocoa)
1/2 cup (120ml) milk (I used 1%, but use whole milk if you have it)
4 tablespoons (60 grams) unsalted butter
Shaved dark chocolate and powdered sugar (to finish) I skipped the extra chocolate, but I did use the powdered sugar.
Fresh berries and syrup (to serve, if desired) I used blueberries and strawberries, but no syrup.
Whisk (I haven't used my circa 1960s whisk in years) eggs, sugar and salt in the bottom of a medium bowl. I actually used the largest of my 1970s Pyrex bowls because I am a messy mixer. Add flour and cocoa, whisking until mostly smooth (some tiny lumps are okay, but whisk out what you can). Drizzle in milk, whisking the whole time.
Heat a 12-inch ovenproof skillet on the stove over high heat. Add butter and melt, tipping the pan around so it butters the sides too. Turn heat off and scrape batter into the pan. Transfer skillet to the oven and bake for 16 to 18 minutes, until pancake is billowy.
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| Fluffy in the oven. |
Just like my old Dutch Babies, the pancake deflates quickly.
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| Deflating |
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| Deflated |
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| This half of the Dutch Baby held its shape better than the half on the plate at the top of this post. The plate is decorated with the hand-painted "Valencia" pattern made by Arabia in Finland, ca. 1960. |
Here are some of my Chocolate Dutch Baby thoughts. Despite its sweet sounding name, it is not that sweet. I suggest using the shaved chocolate and the syrup if you have a sweet tooth. If you want a light chocolate pancake to enhance you fruit experience (I did), than leave out the extra sweets.
One more thing. Here is the original Dutch Baby recipe from 1977. I always tore out my favorite Sunset recipes and put them in a folder. I am so glad I saved them!
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| Sunset Magazine, January 1977 |
Sunset Magazine Dutch Baby
I know it's too small to read, so below I present the recipe for the large version Dutch Baby. I always made the largest Dutch Baby (there are different sizes).
Heat oven to 425 degrees
Pan Size: 4-1/2 - 5 quarts - I used a 14.5 inch paella pan.
1/2 cup butter
6 eggs
1-1/2 cups flour
1-1/2 cups milk
Put the butter in the pan and set in the oven. Mix the batter quickly while the butter melts (I always had the mixture ready before I did this).
Put eggs in a blender, and whirl at high speed for about 1 minute.
With motor running, gradually pour in milk, then slowly add flour, and continue to whirl for about 30 seconds more. It is so easy to do in a blender!
This is when I put the pan in the oven and melt the butter. When butter is melted, remove the pan from the oven and pour the batter into the hot melted butter.
Bake in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes.
Use your favorite topping. Perhaps chocolate?
*Actually, I should have plated the Dutch Baby on a transferware plate, but I didn't. The Dutch Baby would have looked beautiful on any of my transferware plates. Or yours.
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