Dutch Baby

I'm always on the look out for new recipes to eventually put in my mouth. I have two basic requirements for my recipes. They must be super tasty while simultaneously being super easy. When I ran across this recipe for Dutch Babies, I became extra excited. Easy? Check. Tasty? Highly probable. And, the name! I was a (mostly) Dutch baby once, and so was Hubby (turns out our grandparents grew up together in Holland before moving to the states). To say the least, I felt an immediate, heritage driven need to test out the recipe. The recipe calls for two small cast iron skillets, leading to multiple Babies. I have only one larger cast iron skillet, so from now on, I'll just use the singular form and call it a Dutch Baby. To say the least, the recipe yielded amazing results and moved from my "try it out" list to my "make it again and again and again" list.

Well, last Sunday I woke up and a Dutch Baby was calling my name. I knew it was time for more. I hopped out of bed, threw the cast iron in the oven to preheat, then began preparing my batter. When, to my dismay, I realized we were out of milk! Eggs had been cracked. Butter had been melted. Pajamas were still being worn. Panic! Panic, until Arie suggested we try substituting cow milk with coconut milk.  I calmed down and popped open a can.

The results? Yum!  It totally worked.  The Baby baked evenly, and left me with only the slightest hint of coconut flavor.  To be honest, if I wouldn't have known it was there I probably wouldn't have perceived it in the recipe.  I found that when using cow milk the Dutch Baby rose higher while in the oven, but then fell and became more dense as it cooled.  The coconut milk Baby didn't rise as high but it ended up keeping its thickness.  In other words, it didn't fall.  I like the recipe both ways, and will probably alternate between the two options.  So, here's my modified recipe:

Ingredients:  4 eggs, 2/3 cups coconut milk, 2/3 cups flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon sugar (I used Splenda), 1 tablespoon butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Place one tablespoon of butter into a medium sized cast iron skillet.  Put the skillet in the oven while it preheats.  The butter should be melted by the time the oven is ready.

Mix up the batter by combining the flour, eggs, coconut milk, sugar, and salt.  Whisk until the batter is smooth and free of lumps.  Once the oven has reached 350 degrees, carefully remove the cast iron skillet.  The butter should be melted.  Swish the butter around to evenly coat the skillet.  Pour the batter into the skillet then bake for 13 - 16 minutes.  Remove, slice, and enjoy!  We defrosted some of our frozen garden peaches for a topping.  Heaven.

I'm thinking of so many different things to do with this recipe.  To the batter I may just add cinnamon, nutmeg, pecans, dried cranberries, crazy!  Probably not all at once, but there are so many options!  Oh, and by the way.  Have you tried coconut milk as a coffee creamer?  Well, try it because, yum. 

Let me know what you think.

Goedemorgen!

Heather

P.S.  You don't know how many double entendres I had to delete concerning Arie and I making Dutch babies together.  And, I looked up 'double entendre' to make sure I had the meaning right.  Turns out I did.  My favorite example, which totally applies to this post would be the following accidental headline:  "Children Make Healthy Snacks." Baddumching.