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Breakfast is sometimes tiresome.  We make eggs, pancakes, waffles, granola, but even with all of those choices, we are still sometimes bored.  Recently I remembered about Dutch Babies which my mother used to make for me.  They are essentially large popovers that are sliced and served with lemon and powdered sugar or jams and syrups if you prefer.  As a child I loved these, but I have not be able to completely sell my kids on them for some reason.  The other night however, as I said goodnight, my son requested a Dutch Baby with berries for breakfast.

Making Dutch Babies is simple, you whisk together a batter, preheat a cast iron in the oven, and pour the batter into the hot pan.  The batter then cooks in the oven until it puffs up and browns.  It is dramatic and beautiful, but have your audience near when you take it from the oven, because it soon falls.  Dutch Babies are best eaten very soon after being removed from the oven.

This recipe for Berry Dutch Baby calls for berries to be added to the batter.  The berries look gorgeous and taste even better.  I loved the addition.  I modified the recipe to omit the sugar and reduce the butter.  To my taste, they were excellent.  If you prefer a sweeter result, add 1/3 cup sugar to the batter.  This could easily be served as a dessert with a dollop of whipped cream.

Berry Dutch Baby

adapted from Grace Parisi, Food & Wine Annual Cookbook 2010

serves 6

3 eggs

1/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cup milk

1 cup raspberries

1 cup blackberries

3 tablespoons butter

Powdered sugar (for dusting)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Place a 10-inch cast iron skillet in the oven to preheat.

Whisk together eggs and salt.  Add the flour and milk and whisk until completely smooth.  Gently stir berries in the batter.

Remove heated skillet from oven.  Melt butter in the skillet.  Add the batter and distribute the berries and batter evenly.

Bake the Dutch Baby for 22 minutes until the edge is browned and the puffed center is beginning to brown.   Pull from the oven and call your hungry audience over to ohhh and ahhh over how pretty it looks.

Dust with powdered sugar.  Cut into wedges and serve.

Here is a printer-friendly version of the recipe:  Berry Dutch Baby

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