The Woods at Whippoorhill: Dutch Baby...Cooking with Brack

Brack has had the cooking bug lately, so I've been trying to indulge him. We've made several things together, but at the rate we're going, we'll all weigh about 300 pounds soon. We were sitting on the couch together last night scrolling through Pinterest. He pinned a couple of desserts he wanted to make, then he said the craziest thing. He said, "Let's look through the recipes you've already pinned and see what we could make."

Huh? Say what? You mean, actually go back and look at a board I've created and then, really make something? Humm. Interesting concept! I seem to treat Pinterest more as an inspiration board these days. Plus, there's the whole "Pinterest fail" thing. You know what I mean.

But it did get me to thinking. I have scores of cookbooks that are perfectly good. I also have a box full of tried-and-true recipe cards. Gasp!!

He wanted to make breakfast this morning for everyone since we are all still on vacation. (One of the many joys of homeschooling and working for a university!) I thought about what I had on hand and what everyone might like as a special treat. We came up with a Dutch Baby.

What's a Dutch Baby? Well imagine a pancake and a crepe got married. That's about it! Above is what it looks like right out of the oven.

I've made these before when the kids were little. Usually I add fresh blueberries, but we had some gorgeous raspberries that needed to be used. It's really simple...

Dutch Baby

Add three tablespoons butter to a cast iron skillet and place in a cold oven. Preheat oven to 400.

Meanwhile, to a blender, add 3 eggs, 3/4 cup of all purpose flour, one tablespoon plus one teaspoon of sugar, 3/4 cup of milk (that has been heated in the microwave for about 30 seconds), two teaspoons of vanilla and a pinch of salt. Blend until smooth.

Once oven is preheated, carefully remove skillet and swirl butter to cover the entire bottom. Slowly pour in the batter and return to the oven for 20-25 minutes or until set and golden brown.

We decided to make a homemade raspberry syrup to pour on top, so while the Dutch Baby was cooking, I added one pint of raspberries to a small pot. I then added 1/4 cup sugar and a tablespoon of water. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. I let it simmer for about ten minutes then used a potato masher to crush the fruit. It stayed on low until we were ready to eat it.

This recipe probably serves eight...but we just cut it in quarters! I added the raspberry syrup then sprinkled confectioner's sugar on top. I garnished it with a few fresh raspberries we held back.

Actually, I should say WE made this. Brack did it all! I talked him through it, but it was all him! I'm so glad he's interested in cooking right now. I will encourage him as long as he is interested! It's a great skill to learn, but mainly, it's precious time with my baby.