Puffed Apple Pancake
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The weather has been weird this year, as is evidenced by my children wearing shorts for apple picking because it was in the high 80s that day. Last year when we went “apple picking” the apples were completely gone, we were all wearing puffy vests, and the damp coldness of the corn maze was enough to make me even less amenable to the thought of getting lost with a then-2-year-old in a parking lot of corn.
We definitely did some damage apple picking this year and came home with a few different varieties. One kind I don’t believe I’d tried before, but became a quick favorite, was Ida Red. It’s both sweet and tart, which makes it great for snacking on and baking, in my opinion. We used a couple in this puffed apple pancake, which was a big hit with everyone. Thanks to its shape and texture, it’s almost like eating a light cake for breakfast. And what is breakfast food, really, if not dessert masquerading as acceptable first-meal-of-the-day fare?
This takes a little longer than our usual breakfasts (ahem: cereal) but it’s really easy and not very time consuming, especially since most of the time is inactive baking time. And it’s good. Reeeally good. Tom was out for a run as this got out of the oven and it was a struggle for the rest of us to make sure we saved some for him.
As an aside, I have some exciting news! This will likely be the LAST post in this blog’s current format! Starting with the next post, you will see a brand new design and a way more functional site. I can’t wait for you to see it!
Puffed Apple Pancake
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk
- 4 large eggs
- 3 Tbsp. granulated sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2/3 cup all purpose flour (we used white whole wheat)
- 4 Tbsp. (half a stick) unsalted butter
- 12 oz. (about 2) apples (we used Ida Red), peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
- 3 Tbsp. brown sugar
- Confectioners sugar for dusting
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Whisk together the milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl until well blended. Add the flour and whisk just until batter is smooth.
- Place the butter in a 12″ cast iron skillet or in a 13×9-inch glass baking dish, and then place in the oven until the butter melts, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and arrange apple slices in overlapping rows on top of the melted butter. Return the skillet/dish to the oven and bake until the apples begin to soften slightly and butter is bubbling and beginning to brown around edges of dish, about 10 minutes.
- Pour the batter over the apples in dish and sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake pancake until puffed and brown, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired. Serve warm.