Fun and tasty delights of a Dutch baby

Dutch baby in dill, mustard and garlic butter with smoked sausage. Photo / Olivia Moore - That Green Olive

This is among one of the most fun things you could possibly make.

Whenever I put a Dutch baby in the oven, I stand there and watch as the batter climbs up the sides of the pan, puffing and pillowing into a beautiful golden bowl of irregular bumps and bubbles. It’s mesmerising, and it happens so quickly. Even better: it only requires three ingredients.

While some people giggle when I say “Dutch baby” (as if I’d just thrown a joke about goodness-knows-what), this giant puffed pancake really does bear this name.

Otherwise known as a German pancake, ‘Dutch baby’ is a combination of a certain American restaurateur’s mispronounciation of the word “Deutsch”, and the fact that this restaurant served miniature (baby) versions.

It is often served sweet with berries and cream, but I much prefer it savoury. Eat it for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

The Dutch baby pretty much is a giant Yorkshire pudding - I love its mild, eggy flavour, set custard texture and the occasional pockets of fluffy pillows beneath the well-browned - sometimes scorched - bits.

I’ve cooked mine in a flavoured butter, which is whipped up, literally in minutes. The butter not only greases the pan and cooks the Dutch baby, giving it beautifully crisp edges, but is also dolloped inside once it comes out of the oven, melting into warm puddles of herby garlicky goodness.

I’ve also added smoked sausage, which pairs deliciously with the mustard in the butter and the peppery flavour of rocket.

Give it a go - the Dutch baby might just be your new favourite thing.

Visit Olivia’s website for more recipes: www.thatgreenolive.com

Serves 2

Dill, mustard and garlic butter

● 150g salted butter, room temperature, cubed

● 5g fresh dill, finely chopped

● 2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped

● 2 tsp mustard

● ¼ tsp salt

Dutch baby

● 3 eggs

● ½ cup flour

● ½ cup milk

● ¼ tsp salt

To serve

● 150g smoked sausage (I used Rookworst), thinly sliced

● Fresh rocket, halved cherry tomatoes and finely grated parmesan, to serve

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200C fan-forced.

2. To make the butter, place butter in a medium bowl and beat until whipped. Add remaining ingredients and whip to combine. Transfer to a ramekin and set aside.

3. Place eggs, flour, milk, salt and a few twists of pepper into the cup of a blender. Blend briefly, until smooth.

4. When the oven has preheated, weigh 60g of the dill butter and dollop it around the base of a large skillet. Place in the oven, and as soon as the butter has melted, remove the pan and swiftly pour the batter into the centre.

5. Return to the oven and bake for 7-10 minutes, until puffed and well browned. Watch as it cooks quickly - it’s fascinating to watch if puff up!

6. Meanwhile, heat a little oil in a frying pan over high heat. Add sausage slices and fry for 5-7 minutes, flipping halfway, until nicely browned on both sides.

7. Once the Dutch baby is fully cooked, remove from the oven. If it deflates immediately, return to the oven for a couple minutes. Dollop over some dill butter, and scatter over the rocket, smoked sausage and cherry tomatoes. Sprinkle over parmesan. Serve immediately.