Well, it’s that time of year again. The time that I buy bags and bags (and more bags) of cranberries and hoard them in my freezer. I was in Sam’s Club last month and they had the biggest bag of cranberries I’ve ever seen, it had to be at least 5 pounds. Since it was right before Thanksgiving I had absolutely no extra space in my freezer so I didn’t buy the giant bag of cranberries (even though I really wanted to). I figured I would get them later but, of course, the cranberries were nowhere to be found on my recent trips back to the store. Despite that, I still had several bags sitting in my freezer and I decided it was finally time to use them!
This dutch baby pancake has been one of my favorite go-to breakfasts (or more likely, breakfast-for-dinner) since I got my first cast-iron skillet. If you’ve never made one before, it’s sort of a giant pancake and an omelet combined. The batter is poured into a skillet and you cook it in the oven until it’s big and puffy. It deflates a bit after you take it out of the oven but it still has a soft and fluffy texture.
I’ve made many variations of this recipe in past. Like any pancake, you can add chocolate chips or blueberries or bananas or whatever you like. I wanted to make a winter version of this pancake and the combination of cranberry and orange sounded perfect. The cranberries add a nice tart bite to the pancake and the orange syrup has a bright, sweet taste.
If you’re looking for an easy, satisfying breakfast this is a good one since it only takes 5 minutes to mix (you can use your blender!) and 20 minutes to cook. It’s perfect for a lazy weekend morning when you don’t feel like standing around and flipping individual pancakes.
Cranberry Dutch Baby Pancake
adapted from Everyday Food, syrup from Taste of Home
Breakfast | Servings: 4
Prep time: 5 min | Cook time: 20 min | Total time: 25 min
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 3/4 cup whole milk, room temperature
- 2 tsp. grated orange rind (about half a large orange)
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 tbsp. sugar
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/2 cup fresh cranberries
- Powdered sugar for sprinkling
Orange Syrup:
- 1/2 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice
- 1 tbsp. sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch
Process
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees (F). In a 10 or 12-inch cast-iron or oven-safe skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Remove from heat when melted.
- To make this even faster, combine all ingredients except the butter and cranberries in a blender and blend for 1 minute. Meanwhile, combine eggs, milk and orange rind in a bowl and beat well.
- In a medium bowl, add flour, sugar and salt. Pour egg mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk until frothy.
- Pour batter into the skillet. Sprinkle cranberries on top. Place in the oven and cook for about 20 minutes or until puffed and lightly browned.
- Meanwhile, make the orange syrup: add orange juice, sugar and cornstarch to a small saucepan and bring to boil over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly. Syrup should be served warm, so heat it up in the microwave or over low heat if it cools off too much.
- Serve pancake immediately, topped with orange syrup and a sprinkling of powdered sugar.
Recipe Notes:
If you’re in a hurry, the milk and eggs don’t have to be room temperature. But if you have the time, you’ll get a fluffier pancake with room temp ingredients. One good way I’ve found to quickly and safely bring eggs to room temp is to cover them in warm (NOT hot) water for about 5 minutes.
I never have whole milk, so I usually use 1/2 cup 1% milk and 1/4 cup cream. But I’ve made this with all 1% milk and that turned out fine, too.
For a sweeter pancake, you can increase the sugar to 1/4 cup but since it’s topped with syrup and powdered sugar, I find the extra sugar unnecessary.
Yay cranberries! I usually end up buying 2 of the 3lb bags from Costco every year, because I have issues. haha This post reminds me that I really need a cast iron skillet in my life! I want to eat this for breakfast this weekend.
Yes, I love my cast iron! I recently got a small 8-inch cast iron pan and if you half this recipe and it makes a perfect sized 1-2 serving dutch baby. But you can make this in any oven-safe skillet, it doesn’t have to be cast iron. I believe you can also make a dutch baby in a normal baking dish. People mentioned that in the comments/reviews of several similar recipes when I was doing research.
Such a great idea! I spend a good 30 mins each morning prepping cooking and washing up my pancakes!! So the concept of doing it in one big pan sounds perfect to me! I’ll be sure to try it out soon, thanks x x
I have made the double size version of German Pancakes (we call them Popeye Pancakes) for 20 years. I never thought to put fruit in them. Room temperature egg is the fluffy secret?!? Thanks. I love cranberry anything, I will make myself some.