Recipes from the Collection of Mark and Danielle Hughes

Dutch Baby Pancake

5 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place butter in heavy, 10-inch skillet or deep pie dish in oven to melt. Do not let it burn.

While butter is melting, whirl eggs in blender at high speed for 1 minute. With blender running, add milk, then slowly add flour and salt until mixture is very smooth.

Remove pan from oven and pour batter into melted butter. Return pan to oven and bake until puffed and browned on the edges, about 20 minutes.

Serve immediately.

Variations:
Traditional: Squeeze the juice of a lemon over finished pancake and sprinkle with powdered sugar to taste before serving.
Strawberry: Top finished pancake with a pint of stemmed and sliced strawberries and pass sour cream and brown sugar as accompaniments.

353 calories, 12g protein, 22g fat ( 12g saturated), 27g carbohydrate, 238mg sodium, 260mg cholesterol, trace dietary fiber.

Pancakes without the flipping

By Aleta Watson, Mercury News  5/5/04

Pancakes hot off the griddle are always a hit at breakfast. But they're best when eaten immediately, which usually leaves the cook stuck at the stove flipping flapjacks while the rest of the family devours the fresh offerings. On a special occasion such as Mother's Day, however, it's so much nicer for everyone to sit down together. Make your pancake in the oven this year and let the cook join the party.

The elegant German-style pancake is a dramatic dish that puffs up like a souffle and emerges from the oven golden brown and bubbling with butter. Yet it's so simple that older children can prepare it with just a little adult help handling the hot pan.

I've been making these pancakes -- better known in some circles as Dutch babies -- for company for years, and they never fail to please guests. Rich and eggy, infused with the delicate flavor of butter, they slowly deflate at the table, forming an edible bowl. Sprinkle them with powdered sugar and drizzle with lemon for a classic taste or fill with fresh strawberries, sauteed apple slices or even salsa and sour cream.

All they require is a blender, a heavy skillet and a hot oven. You could even just whisk the mixture in a bowl, but the blender makes an already easy recipe a snap.

A little more complicated are the apple and mushroom variations I've been experimenting with this year. For these, you saute the sliced fruit or vegetable first, then pour the batter on top of the hot mixture and bake.

Still not a lot of work for such impressive results.

Apple oven pancake

Serves 4

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 crisp, tart apples, peeled, cored and sliced thinly
3 eggs
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar
Crème fraîche or sour cream

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Melt butter on stove top in an ovenproof 10-inch skillet. Add apple slices and saute until soft, about 5 minutes.
When apples are almost done, whirl eggs in blender at high speed for 1 minute. With blender running, add milk and slowly add flour and salt until mixture is smooth and well blended. Set aside.

Sprinkle apples with lemon juice, cinnamon and brown sugar and mix well. Distribute slices evenly in a flat layer on bottom of skillet and carefully pour batter over apples, starting in the center and working in concentric circles to cover apples completely.

Place skillet in oven and bake about 20 minutes until puffed and golden brown. Remove from oven. Let pancake deflate for a couple of minutes, then cut in wedges and serve from pan with crème frai^che or sour cream on the side. For a more dramatic presentation, carefully turn pancake -- upside down -- onto a large plate or platter before cutting into servings.

412 calories, 9g protein, 23g fat ( 13g saturated), 44g carbohydrate, 222mg sodium, 212mg cholesterol, 2g dietary fiber.

Mushroom oven pancake with cheese

Serves 4

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided use
1 pound fresh domestic or wild mushrooms, stems removed and tops sliced
2 shallots, minced
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
1 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Gruyère cheese, shredded, or more to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In 10-inch ovenproof skillet, melt 4 tablespoons butter over medium-low heat on the stove. When butter sizzles, add mushrooms and shallots. Saute until mushrooms are just cooked and slightly browned and liquid has evaporated, about 3 minutes. Season with parsley, thyme, salt and pepper. Scrape into a bowl and set aside.

Put remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in skillet and place pan on center rack of oven to melt butter. Meanwhile, in a blender or food processor, whip eggs at high speed until foamy. While blender is running, add milk, then slowly add flour and blend until smooth.

Remove pan from oven and spread sauteed mushrooms in an even layer on bottom of pan. Carefully pour batter over mushrooms to cover and return pan to oven. Bake 15-20 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Remove pancake from oven, sprinkle center with cheese, and return to oven to bake until cheese is melted and pancake is browned on edges, about 2-3 minutes.

Serve immediately, cut into wedges.

Per serving: 475 calories, 19g protein, 30g fat (17g saturated), 34g carbohydrate, 156mg sodium, 285mg cholesterol, 2g dietary fiber.

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