Sweet/Savory Dutch Baby

Although the dishes appearing in the cover photo may seem totally different, in fact there is something that connects them: their base everything else is sitting on.

My intention with posting the pictures of two dishes that are seemingly so far apart is to showcase the versatility of a very basic batter. We are talking about Dutch Baby, referred by many as a dish somewhere between pancake and Yorkshire pudding.

The batter could not be easier to make, you just dump a few simple ingredients (that anyone who is running a standard household is sure to have on hand) into the stand mixer or the blender, combine them, let it sit for 20-30 minutes and then bake it in a sizzling hot cast iron skillet in the oven. Speaking of ingredients, you’ll see that transferring the batter from sweet to savory is no big deal. Just skip sugar and vanilla.

While baking, these little babies puff up, but they rapidly deflate when they are taken out of the oven when it’s time to pack them with ingredients of your choice. If the ingredients chosen require some more time in the oven, like eggs, then the cooking time when the plain Dutch Baby is sitting in the oven shall be reduced taking into account that it will spend some more time there with the toppings on.

Using the same recipe for the batter, it is totally fine to simplify the recipe and just add whipped cream, ready-made chocolate sauce or ice-cream, this way it could also be served as a hasty weekday morning breakfast.

 What I brought today is:

1.     Sweet Dutch Baby served with whipped orange curd, orange slices and candied orange stripes.

2.     Savory pesto Dutch Baby with prosciutto, various types of cheese, greens, red onion, olives, avocado and quail eggs on top. 

I’ll start with the sweet one and here I only list this one’s ingredients to avoid confusion with the ingredients of the two recipes. If you are interested in the savory, please scroll down to step 9.

 Quantites given are enough to fill a 23 cm diameter skillet.

Ingredients:

For the batter:

•  4 eggs
• 70 g all-purpose flour
• 100 ml full fat milk
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 50 g sugar
• ½ -1 teaspoon vanilla paste
• 40 g butter

 For the whipped curd:

• 3 large eggs
• 140 ml freshly squeezed orange juice
• 80 g sugar
• ½ teaspoon orange blossom extract (optional)
• 120 g butter
• 250 ml whipping cream
• 50 g powdered sugar

For orange slices on top:

• 1 orange / blood orange

 For the candied orange:

• orange peel (organic – of the orange that goes on top)
• water
• sugar

Please note that it takes a couple of days (or approximately 24 hours in a relativley warm environment provided that the slices are really thin) for candied oranges to dry. I am using a lot of citrus in winter so I usually have these at home as whenever I use organic citrus, I candy / dry the peel and save it for later. I will give instructions on how to make them. I just wanted to make it clear that this is something to be done in advance.

Utensils:

• deep cast iron skillet (at least 5-6 cm deep)
• hand whisk
• knife
• cutting board
• saucepan
• spatula
• orange juicer
• digital scale
• cling film
• stand mixer with whisk attachment / blender
• heat resistant gloves

(Orange curd can be done several days ahead and be kept in the fridge until use.)

Juice the oranges.

Crack the eggs open into a small saucepan and measure 140 ml fresh orange juice into the pan, add sugar and combine.

Cook the mixture gently, stirring constantly at medium - low heat, barely simmering until it thickens. It is ready when the mark of your finger pulled across the spatula stays (about 4-6 minutes from when the first bubbles appear on the surface). 

Wait for it to cool then cover directly the top with a piece of clingfilm and set it aside to cool completely. If it is not used within a short time, keep it in the fridge in an airtight container. 

First of all, place the empty skillet into the oven and switch the oven on (190 °C fan).

Making the batter is really easy, you dump all ingredients into a bowl / device you’re using and combine. As it can be seen in the photos, here I used my KitchenAid, equipped with the flat beater at first that was clearly a mistake as I could not get rid of small lumps after adding flour. Therefore I switched to the whisk attachment that eliminated lumps in seconds, and that is what I will start off with next time.

 Procedure in detail:

Crack the eggs open and place them into the mixing bowl of a stand mixer equipped with a whisk attachment. (Or use a blender, or else, mix by hand.)

Add sugar, salt and flour while mixing constantly until it is fully combined.

Let the mixture stand for about 30 minutes.

Pay very close attention to wear oven mitts throughout this operation! Touching the hot iron pan with bare hands may result in serious injuries.

By the time the 30-minute rest has passed, the skillet will be hot enough. Remove the sizzling hot skillet from the oven. Add butter that will start to melt instantly. Swirl the skillet so that it coats the bottom and the sides. Pour in the batter and place it back into the oven. Reduce oven temp to 180 °C fan and bake for about 20-25 minutes until it is funnily puffed, light brown in the middle and golden brown around the edges. 

If you are planning to add anything that is likely to melt (whipped curd for example) it is better to wait some time before piling the curd on top of the Dutch Baby. It does not have to be totally cold though (just reasonably).

While the Dutch Baby is cooling, add cream into the mixing bowl, start beating with the whisk attachment, when it doubled in volume, add powdered sugar and keep beating until peaks form. Add orange curd (quantity is optional, I used about 2/3) and gently fold in using a spatula. 

Slice off the top and the bottom of the orange.

Place it standing on the cutting board.

Starting at the top, cut the peel along the side all the way down following the curve of the orange.  

Then turn and repeat until you get back to the starting point.

The aim is to remove all the rind and pith, so the last step is to check and adjust (remove any remaining pith) if necessary.

Then slice, or if it is a larger orange, cut in half, remove the white thing in the middle and slice. 

(Normally you would hold the orange in place with yout other hand, but then who would take the photos?)

Making candied orange peel is surprisingly easy, it just takes time. It is very important to use organic oranges to avoid pesticides.

1. Remove the pith (optional).
2. Slice into the desired size. Measure the weight of the orange slices.
3. Bring it to boil in an ample amount of water (no need to measure) and strain instantly. (This may be repeated to remove more bitterness.)
4. Place the orange slices and equal amount (hence the measurement to be taken) of sugar and water into a saucepan.
5. Bring it to boil and gently simmer for about 30-40 minutes. Keep your eye on it, you may need to add some water if it evaporates.
6. Spread evenly on a piece of parchment placed on a rack and let it dry.

Heap whipped orange curd on top of the Dutch Baby, add fresh orange slices, candied orange peel, dust with powdered sugar, if desired and enjoy!

Then make it again a few days later 😊

Now, let's get on with the savory Dutch Baby.

Ingredients:

For the batter (into a 23 cm diameter skillet):

•  4 eggs
• 70 g all-purpose flour
• 100 ml full fat milk
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1-2 tablespoons pesto
• 40 g butter

To go on top (to be baked):

• 100 g mozzarella
• 80 g blue cheese
• 80 g fresh sheep cheese (alternative: goat cheese)
• 8-10 quail eggs
• a handful of baby spinach
• half of a red onion

 To go on top (not to be baked):

• 5 slices of prosciutto
• 2 avocados
• a handful of rocket
• 8-10 olives
• spring onions
• salt and pepper to taste

Anything and also the quantity of what goes on top is totally optional. Consider the amounts only as guidelines. If you like it cheesier, add extra. Don’t like prosciutto? Skip it and add for example smoked salmon. The possibilities are truly endless. 

Utensils

• deep cast iron skillet (at least 5-6 cm deep)
• Salad spinner
• hand whisk
• knife
• cutting board
• saucepan
• digital scale
• stand mixer with whisk attachment / blender
• heat resistant gloves

First of all, place the empty skillet into the oven and switch it on (190 °C fan).

Crack the eggs open into the bowl of the blender. Add salt, milk, combine. SIeve flour and combine. Finally, add pesto and blend until you get a uniform batter. Let it stand for 30 minutes.

Other options to combine the batter: stand mixer with whisk attachment, or by hand.

Pay very close attention to wear oven mitts throughout this operation! Touching the hot iron pan with bare hands may result in serious injuries.

By the time the 30-minutes rest has passed, the skillet will be hot enough. Remove the sizzling hot skillet from the oven. Add butter that will start to melt instantly. Swirl the skillet so that it coats the bottom and the sides. Pour in the batter and place it back into the oven.

Reduce oven temperature to 180 °C fan and bake for about 18 minutes. By this time, the Dutch Baby will have puffed, it is not quite ready, but it will go back into the oven with the toppings to be baked. (These should be prepared during baking time.)

Baby spinach: wash and dry in a salad spinner, remove thick stems

Mozzarella: slice

Red onion: cut into half and slice thinly

Avocados: peel and slice

spring onions: wash and chop

Rocket: wash and dry in a salad spinner

When the Dutch Baby is out of the oven and has deflated, stuff with blue cheese pieces, crumbled fresh sheep (or goat) cheese, add spinach, red onion slices. Crack the eggs open and gently add them on top. Place it back into the oven for 4-5 minutes until the egg whites set. 

Add everything else on top and enjoy!