Forget everything you think you know about Dutch Babies and throw it out the window. You won’t need it here. This isn’t your ordinary Dutch Baby. A large sweet pancake topped with berries and sweetened cream is nowhere to be found today. That’s because I’ve turned the classic Dutch Baby on it’s head and converted it into a savory brunch dream. It’s classic Cuban sandwich meets pancake, and while it sounds a little “out there,” I can promise you that it’ll quickly become your new favorite way to make a Dutch Baby. A savory pancake topped with mustard, Swiss cheese, ham, smoked pork, and pickles; what’s not to love? Impress your family and friends at your next brunch and act like you’ve just invented the greatest thing to happen to brunch in a long time, I won’t mind if you take the credit. After all, what are friends for?
The first thing you want to do is preheat the oven with the cast iron skillet in it. You want the skillet to be scorching hot, so heat the oven to 450 degrees F, while the skillet is in there. In the meantime, let’s focus on making the batter for our dutch baby. Blend the eggs until frothy and foamy, about 1 minute.
**Note: You really need a blender to make a dutch baby properly, because you want the batter to be silky and pour able, with lots of air incorporated into it. You can’t get that by doing it by hand. If you don’t have a blender, you can use a food processor, if it’s big enough!**
While the machine is running, steam in the milk and melted butter and blend for another 30 seconds. Stop the blender and add in the flour, cornstarch, salt and pepper.
**Note: Traditionally Dutch babies are sweet morning pancakes that have a little bit of sugar, but since this is a savory batter, we’re omitting the sugar for salt and pepper, to really bring in that savory flavor.**
Carefully remove the hot cast iron from the oven and add the butter. Swirl it to coat the bottom of the skillet as evenly as possible.
**Note: Keep in mind that once you add the butter, it’ll begin to splatter and brown immediately. So you want to work as quickly as possible at this stage so as to not burn the butter.**
Quickly pour the batter into the skillet and return it to the oven. Cook until the pancake has puffed up and is golden brown around the edges, about 20 minutes.
Remove the pancake from the oven and spread the bottom with mustard. Then top with a few slices of Swiss cheese, black forest ham, and smoked pork chop slices. Return to the oven and bake just until the cheese has melted and the meats have warmed through, about 3 to 5 minutes.
**Note: Cuban sandwiches always have ham and some kind of roasted pork. Since this is designed to be a quick and simple brunch/breakfast recipe, we don’t have time to roast our own pork BUT you can find smoked pork chop slices where the breakfast meats are and so I just used that, and I sliced into thin pieces.**
Once the cheese has melted through, you can finish the Dutch baby off by adding some pickle slices on top because it wouldn’t be a Cuban sandwich without pickles!
Keep in mind that the longer the Dutch baby sits, actually as soon as it comes out of the oven, it will begin to deflate. That it totally normal. Cut and serve it warm, working as quickly as possible.
The next brunch you host or attend, don’t forget about this awesome dutch baby recipe. Your guests/friends will really love it. And if you don’t have any upcoming brunch or breakfasts to attend, well I think it’s a reason for you to host one yourself, this weekend. You deserve it.
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- ¾ cup whole milk, room temperature
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, divided
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons prepared mustard
- 4 slices Swiss cheese
- 4 slices black forest ham
- ½ cup thinly sliced smoked pork chops
- ¼ cup pickles
- Place a 9 or 10-inch cash iron skillet in the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F. Let the skillet heat in the oven for at least 25 minutes. The skillet needs to be very hot.
- Blend eggs in a blender on high until foamy, about 1 minute. While the blender is running, gradually stream in the milk, then 2 tablespoons melted butter; blend for another 30 seconds. Turn off the machine and add in the flour, cornstarch, salt, and pepper. Blend on high until just combined.
- Carefully remove the preheated skillet from the oven and add the remaining tablespoon of butter. It'll start to splatter immediately, so you want to work rather quickly. Swirl the butter around to coat the bottom of the skillet evenly. Then quickly pour in the batter. Return the skillet to the oven and bake until the pancake is puffed up and brown around the edges, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and spread the bottom with mustard. Layer with the cheese slices, ham and smoked pork. Return to the oven to melt the cheese, about 3 minutes. Remove once more and top with pickle slices. Cut and serve immediately. Enjoy!
What a great idea! I will scale it down for individual servings in a 6 inch cast iron skillet. I think it will work fine.
what a great idea, savory dutch baby and savory with the rarely seen Cuban sandwich ingredients, thank you for such a creative recipe, double bonus points!