Christmas

German Pancake with Pears and Cardamom

by:
December  9, 2010
4
2 Ratings
  • Serves 4 to 6
Author Notes

For many years, our family spent Christmas with my cousin Barbara Smith and her family in Milwaukee. The morning-after-Christmas breakfast was as sumptuous as the dinner the night before. Barbara often served these light and puffy oven-baked pancakes. This recipe is a tweak on our family favorite. —ChefJune

Test Kitchen Notes

This was tasty and a cinch to make. Next time, I'll double the fruit and cardamom to pump up the flavor even more. —Victoria Ross

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter
  • 6 extra-large eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 cup organic all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup organic cane sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground cardamom
  • 4 ounces peeled and chopped pears
  • 3 ounces coarsely chopped toasted hazelnuts (optional)
Directions
  1. Heat oven to 500° F. Have all your ingredients at the ready.
  2. Melt the butter in a 12-inch iron skillet in the oven. Add the chopped pears and cook in the oven for 7 minutes.
  3. Mix the eggs, milk, flour, sugar and cardamom in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. (Alternately, you can use a blender.) Pour batter into the hot butter and pears in the skillet and add nuts if you're using them.
  4. Bake for 15 minutes. Serve at once.
  5. Note: Apples, blueberries, and/or chocolate chips all make nice fillings for a German pancake, as well.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • KelseyB
    KelseyB
  • Wyn
    Wyn
  • Dineindiva
    Dineindiva
  • urbancooknyc
    urbancooknyc
  • Sagegreen
    Sagegreen
30+ years a chef, educator, writer, consultant, "winie," travel guide/coordinator

7 Reviews

KelseyB April 4, 2020
A great eggy and lightly sweet treat. I toasted the hazelnuts beforehand and used apple instead of pear. Doubled the cardamom since I didn’t have fresh to grind.
 
Wyn December 16, 2016
I make German pancakes gluten free by subbing the flour with 1/3 cup tapioca starch and 1/3 cup coconut flour. Just as delicious!
 
ChefJune December 17, 2016
That's a great idea. Thanks.
 
Dineindiva December 4, 2014
I made it and it was drowning in butter. And not much cardamom flavor with 1/8 teaspoon.
 
ChefJune December 6, 2014
It's buttery, but it's never been overdone. I grind cardamom pods fresh, so 1/8 teaspoon is plenty. If you're using the stuff that comes in a can or jar, you'd possibly need more.
 
urbancooknyc November 24, 2014
mmm... I am puzzled by the amount of butter (1 stick) to cook 4oz of pears. They're going to be drowning in butter! I've made german pancakes before with much less butter. Just wondering...
 
Sagegreen December 9, 2010
Love baked pancakes!