Big Little Recipes
A Pancake for When I'm Too Lazy to Make Pancakes
The batter comes together in one bowl with just a few ingredients.
A Big Little Recipe has the smallest-possible ingredient list and big everything else: flavor, creativity, wow factor. That means five ingredients or fewer—not including water, salt, black pepper, and certain fats (like oil and butter), since we're guessing you have those covered. This month, we’re sharing sneak peeks from the Big Little Recipes cookbook, all revving up to its release on November 9 (blasts airhorn, throws confetti in the air).
The hardest part about buttermilk pancakes is standing at the stove. Dolloping, waiting, flipping, waiting, again, again, again. The good news is: If you skip a few ingredients, you can also skip this step.
Today, you won’t need sugar, buttermilk, baking powder, or baking soda. In fact, you won’t need all-purpose flour either. We’re making a totally whole-grain pancake—yep, just one—to feed two people. And it’s just as suited for a sleepy brunch as it is a speedy dinner.
You might recognize this recipe as a Dutch baby. It also goes by Bismarck, German pancake, and, my favorite, puff pancake. Inspired by German pfannkuchen, the Dutch baby as we know it “is commonly ascribed to Manca’s Cafe, a Seattle restaurant that existed in the early 20th century,” according to Eater. Similar to a popover or Yorkshire pudding, this pancake bakes instead of pan-fries, going into the oven as a suspiciously thin batter, and coming out as—whoa.
Like a soufflé, the dramatic poof is all thanks to eggs. These make up the bulk of our puff pancake, giving it structure and lift and flavor. And bonus: Because we’re already using eggs in the batter, why not fry up a couple more and throw them on as a hearty topping?
Many Dutch baby recipes turn to milk as the liquid. But substituting crème fraîche brings a few big perks. Tangy and buttery, this ingredient adds depth and richness to the batter—and, when thinned with a splash of water, acts much like milk. Another bonus: More crème fraîche becomes the world’s most glorious pancake topping. (If you can’t find, sour cream is a great understudy.)
Because the eggs and dairy are already doing so much hard work, flour isn’t as important as it is in other baking recipes. This is a good thing. Because while doing a one-to-one swap of all-purpose to whole-grain in, say, a pound cake wouldn’t go well (don’t do it), in a puff pancake, which needs such a small quantity of flour, anything goes. That means we can use all rye flour and not have to dilute its nutty, malty flavor.
To go with the sunny eggs and creamy swirls on top, I like to sauté some ruffly kale until it relaxes, becoming silky and supple. But no one puts puff pancake in a corner. With a crispy, brown-buttery crust and fluffy, tender middle, it gets along with everyone. Swap out kale for another sautéed vegetable, like spinach, scallions, or mushrooms. Or go rogue with bacon or prosciutto, or smoked salmon or trout.
What’s most important is that you do something fun while the pancake bakes in the oven for 20-something minutes. Tell me, what strikes your fancy? Shall we turn on some tunes and dance?
| 3 | large eggs |
| 1/4 | cup (60 grams) crème fraîche |
| 1/2 | cup (65 grams) rye flour |
| 1/2 | teaspoon kosher salt |
| 1/4 | teaspoon freshly ground black pepper |
| 2 | tablespoons unsalted butter |
| 3 | large eggs |
| 1/4 | cup (60 grams) crème fraîche |
| 1/2 | cup (65 grams) rye flour |
| 1/2 | teaspoon kosher salt |
| 1/4 | teaspoon freshly ground black pepper |
| 2 | tablespoons unsalted butter |
| 1 | tablespoon unsalted butter |
| 1 | bunch Tuscan kale, stems removed, leaves chopped |
| Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper | |
| 2 | large eggs |
| Crème fraîche |
| 1 | tablespoon unsalted butter |
| 1 | bunch Tuscan kale, stems removed, leaves chopped |
| Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper |
| 2 | large eggs |
| Crème fraîche |
Snag a copy of the Big Little Recipes cookbook in our Shop, or a slew of other places, like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Bookshop.org, Hudson Booksellers, IndieBound, Powell's, or Target.
This post contains products independently chosen (and loved) by our editors and writers. As an Amazon Associate and Skimlinks affiliate, Food52 earns an affiliate commission on qualifying purchases of the products we link to.
Put down those long grocery lists. Inspired by the award-winning column, our Big Little Recipes cookbook is minimalism at its best: few ingredients, tons of flavor.
Order now
Written by: Emma Laperruque
Popular on Food52
8 Comments
"The hardest part about buttermilk pancakes is standing at the stove. Dolloping, waiting, flipping, waiting, again, again, again." I've personally never experienced this problem especially when I'm cooking for 2 which is incidentally how many people the authors recipe feeds . This "pancake" requires "20 something" minutes in the oven alone which is a longer amount of time than it takes me to whip up half a dozen delicious buttermilk pancake stove top .
All in all just a lazily written article , misleading and very uninspired, kind surprised that the editors didn't weed this one out or at least recategorize it to a more appropriate tab ...
Lol.... should be retitled "A Recipe for When I'm to Lazy to come up with a Good Recipe"
See what other Food52 readers are saying.