Apple Puff Pancake
April 9, 2015 • Washington Cookbook
I didn’t think it would happen, because I don’t live in a big city like my son in Manhattan, but I’ve fallen into a Sunday brunch routine. And that routine usually involves dining out – somewhere fun, where you can get great food, a nice breakfast cocktail, and hang out with friends. But you don’t always need to go out to do that. You can invite your friends over, whip up something like this for brunch, and voila! This recipe is from my second cookbook, A Taste of Washington: Favorite Recipes from the Evergreen State. I hadn’t thought to post something from it for awhile, until last week when Food & Wine announced this year’s Top New Chefs, including Zoi Antonitsas, who contributed the Octopus Bolognese recipe from her restaurant Westward, for my book. If you don’t have a copy of the book yet, call me and I’d be happy to sign one for you.
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¾ cup flour
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 2 tart apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
- ½ cup brown sugar
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Whisk the eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon together in a large bowl until well blended. Add the flour and whisk until the batter is smooth.
- Place the butter in a 1 ½- to 2-quart shallow baking dish and place the dish in the oven until melted, about 5 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven and place the apple slices in overlapping rows on top of the butter. Return the baking dish to the oven and bake until the apples begin to soften slightly and the butter is bubbling, about 5 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and pour the batter over the apples, and then sprinkle with the brown sugar. Bake until puffed and brown, about 20 to 30 minutes. Serve immediately for best flavor and presentation.