IT'S TIME FOR A DUTCH BABY

It is officially cold today....and oh so cozy! I have a craving for a delicious warm Dutch Baby drizzled in honey and topped with poached pears or some fresh strawberries. Dutch Baby you say? If you are unaware of what a Dutch Baby is....it is like a baked pancake. And when one goes a bit nutso in the decluttering and throws out the old skillet BEFORE she has a replacement. One can not make her usual batch of pancakes on the stove top. 

But that's ok because a Dutch Baby is a wonderful substitute for pancakes and its called a DUTCH BABY!

With the oven on your kitchen is instantly warm and cozy and you don't have to be standing over the stove pouring and flipping as you would with a batch of pancakes.

A Dutch Baby takes care of itself.

Yes.

Batter is poured into a buttered cast iron skillet and baked in the oven where it turns golden and the edges puff up like a soufflé! Fruit can be added to the batter or be scattered fresh over the top. It can be drizzled in whatever syrupy goodness you have or dolloped with jam, dusted with sugar...... as you like it.

Unfortunately our D.B had already deflated by the time I snapped these pics as we decided to make tea before eating the baby and because we added the fruit after the batter - see recipe notes to avoid our mistake!!!! These pics are from morning tea on Mother's Day - you know the day like any other day? But on any given Sunday we usually stay in our pj's till noon our bellies full of tea, coffee and homemade babycinos and of course baked goods. I thinks its important to treat Sundays as a day of rest and relaxation - especially when our Mondays at present are full of anxiety. Clémentine is going through a phase of separation desperation at kindergarten. If any parents are going through leaving their child sobbing and all red faced at kinder/day care/school I am with you. It is so difficult to stay strong in those times but 'ripping the bandaid off quickly' is the best method. And although I have 20 years of child care experience and I should know better it is SO HARD to leave them in that state.

It is often said that doctors make the worst patients and I believe this might be true in my case, that a child care worker makes the worst mother! 

Now I don't mean I'm being a horrible neglectful mommy dearest of a mother but on occasion I don't even realise that I am trying to do both roles - trying to not only be a mother but also be a carer too. Its a hard thing to shake seeing I have cared for many many children. So I should know the drill when it comes to a mother leaving a crying child at a place of care - LEAVE QUICKLY and let her teachers take care of her.

But as a carer you just see a child naturally upset because they don't want their mama to leave them. You do not know that perhaps that child has been asking all week if they have to go to kinder tomorrow, or has run off up the street screaming "I don't want to go to kinder!", or has been crying and retching all morning before drop off. 

I now know this, because I'm the mother now and its another sucky bit of parenting. But the sucky bits are a part of life.
Lately I have found myself saying "Fight or Flight". Do I want my child (and myself) to fight these fears or do I want her to fly away from them? Every maternal part of me wants to declare "The hell with it! Lets not go to kinder! Lets just have pancakes instead!". But no, I can't do that.

Because its time for Dutch Babies.
Time to watch from outside the door and see someone transform and hopefully bloom all by themselves.......and then shower them in sweetness when you get them home!

DUTCH BABY

recipe adapted from here and here

3/4 cup plain
3/4 cup milk
3 large eggs
1.5 tablespoons sugar
1.5 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butterHoney, Maple syrup, Jam, Icing Sugar to serve

Turn the oven to 210°C (200°C for fan forced) 

Place the skillet you're using on a middle rack to warm along with the oven.

Combine the eggs, milk, flour, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a blender or a food processor. Alternatively put all ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk by hand.

If using a blender/processor blitz for 10 seconds, scrape down the sides, and then blitz for another 10 seconds. The batter will be quite loose and liquidy. If by hand whisk until no lump remain and batter is silky smooth.

Rest the batter for 10-15 mins while you wait for the oven to reach temperature. 

Carefully remove the skillet from the oven using oven mitts and place it on top of the stove. Add the butter and swirl the pan to melt the butter and coat the bottom and sides of the pan.

Pour the batter on top of the buttery skillet.  Tilt the pan if needed so that the batter runs evenly to all sides. 

Place the skillet in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes: The Dutch baby is done when puffed, lightly browned across the top, and darker brown on the sides and edges.

Serve while hot either in the pan or on a plate cut into wedges.

For a fruit-filled Dutch Baby: Arrange fruits such as berries or in our case pears over the bottom of the skillet and then pour the batter over top. (Scattering fruit on top of the batter will keep it from rising as impressively- so we learnt!)