Here is a recipe for a very versatile little pastry called a Dutch Baby
I like this recipe because it is relatively easy to make, the batter doesnt have any sugar in it so it can be dressed with savory or sweet toppings - your only limit is your imagination. By itself the Dutch Baby is light and airy, crusty yet chewy, with a nice freshness due to the lemon zest.
Ingredients you will need -
a 10-inch oven-safe skillet (do not use non-stick)
3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
zest from one lemon (the entire lemon, preferably a large lemon)
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 and 1/2 large eggs (I'll explain later how to do the 1/2 egg)
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons of skim milk (it is very important that it is skim milk and not 2% or whole milk)
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
1.
Oil Skillet - Make sure your oven rack is at the center position and then pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees. Put all of the oil into your skillet and place it in the oven for about 10 minutes or as long as it takes you to mix up the batter.
2.
Mix Batter - You will need two medium sized bowls for this next part, one for the dry ingredients and one for the wet. In one bowl combine the salt, the flour, the cornstarch and the lemon zest. Stir to combine. In the other bowl whisk the 2 eggs for about a minute, or until they are completely smooth, no lumpy egg whites. Then you will remove and discard 2 tablespoons of the egg mixture*. Now add the vanilla, the milk, and the butter to the whisked eggs and whisk it all to combine it.
Now you have a bowl of dry ingredients and a bowl of wet ingredients. Pour half of the wet ingredients into the dry ingredient bowl and whisk them together.. it will be thick, but try to evenly incorporate the dry stuff with the wet. Then add the rest of the wet ingredients and whisk it until you have a thin and completely smooth batter. No lumps. It will be much thinner than a pancake batter.
*(one large egg is equal to a 1/4 cup; a 1/4 cup is equal to 4 tablespoons, so you remove 2 tablespoons from the 2 eggs to make it one and one half egg - that's a bingo!)
This is what the batter will look like -
3.
Bake - Okay, now you're going to take the skillet out of the oven. BE CAREFUL because it will be screaming hot; use an oven mitt/hot pad. The oil you put in the pan will be very thin because it is really hot, pour just a touch of it out of the pan, but leave a good amount in there.. if you pour it all out then there wont be enough to coat the sides of the pan when the pastry rises and it will stick to the side, you do not want that. Pour the batter into the hot pan. Now you are going to return the pan to the oven which should still be on at 450 degrees. When you do this remember to use a freakin' hot pad or you will burn yourself - I've grabbed a hot skillet handle once because I forgot I had had it in the oven, it sucked.. badly.
This is what the pan will look like just prior to putting it back in the oven. Notice the ring of oil around the edge. It needs to have that oil there or it wont rise properly, dont worry, the final product is not oily at all..
Now, just leave it in the oven for 23 minutes and you will have a beautiful Dutch Baby!
At this point you can flavor it however you like. Nutella. Berries and whip cream. Jam and lemon juice. Savory items. Whatever strikes your fancy.
Personally I like mine simple with a squeeze or two of the juice from the lemon I used for the zest, along with a light dusting of confectioners (powdered) sugar. Not too sweet, nice and tart..
YUM!
It may not look like much, but it's really good, easy to make (I'd say the second or third time you make it you will be able to do it in your sleep from then on), and it is a nice template for tasty additions, sweet or savory. I make these at least twice a week for breakfast. Try it