Don't eat my baby!

Ever had a dutch baby? If you haven't, you missed out! It's essentially a huge, overgrown popover baked in butter and sprinkled with powdered sugar and lemon. They're easy to make, and even easier to eat! Try this out for sunday breakfast (because I assume most of you don't log on at 7:30 in the morning to read this):

3 eggs

3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup butter (does not need to be chilled, but should not be room temperature. just take it right out of the fridge.)

1. Prepare all your ingredients into little bowls, cups, whatever. Because as soon as the oven turns on, the dutch baby train aint-a-stoppin'. Place the butter into a 2 quart glass baking dish, or a heavy cast iron skillet if you have one. Stick it in the cold oven, and then preheat to a warm, toasty 425 degrees. 

2. Get your blender, and whip the eggs until well blended. Add the milk, and mix again. Then, slowly add the flour. YOU MUST do this slowly unless you completely trust your bender to break up 3/4 cups of flour and be entirely lump-free. I don't trust my blender. 

3. As soon as the oven is preheated, take out the pan (being careful of the spattering oil, please) and pour in the batter. The butter will go up around the sides, and possibly run over onto the top. This is ok, even good. It will make a DELICIOUS buttery crust.

4. Bake for 25-30 min., and get out whatever you think will taste good on top. When the timer goes off, pull out your creation and let it rest. Yes, it has to rest. Why? Our batter is filled with itty bitty bubbles. As it cooks, they are essentially smooshed into one big über bubble. That makes your pastry into a giant balloon, and when it deflates, it leaves a nice, yummy, custardy, crispy edible bowl of deliciousness. Or a circle for you lucky cast iron skillet people. 

5. Slice, and add toppings. For one pan, you can expect to get about 6 slices. Yes, they are huge. Yes, they will be covered in carbs. Yes, they are the best ting you have ever eaten. The classic is certainly powdered sugar and lemon juice, but jam, honey, fruit, and syrup work very nicely too. 

I found my camera cord, so here are some pictures for those of you that have never seen one of these fluffy joy rectangles:

I made the batter using a hand blender and a big bowl, and found a really great trick for cleaning it off. Our hand blender is really old, so you can't take the shaft of of the electrical components and stick it in the dishwasher. Scrubbing it is a pain, so I got a tall plastic cup and filled it about halfway with hot water and soap. I cut a hole in the bottom of a big plastic bag, and stuck it over the top of the blender and pulled the cord through. Just turn it on (the bag makes a nice splatter shield), and it gets nice and clean.