Yes, there is that beautiful ting in the crisp, fall air that is beckoning me to bake something. Something warm and homey. ..
The problem, however, is this: I swear, it is physically impossible for me to follow a recipe. I try, I really do. But halfway through, my hands begin to shake and move in convulsions. I reach for the vanilla extract, though my mind knows the recipe didn't call for it. I can't resist, as much as I try. Alas, I give into the temptation…and sprinkle and measure whatever I wish at will.
It's a sickness – just ask my Mom. She can hardly stand to have me in her kitchen, because she knows that I only measure my ingredients 2% of the time. And yes, this has caused multiple baking catastrophes.
Even still, I gave this gluten-free Dutch Baby Pancake recipe a try…and with (ahem) a few tweaks of my own, I think it turned out utterly divine! I'm sure you'd enjoy it as well, with your morning cup of coffee and your fuzzy socks.
Dutch Baby Pancake with Almonds & Apples, Gluten-Free
Note: This pancake tastes extra good in the morning. Just sneak out of bed early…whip it up…put it in the oven…and climb back into bed for another half hour. Then, arise to the smell of heaven. And Amen.
You will need:
– 3-4 medium sized apples (go pick some from a local orchard!), cored and diced into 1/4″ pieces
– 2 tablespoons high quality butter
– 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon or a few cinnamon sticks
– 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
– 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
– 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
– 3/4 cup finely ground almonds OR almond flour
– 5 eggs (the best you can find!)
– 1/4 cup rapadura OR sweetener of choice
– 1/2 cup milk (not ultra-pasteurized)
– 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Step One: Melt the butter in a skillet (cast iron works great!). Once it is nice and oozy, throw in your diced apple pieces and your spices. Swish 'em around a little bit, allowing them to mingle with that delicious butter.
Step Two: While the apples are cooking, mix the eggs, milk, rapadura, sea salt and vanilla together in a bowl. Whisk until smooth.
Then, stir in your ground almonds. Mix, mix, mix. The batter will be very liquid-esque – but that's okay!
Step Three: Once the apples become fragrant and begin to release their juices, remove them from the heat. All the pan to cool down slightly.
Step Four: Once the pan has cooled, gently pour the batter over the apples, moving the pieces around as necessary to ensure the batter gets into all the nooks and crannies. Note: If you're not using a cast iron skillet, simply transfer the apples and their juices to a baking dish and then pour the batter over.
Step Five: Bake at 425 degrees for about thirty minutes, or until the “pancake” is nice and golden on top.
Mmm…can you smell the nutmeg through your computer screen? This dish sings of all things fall and leaves a fragrance in the air that will bring a smile to your face – like an all natural room freshener!
And it tastes delicious. Full of healthy fats, protein, and baked fruit. Delightful! And even though it's not the fanciest, or the prettiest, dish on the block – I'd still say it's worth making over and over and over!
On a different note, I've been toying with the idea of doing a month long detox from wheat. Simply as a means to up the intake of protein, vegetables, and fruit. Have any of you ever done anything like this? I try to be good about not eating too much bread and rarely ever eat refined flours and such, but even still I feel it could be beneficial. Hmmm… any advice?
The good news is that if I decide to go through with this month-of-no-wheat, I could still eat this delicious dutch baby pancake! Hallelujah!
Don't you just love it when thinks work out?
Enjoy!
For other great meal ideas, no matter what your dietary restrictions, check out the meal planning service I use: Real Plans.
Love the recipe!! Can’t wait to try it! We are a gluten free, casein free family. One of my children has pdd. So we decided to try it a year ago and are still going strong. The whole family eats like this because I can’t make that many different types of food for everyone! I will say it was a very, very hard adjustment for us. I was use to making my own bread and all of our baked good from scratch. And making my own yogurt, etc from milk. So this way of cooking/thinking was stripping me of everything I knew! But I like a challenge and I persevered! 😉 But we because we have done this we have seen great improvements in our daughter. Also, my husband has found out he has an extreme sensitivity to gluten and some of his health issues are now gone. And I have noticed some health benefits from it too. So I say GO FOR IT! and GOOD LUCK!! Definitely go gf for at least a month before you try it to see if you do benefit from it!
yum1 it’s so close to clafoutis…
Blessings
lib
http://bit.ly/qyod56
Looks delicious. Check out my blog- I’m pretty strictly grain and dairy free (. . . most of the time.) Lots of recipes and other links to check out. A huge difference in my health! I’m always pro-trying it out. 🙂
I eliminated gluten about 2 years ago, although I still have occasional cheats. Its not always easy, but what I like about it is exactly what you said – that you do end up eating more vegetables, and it forces you to get a bit more creative and think outside the box. With so many grain free resources online these days, I say give it a go!
Thanks for linking your great post to FAT TUESDAY. This reminds me of an apple Kugel. If you want to join my 28 day grain-free challenge it is still open and this dish would certainly qualify!
http://realfoodforager.com/2011/10/28-day-real-food-grain-free-challenge-signup/
Hope to see you next week! Be sure to visit RealFoodForager.com on Sunday for
Sunday Snippets – your post from Fat Tuesday may be featured there!
http://realfoodforager.com/2011/10/fat-tuesday-october-11-2011/
If you have grain-free recipes please visit my Grain-Free Linky Carnival in support of my 28 day grain-free challenge! It will be open until November 2.
http://realfoodforager.com/2011/10/grain-free-real-food-linky-carnival/
Hi Shaye, these look absolutely delicious and yes, I could smell the nutmeg coming through my computer screen, LOL Thanks for sharing. I have recently found your blog and am now following you, and will visit often. Please stop by my blog and perhaps you would like to follow me also. Have a wonderful day. Hugs, Chris
Making this right now. Is it suppose to be eggy? Like an eggish casserole?
It should be pretty solid after it’s done cooking… I hope it turned out okay! 😉
Did you do the 30 days with no wheat??
Hollie, I never did. My body digests properly prepared wheat very easily, so I never took the initiative to do such 😉
This really does look delicious, but it isn’t a Dutch baby; it more closely resembles a skillet cake, since the Dutch baby is closer in texture and looks to a Yorkshire pudding, though it is sweeter. FYI, here is a recipe for a classic Dutch baby http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/apple-dutch-baby.
Hi Shaye, FYI, your thoughtfulness and sharing of this recipe 9 YEARS ago keeps on spreading the joy in times of need… like during the “shelter in place” times of Spring 2020. Who wouldn’t want a healthy cake for breakfast? I added whipped cream, just because. Thank you!