Mini German Pancakes

Have you ever heard of these things? I hadn't until just recently.  I was playing on www.stumbleupon.com and a website popped up with these amazing creations.  I was immediately intrigued.  So off to google I ran for a bit of research.  German Pancakes, Dutch Babies, Pop-Up Pancakes, Hootenannies, High-Rise Pancakes, Pfannekuchen... so many names for such a neat dish.  It only took a few pictures and a little browsing of recipes for me to know I just HAD to make these things!  They pop up crazy huge while they are baking, puffing and rising in all wild directions. They are a hoot to watch baking; I got just as much of a kick watching them as my four year old did.

The traditional way of making them is in a large 9x13 cake pan or a jelly roll pan.  But a few recipes showed making them in muffin cups for individual little popover-like "pancakes".  Since I have a Little Man that LOVES muffins and pancakes, I thought this would be a fun way to make breakfast for him.  Well I gotta tell you- I don't think I could ever eat a regular pancake again.  These are way too good! You can't help but love these guys just looking at them.  German Pancakes rise looking very Soufflé-like.  But the taste and texture is quite different.  They are flakey and lightly crisp on the outside, but very creamy and custardy on the inside. They sort of reminding me of the flavor of a crepe. They are unique, and OH SO FUN!

Just blending 5 ingredients, it honestly couldn't be simpler.  Instead of carefully pouring your batter onto a hot skillet into perfect disks, watching them closely making sure they don't burn, flip, do all over again.... etc. etc. With these, just pour the batter into very well greased muffin pans, bake for 15 minutes and then enjoy!  I can easily see these becoming a Saturday morning tradition.  

The traditional way of serving them is with freshly squeezed lemons and powdered sugar.  Since I didn't have either, we went with fresh bananas, pure maple syrup and mini chocolate chips.  I also had one with bananas and a sprinkling of cinnamon.  Both were pure bliss.  I am also picturing a warm strawberry syrup, or cinnamon sugar apples would be beautiful toppings.  Or Nutella.... Mmmmm.  Well, the only way around this dilemma is making them again.  And again.  And again.....

Mini German Pancakes

1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1/4 cup melted butter
6 eggs
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a blender (you can also use a whisk or a hand mixer) and mix until completely smooth and liquified. Pour into very well greased muffin cups (or one 9x13 pan) and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown and very well puffed. They will deflate some after being removed from the oven, creating little "cups". Top with add-ons of your choice and enjoy.

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check out that lovely, creamy center!