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One of the most hyped desserts around right now is the cocoa Dutch baby pancake, but what is this exactly? Well, it’s a chocolate German pancake recipe which tastes amazing! This gluten free Dutch baby is a great option if you are looking for a gluten free pancake recipe or a chocolate pancake recipe. It’s made in a cast iron skillet and is rich-tasting, perfect for breakfast or brunch, and full of amazing chocolate Dutch flavours. It’s served with yogurt and powdered sugar or icing sugar, and one of the tastiest things to make in a cast iron skillet.
This chocolate pancake recipe is amazing for breakfast or dessert. It boasts chocolate and cinnamon and is special enough for a birthday or anniversary brunch.
You might also like French toast muffins, limoncello tiramisu, vegan kaiserschmarrn, tiramisu Swiss roll or Starbucks style banana bread.
Why You’ll Love These
- Distinctive: Because of the shape of the pan, the chocolate German or Dutch baby pancake recipe curls up at the edges. That is what gives this breakfast, brunch or dessert dish such a distinctive look. It also makes it better to hold the filling.
- Indulgent: The rich flavours in this from the sugar to the cocoa powder, whipped cream topping and icing sugar make this truly indulgent, and just the ticket if it’s a special occasion you’re making it for.
- Simple to make: First, combine the ingredients, and then you can bake the pancakes in the oven. The recipe is super-easy and those are about the only steps you need to follow. So forget the pancake restaurant and make your own wonderful sweet snacks in the comfort of your own kitchen.
Dutch Baby Pancakes Ingredients
A Dutch baby pancake, which is sometimes known as a Dutch puff, Hootenanny, Bismarck, or Dutch baby, is a type of popover. It’s baked in the oven, unlike with traditional pancakes. Cocoa Dutch baby recipes are usually thicker than pancakes or crepes.
The recipe might have come from ‘pfannkuchen’, a German pancake, but these yummy treats can also be traced back about a hundred years to the United States.
Flour, eggs, milk, and sugar are the main ingredients, while cinnamon and vanilla are commonly added. Sometimes other flavors are used, such as fruit. Use gluten free flour for a gluten free German pancake recipe.
And soft, velvety powdered sugar provides the best finishing touch. In addition, you need cream of tartar, cinnamon, ghee, bananas, yogurt, honey, and cocoa powder to make this dish.
This gluten free Dutch baby pancake recipe is cooked in a cast iron pan which is safe to use in the oven. The pancake will deflate as soon as you take it out of the heat.
How to Make Dutch Baby Pancakes
For more detailed instructions with weights and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card.
- Combine the ingredients: Mix eggs, milk and brown sugar in one bowl, and mix flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, salt, and cream of tartar in another, then combine.
- Cook the pancakes: Grease cast iron skillets with butter, then add the batter and bake.
- Cook the bananas: Fry the bananas in ghee, adding a little brown sugar if liked.
- Serve: Serve the baked Dutch baby pancakes on plates with the yogurt and caramelized bananas, drizzled with maple syrup and sprinkled with powdered sugar or icing sugar.
Wait! Hold the Gluten!
Do you want to make a gluten free version of this tasty recipe? You can make a gluten free German pancake easily by subbing gluten free flour for the all-purpose flour. I used Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 flour, but you will probably find success with other brands. The gluten free German pancake will taste the same as ones made with conventional flour.
Dutch Baby Pancake Tips
You can make these large or small. Either way they come out smaller than typical popovers. You will need cast iron pans though, since they need to be ovenproof.
The batter is flavoured with cinnamon and cocoa powder, then oven baked in the greased cast iron pans. This gluten free pancake (if you are making it gluten free) will puff up and be ready in about twenty minutes.
It rises up because it’s cooked in such a hot oven and puffs up like a popover. Be really careful with the cast iron pans, using oven mitts or oven gloves. Cast iron can get super-hot!
This Dutch baby pancake will start to deflate as soon as it comes out of the oven. Unlike with a soufflé, that is normal with this recipe. It will puff up and then flatten down again.
This is best served as soon as it’s cooked, so make sure you have the powdered sugar, fruit, yogurt, or other toppings to hand when it’s done.
What to Serve with a Chocolate Dutch Baby Pancake
You can pair this cast iron skillet baked chocolate Dutch pancake recipe with anything you want. I made mine with caramelized bananas, cooking the bananas in a pan and adding some brown sugar to them. Then I added a spoonful of yogurt and it went so well.
You can use whipped cream instead of yogurt if you want, or even vanilla ice cream. Instead of the bananas, consider seasonal berries. Strawberries or raspberries would be nice with this gluten free Dutch baby.
Drizzle some honey or maple syrup over the yogurt, ice cream or whipped cream, as a final touch. Oh, and don’t forget the powdered sugar. Yummy!
You can have the cocoa Dutch baby pancake with a cup of hot chocolate or coffee, or any other drink you like. If you’re making it for breakfast or brunch, you could even mix things up by having some crispy bacon on the side! I really love this gluten free pancake and love experimenting with different fruits on there.
How to Store Chocolate Dutch Baby Pancakes
- Store: These will begin to deflate and lose their characteristic puffy look as soon as they are done, so it’s best to serve them right away. However, they will keep for a few days in the fridge if you have leftovers.
- Freeze: These can be frozen for up to 3 months (without the toppings) as long as you use a freezer-friendly container.
- Thaw: Thaw overnight and reheat in the oven, microwave or toaster oven.
Chocolate Dutch Baby Pancake Recipe FAQs
Ghee is basically clarified butter, which means the milk solids are removed from the butter. This makes it lactose free and also gives it a higher smoke point. You might be wondering why you need four tablespoons of it to make a cocoa Dutch baby recipe.
The reason is that most pancake recipes use butter in the batter, and this one doesn’t. However you still need to stop it sticking from the pan, so don’t skimp on the ghee. You can also use melted butter if you don’t have ghee or a lactose intolerance.
Dutch baby gluten free pancakes first cropped up, according to Sunset Magazine, in the early 1900s on the menu at Manca’s Café in Seattle.
The name ‘Dutch baby’ is believed to have come from one of the owner’s daughters, maybe confusing ‘Deutsch’ (the German word for German) for Dutch (meaning from the Netherlands). They do have pancakes in Holland but they’re thick and dinner plate sized, and nothing like these texture-wise.
Chocolate Dutch Baby with Bananas
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 Cup milk
- 2 Tbsps. brown sugar
- 1/2 Cup gluten-free flour, maybe Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1
- 1 Tsp. cream of tartar
- 1/2 Tsp. ground cinnamon
- 4 Tbsps. ghee
- 2 bananas
- 2 Tbsps. yogurt, vanilla
- 2 Tbsps. honey
- 1 Tbsp. cocoa powder
Instructions
- First preheat the oven to 425 F and place two big or four smaller cast iron pans in it.
- In a big bowl beat two eggs, add milk and brown sugar and whisk until smooth.
- In another bowl gently stir gluten free flour with cocoa powder, cream of tartar, cinnamon and salt and then mix it into the egg mixture.
- Very carefully pull hot pans out of the oven and put one teaspoon of ghee to each. Then pour a half or a quarter of the batter (depends on how many pans and what size you use) to each and place them back to the oven as quickly as possible.
- Bake for 16 to 20 minutes or until the edges of the pancake are very puffy.
- Meanwhile put the rest of ghee in preheated pan and place two bananas sliced lengthwise in it.
- Fry on each side until golden brown. You can add tablespoon of brown sugar to make them even more caramelized.
- Place baked Dutch babies on the plate, put one tablespoon of yogurt in the middle and caramelized banana on each and pour maple syrup over it. Then serve right away.
Nutrition
Enjoy this gluten free Dutch baby for breakfast, brunch or for dessert. One thing is for sure about this chocolate German pancake recipe – it’s a dish you’ll want to make more than once!
Let me know if you make this chocolate Dutch baby pancake recipe. It is a great option if you are looking for a gluten free pancake recipe or a chocolate pancake recipe.
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Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.
Such a pretty dish that seems complicated but so easy and delicious! We enjoyed it so much!
The recipe seems to be missing the amount of cocoa powder to add. Did I miss it somewhere?
all fixed 🙂 thanks for letting me know
I’ve been meaning to try making a dutch baby! They look so pretty!
It’s cute how it curls up. I think these sound good.
This recipe looks absolutely mouth-watering! I’m definitely going to try making it at some point soon.
I’m addicted to pancakes. I will surely love this.
That looks soo yummy, this’ll surely make breakfast more exciting for the kids! And it’s healthy.
My family really enjoyed these for a weekend breakfast!
My love for pancakes is out of this world and this cocoa pancake looks great.