Gluten Free Dutch Baby

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This strawberry Gluten Free Dutch Baby is made with almond flour and topped with pecans and sweet maple syrup. A delicious breakfast or brunch recipe, serve this easy Dutch baby recipe for a special Mother's Day, Easter or a weekend morning.

Top shot of baked and filled German pancake in cast iron skillet.

What Is a Dutch Baby?

First things first, a traditional Dutch Baby is a large, oven pancake, very similar to a Yorkshire pudding or a giant popover. This German pancake recipe is usually slightly sweet. You can fill it with fresh fruit and or nuts, drizzle it with syrup, or any toppings you desire. And since strawberry season is here, that's what were using for this gluten-free Dutch baby recipe.

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What Is a Dutch Baby?
Here's What You Need
How to Make It
Expert Tips
FAQs
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Recipe
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A strawberry filled Dutch baby pancake in a skillet.

Here's What You Need

Strawberries: I used about 2 cups of fresh strawberries. Be sure to core them, then cut in half.
Sugar Just one tablespoon of sugar for masticating the strawberries.
Lemon Juice For the strawberries
Almond Flour: This makes the recipe gluten-free! You can substitute a gluten-free flour blend or all purpose flour if desired. This recipe won't work with coconut flour, however.
Baking Powder Along with the eggs, baking powder is our leavening agent, and it's how we get the puffy pancake we're looking for.
Sour Cream: This This gives these gluten-free Dutch babies richness and a nice tang. Feel free to use either a low or full fat version.
Almond milk You can substitute any other nut milk, oat milk, or regular milk. I don't recommend using coconut milk for this recipe.
Eggs Three large eggs give that custard-y filling. Have the eggs at room temperature before mixing the batter.
Butter Some of the butter goes in the batter, and some goes in the hot pan before you pour batter into it. You can substitute coconut oil, but be aware that it will impart a coconut flavor to the pancake.

How to Make It

Full instructions are in the printable recipe card below.

In a bowl, toss the strawberries with lemon juice and sugar, then set aside. Pre-heat the oven to 400° F, and place a 10" oven safe or cast iron skillet in the oven while it's pre-heating
In another bowl, mix together almond flour and baking powder.
In another bowl, whisk together sour cream, almond milk, half of the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla extract.
Add the sour cream mixture to the dry ingredients, stirring until smooth.

The first four steps for making the recipe. — Making the batter

Remove your hot skillet from the pre-heated oven and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter to the pan, swirling to coat.
Immediately pour the batter evenly into the hot pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden and puffed.

The hot pan with melted butter, then filled with the pancake batter. — Preparing for baking.

The Dutch baby after baking. — Fresh out of the oven

Top with the strawberry mixture, and optionally, a sprinkle of pecans. Cut into wedges and serve immediately with a drizzle of maple syrup, or whipped cream, if desired.

Expert Tips

Customize this recipe by changing up the type of fruit you use! I love strawberries, but you can easily substitute any of your favorite fresh berries or seasonal fruits to enjoy this easy simple recipe all year long.
You can use fresh or frozen fruit; however, I do prefer to use fresh when I can. If using frozen fruit, allow it to thaw and soften first.
Depending on the size of oven safe skillets you have, this recipe can easily be doubled to feed a crowd.
If you don't have an oven safe or cast-iron skillet, you can use a pie plate to bake this gluten-free Dutch baby pancake.

FAQs

What makes this recipe gluten free?

Because I am using almond flour, rather than regular flour, in the recipe, it's gluten-free. The almond flour means the pancake, although it will puff, it may not have quite the oven spring as a wheat flour version. However, this almond flour take is very delicious in its own right. It still has that crisp light exterior, and a creamy, custard-like center.

Almond flour is perfect for gluten-free desserts too, like Meyer Lemon Curd Tart, or Cherry Almond Clafoutis.

How do you store leftovers?

This gluten-free strawberry dessert is always best enjoyed immediately, as that's when it's at its most fresh and puffy deliciousness. If you end up with leftovers, you can store them in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. You can also freeze Dutch babies for about 2 months. However, whether refrigerating or freezing, the texture of the pancake will likely not be the same.

Where did the name "Dutch Baby" come from?

The Dutch baby is actually a German pancake, and it's also known as a Dutch puff pancake or Bismark. A Seattle restaurant called Manca's Cafe actually introduced these German pancakes, and a daughter of the owner coined the name, "Dutch Baby." The cafe owned the trademark for the Dutch Baby Pancake, but the business closed in 1950.

What's the difference between regular pancakes and German pancakes?

Besides being baked in the oven instead of flipped on a griddle, German pancakes have more eggs than normal pancakes. They are larger and thinner in the centre with crispy edges.