German Apple Pancake for the first day of Advent

Tomorrow is the official start of Advent, but several factors contributed to our celebrating a day early:

• My spouse, Tobias, leaves for London this afternoon
• The kids' advent calendar -- I splashed out on a fancy Playmobil one this year -- starts today
• Doing anything fancy for breakfast on a church morning is not something I want to contemplate.  It's all I can do to get the children and myself washed and dressed in a timely fashion

Last year I bought the Cook's Illustrated Holiday Baking issue but didn't make even one thing out of it.  M'hijo was just one last December and holiday baking was not really something I could manage at the time.  But this year he's much more self-reliant and I'm hoping to make several things from the magazine.  This German apple pancake was the first. 

Which Apples?

The article accompanying the recipe talks about apple choice, indicating that McIntoshes are absolutely the wrong kind to use, and Granny Smiths and Braeburns are the best.  Well, what I had in my fruit bowl was 2 BC Braeburns, 1 Gala and the last apple of the year from our big backyard tree, which is an unknown but very, very tasty red, sweet-tart variety that I love.  This wasn't quite the 1.5 pounds I needed, but luckily our SPUD order came last night, and included a couple of Pink Ladies, and I added one of them.  So, quite a melange of apples, and you know what?  They turned out great.  None of them lost their shape, in fact, they were pleasingly firm in the final dish, and there was a really nice, strong appley flavour. 

The Recipe

This is really easy to make!  I cracked open the magazine at about 7:40 am and we were sitting down to a delicious hot, aromatic, and cozy breakfast at 8:20am. 

1)  Peel, core and slice your 1.5 pounds of apples.  1/2 inch slices are recommended in the magazine.  As you can imagine, I did not get out a ruler, but sliced 'em like I like 'em. 

2) In a 10-inch cast iron or nonstick pan, heat 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter till it sizzles.  I used salted; the world did not collapse.  Put it in the apples, along with 1/4 cup of brown sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon.  And here is why Cook's Illustrated rocks: cook for 6 minutes if using cast iron, and 10 if using regular nonstick!  And also, heat the oven to 500 degrees if you're using nonstick and 425 if you're using cast iron.  Aren't they smart?  They think of everything!  You should probably stir the apples around while they cook.

3) Now get out two bowls and a whisk.  Into one, put 1/2 cup of flour, 2 tablespoons of granulated white sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and whisk it.  Into the other, put 2/3 cup of half-and-half, 2 large eggs, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla and whisk that.  Add the liquid to the dry, and whisk until you have a smooth, lump-free batter.   

4) When the apples are golden and there's a nice brown sauce at the bottom of the pan, take it off the heat at add 2 teaspoons of lemon juice.  I forgot this step and the the pancake was still great, so don't feel too bad if you have no lemons.   

5)  Pour the batter over and around the apples and pop the skillet into the oven, turning down the temp to 425 if you're using nonstick.

6)  After 18 minutes you will have a beautiful custardy, appley treat that you can flip over onto a serving platter and dust with icing sugar.

For our start of Advent celebration, Mother Nature cooperated with her own dusting of white stuff onto our back porch.  We turned off the lights in the kitchen and watched the snow while we polished off the whole, big German pancake, Canadianized slightly by the addition of maple syrup.

In our tradition, the first candle in the Advent wreath, which will be lit tomorrow morning, symbolizes hope.  In the spirit of Advent, then, I wish all DITYH readers a hopeful week.

 

Comments

[Katie]

It was fast and looks fantastically delicious... But I bet it would be just as good at 9:20 which I find to be a bit easier to manage...
Although I might get up to watch the first snowfall....

[Kristi]

Funny, my family is German but they made pancakes by dipping apple rounds into batter and frying them. Good, but not as good as this way and way too time consuming!

I made your recipe on Easter weekend twice and it was just perfect. I also used barlett pears this weekend and added some grated lemon rind and pure vanilla beans and it was excellent too. I sent some home with a friend yesterday to see if his family liked it but I'm sure they will.

I even used B.C. apples and pears as I don't live far from you. This is the easist recipe I've come across that turns out consistently delicious. Thanks!

[monika]

Funny, but I had the same experience with the Cook's Illustrated issue you did -- and the only thing I have made to date has been the German apple Pancake!

Actually, all my life I have made the version of the recipe in Vegetarian Epicure, but this one is somewhat fancier.

Would still love to make a REAL German apple pancake, as well as Dutch Apple pannekoek

[Lisa]

Please do some research - a non stick pan should NEVER be heated to 500 degrees as it emits a gas from the chemicals in the teflon material. In fact they recommend avoiding them altogether if you are cooking on high heat. Cast iron is safe at any temperature.

[onno david]

I love apple. my husband loves them, maybe I should surprise him with one I think I will go and pick some apples this week and try this out. It just looks so good. This will be a great breakfast treat...or maybe I will make it for dinner! Yum!