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Puff Pancake- Valentines Day

Welcome to my kitchen table on this Valentines Day morning. We enjoyed this breakfast on Monday, which was Family Day here in BC. My husband was most impressed by the high inflation of these orange zest infused individual puff pancakes, filled with fresh sliced strawberries and a dusting of powdered sugar. Served with warmed maple syrup and my homemade Blackberry Syrup, it was a sweet treat. 

Do something unexpected for someone today......just because you care.
We all could use a touch of love where nothing is expected in return.

Ingredients: (for 2 individual or one 9" pie plate which serves 2-3)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon orange zest
  • pinch of salt
  • 2 tablespoons butter 
  • fresh strawberries, unsweetened
  • powdered sugar
  • syrup
Method:
  1. Pre heat oven to 425ยบ.
  2. Add eggs, milk, flour, vanilla, orange zest and salt into a mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.
  3. Place butter into oven proof glass pie plates. I used two individual 7"pie plates that are 1 1/2" deep, but you can use one 9" or 10" pie plate. If using two, place 1 tablespoon butter in each. If using one larger pan put all the butter in the pan.
  4. Once the oven is up to temperature, place pans with butter in oven until butter is melted and small bubbles begin to show,  but don't allow the butter to brown. It will melt quickly. 
  5. As soon as the butter is melted quickly pour your pre mixed batter into the pans. Do not stir. 
  6. Close the oven door.....and do not open for 18 minutes. Turn on the light and watch as the pancake begins to rise up....but please listen...DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR TO PEEK...THE PANCAKE WILL FALL. Through the window of your oven door you will see it become golden brown as the sides puff up and there will be a deep hollow in the centre, creating a bowl. It's beautifully baked through when it's done. The bottom is very thin, and the sides will be thicker and done to perfection.
  7. During the last few minutes of baking I put my plates into my warming oven. These pancakes cool off fast, so it's nice to have a warm plate to serve it on. 
  8. Fill with fresh cut strawberries or a mixture of any fruit. Peaches, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries are some of my favourites. Dust with powdered sugar and syrup on the side.
As shown I made individual which are served whole.  If you make it into one large pancake, cut and serve in a wedge. If you have small stoneware ramekins that are approximately 5" round and 1 1/2" deep you could use those and get 4 small individual puff pancakes from this recipe. 

Here's a peek right after they came out of the oven. See how they have pulled away from the pan. There is not sticking.
You may think these are hard to make....don't be fooled. So simple, so good! Just don't open the oven door and peek....

27 comments:

  1. Any thoughts or experience on whether or not these will work gluten free? They look gorgeous! I imagine them filled with strawberries and raspberries and drizzled with a chocolate syrup and powdered sugar for dessert.

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    1. Sher, I don't have that answer, but I'll ask Julie, our in house Gluten Free girl if she can answer that for you. She may even have a recipe to share with you:)

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    2. Hi Sher ! I made these for my husband and myself.. His following Kathy's recipe and mine gluten free. For the gluten free I followed the same recipe with the following changes , 1/2 tsp xanthan gum and 1/3 cup gf flour plus one heaping tbsp. (you can use your favorite all purpose gf flour mix - I used gf oat flour, white corn flour, brown rice flour and potato starch - equal amounts)
      They both turned out wonderfully, mine just took a little longer to cook, but I don't know if using a different baking dish - ceramic instead of glass - made the difference.
      I hadn't made these before and my husband was most impressed with his Valentine surprise!

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    3. Thanks so much. I will try these tomorrow night for Family Day dinner.

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  2. just finished these and they were lovely! ours didn't get as puffy in the middle as in the picture but kept a buttery pool in the center. i love how few ingredients it takes and how fast they are, perfect for midweek special occasions before everyone's off to work or school.

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  3. Wow!!! Those are amazing. I will try these for sure.

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  4. Beautiful! Perfect girls lunch too...

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  5. Kathy, you have a way of making a tricky looking dish simple. These look wonderful.

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  6. wow never seen such a lovely pancake baked in a pie plate wow...
    i love it... thanks Kathy

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  7. The presentation is outstanding!

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  8. These are Yorkshire puddings to me a favourite here in the UK except people eat them filled with Chicken and mushroom or beef stew. I`ll try them with strawberries for a change.

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  9. Kathy, I've been making this pancake for years but never thought of doing individual ones like that . That is so neat. Yes they are like yorkshire puddings only sweet.

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  10. I make this often and never know what to call it! Such a simple - yet impressive! - dish to whip up quickly for guests :)

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  11. I saw this posted this morning and went ahead and made them for my kids - they were a huge hit!! It was so simple and quick which I loved. Thank you for sharing. Your presentation was lovely.

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  12. My mother-in-law always called those "Dutch Babies". I'm not sure why.

    I have my doubts as to whether they'd work in this house. My husband and teenage daughter seem to have a genetic incapability to leave an oven door closed. If something is baking, they have to see it up close and in person!

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  13. We love these too! Would you please share what pattern your china is? Thanks!

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    1. The China was my mom's. Royal Albert Lavender Rose. My dad split the set up and gave my sister and I each 6 place settings after our mom passed away. I love to use it every so often....it's so pretty and brings back such great memories of sitting around our mom's table.

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  14. If serving a larger crowd...6 eggs,1/4 c orange juice,1/2 c sugar,1c flour,1 c milk,1/4c of butter in a 9x13 glass pan. Have everyone sitting at the table, as the cool air collapses these in a hurry, makes 12 pieces.

    Roma Niessen Kelowna BC

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    Replies
    1. Well Hello Roma, It has been ages since we were together at Sargent. I hope you and your family are doing well.

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  15. Ooohhhh, Kathy! I can feel my mouth start to water looking at your breakfast. I've made these with a little lemon zest, but I'm going to have to try them with orange, too! And thinking about homemade blackberry syrup makes my eyes almost roll back in my head. Oh, my my. Thanks for sharing your recipe! Compliments on the china, too, by the way. It's gorgeous.

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  16. These look lovely - I hope when I attempt to make this mine look half as good

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  17. I have made a similar recipe before. I am going to try yours today, with yummy blueberries. Breakfast for dinner,lol

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  18. stunning! I've tried a few versions of this lately, all of them with sliced apples in the bottom of the pan. I think the problem I've had is not heating the dish up enough before pouring the batter in. I'll be trying your method, serving the fruit on top instead of baked in with it.

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  19. How long should themini's be baked? Thank you.

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    Replies
    1. Baking time is 18 minutes. I hope you enjoy them.

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  20. Thank you for the baking time. These look so-o-o-o-o cute and yummy!

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