Shrove Tuesday - Kitchen-Sink Dutch Baby - Baked Occasions

We have never really celebrated Mardi Gras in our house, but there were times we did celebrate Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day, the day before Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent. Our church more commonly celebrated with an Aebleskiver dinner. These are traditional Danish pancakes that are baked in the shape of a ball by using a special pan. I have made these before with my mom, who has a pan from her mother, although we are Swedish not Danish. I don't think it really matters as long as you like pancakes. There is a good recipe for them at Nordic Food & Living. I understand that traditionally they are not made with any type of filling. Although the name literally means apple slices in Danish. When we made them at home we did include small slices of apple in the center. Perhaps next year we will get our own pan or get together with Mom and show you some of these, for today, however, I am getting off topic.

In the book Baked Occasions by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito I decided to try the Kitchen-Sink Dutch Baby for February since this was a pancake I had a pan to bake it in. They did suggest a 10" cast iron skillet, and I only have 8" and 12" cast iron skillets. So I opted for the 8" skillet and figured I would just bake it a little bit longer. This worked fairly well, but I think some of it was still a bit too thick in the middle. It had good flavor and sweetness though. The bananas and chocolate were nice in the pancake and the walnuts on top gave it a great crunch. I particularly enjoyed the edges that had a little bit of crispness to them.

I made this for breakfast this morning for the boys and me, and I think another time I might hold off and make it as an afternoon snack. There was so much sweetness that is was almost too much for me first thing in the morning. It would be a great afternoon snack for after school on a cold day, serving up a warm sweet pancake could be just the thing. Overall it was fun and successful trying something new, and very doable before school.


Timing: Recipe States: this book does not give timings, My Actual Timing:10 minutes to prep, the recipe said 17-20 mins to bake, mine took 25 minutes because it was in a smaller pan
Servings: Recipe States: 4 servings, Servings For My Family: 4 servings would be perfect
Leftovers: We did not have leftovers, but I think this would be best eaten immediately.


Family Ratings:
Me: I thought it had great flavor and I enjoyed the sweetness and almost pudding-like quality of the middle of the pancake with the crisp edges.
Hubby: He left for work and did not get to enjoy our treat.
Big Man: He thought it was great and wants to have it again soon, he especially liked the walnuts on top, but wanted to see more chocolate chips.
Bear: He got frustrated waiting for the pancake to bake and opted for a bowl of cereal instead.
Mr. T: Mr. T took two bites and then finished his walnuts, but said he did not like the pancake.

Will I repeat: I may repeat if the mood strikes for Big Man and me to have it for an afternoon snack after school.

What will I change: I would either find a 10" cast iron skillet or else I may try to scale down the recipe to fit in the skillet I have and see if that would make a difference in how it bakes.