This caramel apple German pancake is a sweet twist on the classic breakfast recipe. It’s a perfect “fancy” breakfast for special occasions that takes minimal extra effort.
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I LOVE German pancakes–so much so that they take front and center on our breakfast table at least once a week. Why do I sing their praises?
First, they’re hearty…six eggs means lots of protein to keep my kids full till lunchtime.
Second, they’re simple…just a handful of ingredients and five minutes of prep means my hands are free to get kids dressed and lunches packed while breakfast bakes.
Third, they’re so fun! My kids never get tired of watching the giant pancake puff up in the oven until it is towering over the top of the pan.
I’ve been happily making German pancakes for a long time, but earlier this year I discovered a variation of my basic recipe that made my favorite breakfast food even better…
Caramel Apple German pancakes!
Imagine…take your classic German pancake recipe and combine it with deliciously sweet apples, carmelized with a bit of brown sugar and cinnamon, and baked to fluffy, golden-brown perfection. Truly, breakfast doesn’t get better than this!
Yes, it takes one more step than the easy-peasy basic German pancake recipe, but you’re only committing to an extra five minutes in the kitchen–just enough time to peel & slice a couple apples and mix with cinnamon and brown sugar. That’s it! You can do it while the butter melts in the oven. I promise, the return on your extra five-minute investment will be oh so worth it.
This unassuming little apple mixture will take your standard German pancake recipe from tasty and filling toout-of-this-world delicious!
The recipe is so simple:
Put sliced butter in a 9×13 pan in your oven as it preheats. While the butter melts, peel & slice the apples and mix them with a bit of brown sugar and cinnamon.
Note: To make the peeling/slicing process lightning fast, I use my handy-dandy apple peeler/corer/slicer. They’re pretty cheap, and I use mine more often than you’d think, like when I make easy homemade pear applesauceor healthy apple oatmeal muffins.
Once your apples are ready, dump them into your pan with the melted butter and stir them around a bit until the butter coats the apples nicely. Put the pan back in the oven and let the apples cook while you make the pancake batter.
Mix up the pancake batter ingredients, whisking to get all the lumps out. If you have a hard time getting rid of clumps of flour, you can throw it in a blender, or use an immersion blender to get the batter nice and smooth. Pour the batter over the top of the apple mixture in the pan, and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes.
When the pancake puffs up and looks set and golden-brown on the edges, pull it out and eat immediately! It will deflate as it cools. That is totally normal. You can dust it with powdered sugar or drizzle with your favorite syrup, but the carmelized apples make this recipe sweet enough to eat just as it is.
It would make a wonderful breakfast to serve to any house guests you may have over the holidays this year. Visitors are sure to be impressed (and have happy, full tummies), and you’ll be glad it was such a simple meal!
Ready for the full recipe? Read on!
Yield: 6-8 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
This caramel apple German pancake is a sweet twist on the classic breakfast recipe. It's a perfect "fancy" breakfast for special occasions that takes minimal extra effort.
Ingredients
- 2 large apples, peeled and sliced thin (approximately 3 cups or 12-14 oz after peeling and slicing)
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F. Cut butter into 5-6 pieces and scatter on the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Place in the oven as it preheats until the butter is melted (about 5 minutes). Keep an eye on it so the butter doesn’t burn.
- Meanwhile, peel and cut up the apples. In a small bowl, toss them with the brown sugar and spices.
- Once the butter in the oven is melted, remove pan from the oven and spread the apples in a layer on the bottom of the pan. Place the pan back in the oven while you make the batter.
- In a medium bowl, combine eggs, flour, milk, vanilla, and salt. Whisk until smooth and uniform.
- Take the pan out of the oven and pour the batter over the apples.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, until the center is set and the sides are really puffy and golden-brown.
- Once you take the dish out of the oven, it will begin to deflate (that's okay!). Serve immediately with toppings of your choice (Powdered sugar or whipped cream is a fabulous way to finish this off, but it’s also sweet enough to stand on its own).
Notes
You can use any kind of apple in this recipe...just pick a variety you love. Granny Smith apples will add a little tart contrast of flavor, whereas Gala apples will be sweeter. My favorite apple is the Honeycrisp variety (they have a great balance of sweet and tart that is perfect for baking), but they tend to be a little more expensive.
Also, if you loathe the tedious process of peeling, coring, and dicing apples...trythis handy gadget. I'm not usually one for kitchen tools that only have one use, but this is one exception to the rule. Plus, my kids think it's super fun to help in the kitchen when I pull it out!
Source: Inspired by Quick German Recipes, but heavily adapted.
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