Cheese Inspiration Meets Breakfast Dutch Baby

It's amazing that when you are truly passionate about food, recipe inspiration can hit you at the oddest times.  Sometimes when people ask me about how I came up with something, I joke and tell them that my stomach was having a craving and sent a picture of it to my head.  To me that’s what it feels like!

A very recent Sunday morning I woke up with the oddest craving for German style pancakes (also referred to as "Dutch Babies").  I knew that the recipe and cooking process are fairly simple and of course it would seem that I had everything needed to make them in my house.

As I was rummaging through my kitchen collecting the ingredients, inspiration started to set in. I came across a half container of mascarpone, some heavy cream, a half-eaten pear and some glazed sweet/salty hazelnuts.  Immediately there was a picture attached in my mind of what I needed to make for my German pancake!

If you didn't figure it out, mascarpone is the cheese in this recipe ;) I've made a sweet whipped mascarpone before and knew it would be perfect for this dish!  Especially with a dash of cinnamon and definitely with some caramelized pears alongside. 

Most recipes that people share are intended for around 4 people or so.  Since I have been doing a lot more cooking for just 1 these days, this recipe is for 1 person! (You're welcome all you singles out there!)  Just increase the measurements by however many people you are looking to cook for.  Remember that when you cook a Dutch baby, it will come out to be the size of the pan you put it in which I supposed COULD be shared if you were open to it. 

The recipe is easy enough but it takes coordinating your steps.  My advice is to crush the hazelnuts first, set aside, make the Dutch baby and then the whipped mascarpone and caramel pears while it's baking in the oven. Then everything should be the right temperature and texture once it's ready to serve! 

Crushed Sweet & Salty Hazelnuts

1/4 cup Sweet & Salty Hazelnuts (I use Albina City Nuts Sweet & Salty Hazelnuts from our store but you could also just used a glazed nut of your preference)

- Crush and set aside 

Whipped Cinnamon Mascarpone 

1/2 cup mascarpone

2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

In a small mixing bowl use a hand mixer to combine all ingredients and mix until it reaches a consistency of a firm whipped cream (about 2-3 minutes)

Set mix aside

Caramelized Pears

1/2 of a ripe pear

1 1/2 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Dice up pear and set aside

In a small skillet, melt the butter on medium heat and add diced pears

Brown for about 2-3 minutes then add lemon juice

Mix in brown sugar

Cook for additional 5-6 minutes stirring occasionally. 

Caramel sauce will begin to bubble slightly and thicken

Remove from heat and set aside.

German Pancake aka Dutch Baby

Ingredients:

2/3 tablespoon butter

1/3 tablespoon melted butter

1 large egg

1/2 tablespoon granulated sugar

1/2 pinch salt

1/4 cup warm milk

2/3 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Powder sugar for serving

Pre-heat oven to 400

In a blender or food processor mix the melted butter, egg, granulated sugar, salt, milk, vanilla and flour.

Pre-heat your oven safe pan or skillet on the stove for a couple minutes then melt the other portion of butter.

Add the batter into the pan and place into oven to bake for 20-25 minutes.  You will see a medium to dark golden color and the pancake would have grown up the sides of the pan once it's done.

Once it's out of the oven allow it to cool on a rack outside of the pan for a couple of minutes before serving.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar

Add a couple dollops of your whipped mascarpone, caramelized pears, drizzling the caramel sauce back and forth on the pancake, then add chopped hazelnuts and ENJOY!