Years ago, a friend and I were talking breakfast food, and she mentioned that German pancakes were a favorite tradition in her family. German pancakes? I had never heard of them, but her description of a fluffy, piping hot from the oven, filled with protein pancake topped with homemade buttermilk syrup had my mouth watering. I immediately had to try it – and what happily surprised me was how FAST this dish came together! It went from mixing ingredients, to dishing it up at the table in LESS than 30 minutes. Perfection! Another wonderful surprise was how filling it was. This fed my family of six – two adults, and four kids. I would say that it would serve four adults easily.
SO, you want to know how to make this? I’m telling you – it’s easy peasy, and it will quickly become a favorite tradition in YOUR family!
The Players:
- 6 large eggs
- 1 cup milk (I prefer 2%, but use whatever you’ve got)
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp sugar (you can omit this, but I like it)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp butter, melted
The How-To:
Preheat your oven to 400°F
In a blender, combine the eggs, flour, milk, sugar, and salt and blend until smooth.
Meanwhile, pour the melted butter into a 9X13 pan, or a round cake pan works as well.
Pour the batter into the greased pan and bake (uncovered) for 20 – 25 minutes, or until it becomes puffy and golden.
While the pancake (or Dutch Baby – as it is also known) is baking, you’ll want to whip up some homemade buttermilk syrup. Delish!
Buttermilk Syrup – The Players:
You’ll need:
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar
- 3/4 cup buttermilk (if you don’t have any on hand, just add a Tbsp of lemon juice to a 3/4 cup measure, then fill with regular milk.)
- 1/2 cup butter
- 2 Tbsp corn syrup
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Combine all of the ingredients, except the vanilla, in a medium saucepan and whisk as you bring it to a boil. Boil for about 5 minutes, while whisking. Remove it from the heat and stir in the vanilla. The longer you boil it, the thicker it will be.
Okay, by now your german pancake is ready to take out of the oven. It will be poofy and golden and amazing.
Cut it into slices and dish up. Sprinkle the tops with icing sugar (optional – but oh, so worth it)
Drizzle on your homemade buttermilk syrup – and enjoy! 
If you’re kind, you’ll share – I mean, it’s only right. However, if you are like me – you may just want to polish off an entire pan yourself. But, you aren’t like me, right? 😉
German Pancakes with Buttermilk Syrup
Ingredients
Instructions
Darleen says
We love German pancakes and have them as family traditions also. But we call them Dutch babies. Anyway we like to have them with fresh lemon juice and powder sugar. So good.
Isabel says
this sounds really yummy, but it isn’t a traditional pancake in Germany!!!
We mix Fluor, the yellow from the egg, Sugar & Milk together and put it in the pan. Bake it from both sides…. Put it on your plate and some Apples aside! Ready! Nobody would bake it in the oven!
Bobbi says
That is good to know! I have never been to Germany, so I wouldn’t know the authenticity of it. This recipe is known by a couple of different names in North America. I wonder when people started calling them German pancakes?
Elli says
Das hab ich auch gedacht… That’s what I thought too!
Susan says
How do you bake it from both sides if you don’t bake it in the oven?
Linda says
I think she meant swirl it across the bottom of a skillet and cook on the stove top, like a thin crepe. That is how my 87 y/o German friend cooks hers. She then rolls them and sprinkles them with confectioners sugar and drizzles with maple syrup.
Shelley says
THESE LOOK AMAZING!!!!
Linsey says
Mine turned out way thicker than the picture! And none of those bubbles formed. Still tasted ok though!
Eileen says
I have always sprinkeled powdered sugar over the pancake upon removing from oven and serving with a small section of lemon to drizzle over according to each perdons likeness and of course the warm syrup😋
Nicolette says
Oh, I could eat these pictures! Looks so yummy and I’ve been searching for a good buttermilk syrup recipe. My tummy thanks you!
Debbie Fisher says
My kids love this, but instead of sugar, I use honey. Try it, you’ll love it with honey.
Kerry says
Is the sugar amount in the syrup correct? 1/12 of a cup doesn’t sound right nor seem to match with the picture.
aleta says
You can look a little further down and see the recipe says 1 & 1/2 cups sugar
Kerry says
I missed that. Thanks.
Amy T says
The German Pancke and syrup IS So YUMMY!
I could eat the syrup with a spoon! It truly only takes 30 min.
My kiddos and husband devoured it before school w/ a side of bacon!
We will do this combo again as a treat one morning!!! Thank You!
Laura says
I’ve been eating these as long as I can remember… A few tips to make them even more amazing:
– put the cold butter right into the pan and put the pan in the oven while you preheat. This will melt and, most importantly brown the butter. Adds really amazing, yummy flavor, oh, and I use 4 Tbsp butter
– cook at 425 degrees instead of 400. The pancake will get more puffy and the higher temp seems to cook them to my liking better. I’ve played around with temperature a lot over the years and 425 seems like the best.
I’m excited to try your syrup recipe. Yummy!
Sandee says
I make these but I omit the sugar and use a sprinkle of nutmeg, when they are all finished you melt butter in the center sprinkle with powder sugar and squeeze the juice of a fresh lemon, and serve. No buttermilk syrup needed and very delicious! It has been a signature breakfast in my family and neighbors even ask me to make them sometimes! I have never tried them any other way, I may try the buttermilk syrup next time.
nancy says
The sugar should read 1 1/2 cups
Jana says
Too get them to really puff up, be sure to use the blender to mix them. Use more butter in the pan, at least 1/4 cup and be sure it is a glass pan. Instead of melting the butter before and pouring everything in a cold dish, melt the butter in the glass baking dish while the oven heats up, then pour the mix right onto the piping hot pan. Puff like you wouldn’t believe! Although, once out of the oven it tends to shrink a little.
Carla says
Mine are made in a cast iron pan and we call them Dutch Babies!! A Christmas morning tradition in my house!!!
ShaLane says
We love these at our house. I grew up calling them “Wow” because we would always say, “Wow!” when we watched them puff up in the oven. I disagree with your statement that it would feed 4 adults. My two boys, ages 5 and 7 can almost scarf down a whole pan; not leaving near enough for my husband and I. I was just thinking the other day how I’m going to have to start making 2 pans. Still delicious. 🙂
laurie says
OMG! Delicious – thanks for sharing this recipe 🙂
Eileen says
I have always sprinkeled powdered sugar over the pancake upon removing from oven and serving with a small section of lemon to drizzle over according to each perdons likeness and of course the warm syrup😋
Kimberly says
Just made this Christmas morning for our breakfast and mom for the win because my 4yo ate it up & gave it a thumbs up. Although i will note that I did not have buttermilk on hand and googled a substitute and luckily had those ingredients to make the syrup. Delicious! Definitely a win in this household! Thank you!