German Oven Pancakes feature a vanilla cinnamon batter that’s baked in a buttered dish and puffs while in the oven. It’s a delicious twist on the traditional pancake!
We love German oven pancakes in our house!
Whether we make them for breakfast or dinner, the entire pan is gobbled up in just a few minutes.
You may know this breakfast treat as a Dutch baby pancake, Bismarck, Dutch puff, or Hootenanny.
Whatever you want to call it, it’s delicious.
It may seem intimidating to make at first glance with it’s puffed edges and golden brown crust, but it’s easier to make than a traditional pancake!
Step-by-Step Instructions
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
Add 1/4 cup butter to a 9 x 13 baking dish and then place the dish in the oven to melt the butter. Remove the pan as soon as the butter has melted.
Whisk 6 eggs well in a medium bowl.
Add eggs, 1 cup of milk, 1 cup of flour, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla in a blender until well combined.
Carefully pour the batter into the buttered pan.
Bake the pancake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Recipe Tips and Substitutions
I’ve never blended the ingredients in a blender before, but it really gives the batter a smooth finish. If you don’t have a blender on hand, you could also use a hand beater.
We’ve halved this recipe before when we don’t want to use so many eggs and it turns out just as well.
Make sure you pull the baking dish out of the oven right when the butter is melted otherwise you can burn it.
Any leftovers can be stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator and reheated in the microwave for 30 seconds.
More Like This
Looking for more delicious breakfast dishes? You’ll love these!
- Pumpkin Pancakes with Pancake Mix
- Raspberry Pastry Braid
- Crustless Broccoli and Ham Quiche
- Scrambled Eggs with Zucchini
FAQs
One of the differences between German pancakes and regular pancakes is the cooking method. Regular pancakes are cooked on the stovetop or on a griddle and are flipped once to cook both the top and bottom. German pancakes are cooked in the oven and don’t require any flipping.
Another difference is the ingredients. Traditional pancake batter uses a leavening agent like baking soda or baking powder to create a fluffy result, while German pancake batter contains a lot of eggs and no leavening agent. This makes the German pancake dense and eggy, with a puffy edge.
You can eat German pancakes with any traditional breakfast side like scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, hash browns, or fruit.
As far as what to eat ON the German pancakes, the traditional topping is a little lemon juice and then sprinkled powdered sugar, but we also use maple syrup, hazelnut spread, jam, fresh fruit, and whipped cream!
Sadly, no.
German pancakes were probably derived from the German Pfannkuchen, but the current recipe originated in the United States in the early 1900’s at Manca’s Cafe in Seattle, Washington.
I hope your family loves these German Oven Pancakes! If you make it, be sure to take a picture and tag me on Instagram with @ashcroftfamilytable and use the hashtag #ashcroftfamilytable!
And if you’d like to get a 4-week meal plan featuring my recipes, just enter your email in the form above and you’ll get it straight to your inbox!
Easy German Oven Pancakes
Ingredients
- ¼ cup butter
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Add butter to a 9 x 13 baking dish and then place dish in the oven to melt the butter. Remove the pan as soon as the butter has melted.
- While the butter is melting, blend eggs, milk, flour, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla in a blender until well combined.
- Carefully pour the batter into the buttered pan.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Rhyann Stauffer
Thursday 16th of June 2022
I've made this a couple times for dinner and my husband and kiddos love it. So much easier than making regular pancakes but unfortunately no leftovers because it's that good!
Jessica Ashcroft
Thursday 16th of June 2022
I agree with both comments Rhyann! So much easier than pancakes and we never have leftovers either. So glad your family likes them! It's great to hear from you :)