My love for puff Dutch baby pancakes is well-documented, and today I'm excited to show you another variation on a food I love so much! This version is a puff pancake/Dutch baby with caramelized pears and vanilla. It's basically the perfect brunch to make just for yourself or to serve a group! It sounds a lot more intricate and difficult than it really is, but it's actually so easy to make — you're going to love it.
How to Make a Caramelized Pear & Vanilla Bean Dutch Baby
Here are my pears as they're caramelizing. I can practically smell them through this photo...The best! You can also caramelize pears and top some ice cream with them or add them to oatmeal, or even eat them on their own!
This is the vanilla bean paste I use. Another brand will do, or if you only have regular vanilla extract that will also still taste great. Vanilla bean paste adds another level of flavor that you don't get with vanilla extract, but you can't go wrong with either of them!
This is my dutch baby batter before I pour it over the pears. See how it's nice and smooth? Some people like to mix their Dutch baby batter in a blender, but I find this extra step really isn't necessary and doesn't make a difference in the final result.
Once you've poured the batter over the caramelized pears, you'll want to move the pears around a bit so they're evenly spaced in the skillet. I hadn't done that yet when I took this picture. Try to keep them flat and covered by the batter as well. Otherwise the edges might get a bit crispy when it cooks.
Caramelized Pear Puff Pancakes
Ingredients
Caramelized Pears
- 3 ripe Bartlett pears cored and cut into approx. ¼ inch slices
- 3 tablespoon butter
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- a splash lemon juice
Puff Pancake
- 2 tablespoon butter
- ½ cup flour
- ½ cup milk
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste* or more, to taste
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450F
For the Caramelized Pears
- Melt 3 tbsp. of butter in a large skillet. Once the butter is slightly foamy, add the brown sugar, cinnamon, and pears. Top with a splash of lemon juice. Cook on medium heat for about ten minutes, stirring every few minutes. The pears will be soft and caramelized (the sugar will get darker and thicker) once they're ready.
For the Puff Pancake
- In a large bowl, beat three eggs. Melt two tbsp. of melted butter and add this and all other puff pancake ingredients to the beaten eggs. Mix well until the consistency is smooth. Pour the puff pancake mix into the skillet with the caramelized pears.
- Move the pears around so they're evenly spaced within the puff pancake mix in the skillet. Place the skillet in the oven and cook for about 12 minutes, or until the puff pancake is raised and puffy and golden brown on the edges.
- Top with powdered sugar and syrup and enjoy! It will deflate quickly, but it still tastes great.
Notes
I hope you'll try this caramelized pear Dutch baby recipe out. I can't wait to hear what you think once you do!
xo - C
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