German Pancakes with Easy Buttermilk Syrup is another tried-and-true recipe from Grandma Beautiful! My dad was a surgeon in the military long ago, and for awhile, he was based in Augsburg, Germany. Oh my heavens, did that experience impact their lives! Both my parents promptly fell in LOVE with the charming people, history, culture and food of Deutschland. I’m pretty sure in another life they had to be German, and we grew up with a distinct Deutsch flair in our lives. My closet was filled with dirndls and boiled wool capes, our Christmas mantle was laden with nutcrackers and smokers, we grew up on schnitzel, rotkohl and spaetzle, and we were all required to take German language classes throughout our public school years. One of my favorite German experiences was taking my mom back to the “old country” after my dad passed away, to visit one of her very dear friends, Frau Brendle. They were like two young school girls, laughing and chatting away about old friends and memories. Being in Bavaria made my mom’s eyes sparkle like I’ve never seen. Sehr schön!
While other countries, such as Norway, Sweden and Holland, claim this recipe to be theirs, our family is pretty adamant that these “pfannkuchen” are GERMAN! But wherever they originate, these airy puff pancakes are truly a breakfast treat. Served with homemade buttermilk syrup, and YUM!!! Breakfast perfection. They are our family’s traditional Christmas morning breakfast ever since I can remember. Make the syrup days in advance…It keeps well in the fridge. And you might have to taste a spoonful every day…or every few hours…just because it’s the right thing to do. Something that good shouldn’t just sit in the fridge for days without any attention!
The pancakes are a different story. Whip up the batter and have your forks ready as the kitchen timer counts down! They puff up in the oven, and then collapse after a few minutes. No worries, though…they are delicious even as they deflate. Mmmmm…call the family to the kitchen and channel your inner German with a quick batch of pfannkuchen!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup flour
- 1 Tbsp. sugar
- 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 square unsalted butter
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 2 tsps. pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Put butter in 9x13 pan, and place in oven. When butter is melted, take hot pan out of oven.
- Add all other ingredients to mixer and whip on medium high speed until well-blended.
- Pour into pan and place in middle of hot oven.
- Bake 15-20 minutes, until sides are puffed up and pancake just begins to turn golden brown.
- Serve immediately.
- Combine buttermilk, butter and sugar in medium saucepan.
- Cook on medium heat until butter melts and mixture begins to boil.
- Boil for 2 minutes.
- Take off heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla.
- Serve warm.
7 Comments
What a beautiful looking dish! I’ll take a plate of those please!
Kari
http://www.sweetteasweetie.com
Kari, thanks so much! Best part…super easy prep and so yummy! Happy holidays:)
This looks so good! I always see recipes for puffed pancakes made in cast iron skillets, which look great but would definitely not be enough food for my family 😉 Making it in a big pyrex is genius! I also loved the story behind the dish. It’s always fun to share family recipes.
Valentina, you’re so right! This is the practical version big enough for a family. Hope you love it. Happy holidays and happy baking!
My mouth is literally watering looking at these. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
xo,
Kristie
Kristie’s Reverie
Oh Yum! I really want to try these, they remind me of some Austrian dish I used to make a long time ago 🙂
What Austrian dish was it? Give these a try…your kiddos will LOVE them!