Saturdays and Sundays are about brunch. They’re about sleeping until noon, rolling out of bed, staying in your pajamas, and consuming massive amounts of syrup-soaked carbs and meaty bites like brown sugar bacon. If you’re feeling lazy, eggs will do, but if you want to take a little time and impart a little more effort, then sheer magic can be made in the form of a pancake. Tender apples get baked into a fluffy German style pancake that is finished in the oven which means no flipping required. While it bakes, sip some coffee and OJ, sit down and check the horrendous pictures of yourself and recount the night before, and bask in the smell of the melting cinnamon apples mere minutes away from your mouth. And when it’s done and you take it out of the oven, you top it with syrup and douse it in shakes of powdered sugar and pat yourself on the back for being the ultimate brunch beast.
Photo by Amanda Shulman
Apple Baby Pancake
About this recipe: Leave your laziness for later and embark on a pancake journey that will change your life. It’s the definition of fall combined with your favorite meal, so there’s no excuse to prolong this breakfast masterpiece any longer.
What you need:
3 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 apples, sliced thinly
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
maple syrup
powdered sugar
What to do:
1. Preheat the oven to 425ºF.
2. Melt the butter in a skillet on medium heat. Once almost fully melted, add the brown sugar. Lower heat, stir once, mixing the brown sugar in, and do not touch for about 2 minutes. The mixture should start bubbling and come together like a caramel.
3. Add the apples and toss them in the caramel so they are well coated. Cover the pan and cook until the apples are tender, about 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs in a medium bowl. Add the milk and vanilla, and gradually whisk in the flour and cinnamon.
5. Once the apples are tender, pour the contents of the pan into a bowl or side plate. Wipe down the same pan and spray with cooking spray or coat with oil. You want to give the pan a really nice non-stick coating because the caramel gets sticky and doesn’t like to come off!
6. Once you’ve done this, put the apple mixture back in the pan and reheat for about 1 minute. Pour the pancake batter directly on top of the apples. Let sit on medium heat for about 2 minutes, then put the pan directly into the oven.
7. Cook the pancake for 15 minutes on 425ºF, then turn the oven down to 375ºF and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Photo by Amanda Shulman
8. Top with copious and ridiculous amounts of maple syrup and powdered sugar.
Photo by Amanda Shulman