German Apple Pancake (Pfannekuchen)

It's a perfectly cold and windy fall day here.  Despite the calendar, our chickens continue to give us three eggs a day.  We have plenty of beautiful apples around.  And I've been wanting to make a pfannekuchen, and decided that, having an idle Monday morning, I'd go ahead and experiment with this recipe that looked to be simple and tasty.  

This isn't an American pancake.  Apples are sauteed with butter and cinnamon in a cast-iron pan,  batter is poured over it and it is finished up in the oven.  A squirt of lemon juice, some powdered sugar and you have a rich, eggy, delicious breakfast that is super easy to make. I wish I had tried this recipe when it first came on my radar, about 15 years ago.

Pfannekuchen (adapted from Gourmet magazine)

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, divided

1 large sweet apple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch-wide wedges (I used an organic Fuji apple)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 TB raw or turbinado sugar

1/2 cup milk (2% is fine)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

4 large eggs

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

Fresh lemon juice and confectioners sugar

1. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F. 

2. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in skillet over moderate heat. Add apple wedges to skillet and cook, turning over once, until beginning to soften, 3 to 5 minutes.Sprinkle with cinnamon and turbinado sugar.

3.  While apple is cooking, add milk, 2 tablespoons melted butter,  flour, eggs, granulated sugar, vanilla, and salt to blender and blend until smooth. 

4.  Pour batter over apple and transfer skillet to oven. Bake until pancake is puffed and golden, about 15 minutes. Dust with confectioners sugar, squeeze on some fresh lemon juice and serve immediately.