Sow's Ear Baked Apple Pancake

So, I didn't technically clip this recipe from the Los Angeles Times. Those Best American Recipe ladies did, four years ago. They didn't know where the recipe came from (whether The Sow's Ear was the restaurant the pancake came from, or whether sow's ear just referred to the pancake's appealingly floppy shape), and neither do I. But I'm telling you, this might be my new favorite dessert. It's definitely getting laminated. Going in the Hall of Fame. Getting made over and over again. I love this recipe.

You know those gloriously puffy Dutch babies? They're like a sugar-doused Yorkshire pudding or popover - towering mile-high in the oven, gilded with melted butter, light as a dream. Well, this apple pancake is a close cousin to those, only it's been dolled up for the dessert table, with a fillip of cinnamon, a dash of vanilla, and thin, tender slices of apple studded throughout.

After a square meal last night of pork chops and winter squash (more on those another time) and a salty-sour fennel salad, I cleared the table and prepared the simple batter as my friend Barbara and I continued our conversation (men and women, Mars and Venus, that sort of thing). I beat together some skim milk, several eggs, a spoonful of sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt and melted butter. While the oven heated and more butter melted in my cast-iron skillet, I made quick work of the two apples.

I sauteed the sliced apples in the melted butter before pouring in the thin batter and sprinkling the top with brown sugar (I was disorganized and didn't measure the sugar, so I think I actually used less than called for - and it was perfect. The lesson here: use your sweet-tooth as judgment). The whole pan went into the oven while I washed up our dinner dishes. Exactly 23 minutes later, I opened the oven to find a puffed, burnished cloud of apples and pancake. Pulling that hot, heavy pan out of the oven was an ordeal (use two hands, friends - both clothed in oven mitts, please), but I managed to bring it to the table, dust it beautifully with powdered sugar (a lot less than called for - maybe only one tablespoon?) and thoroughly impress Barbara.

We dug into this beauty of a dessert to find a soft and yielding pancake base - in parts custardy, like a far breton or a clafoutis, but also with crispy, feathery edges - and silky, tender, gently spiced apples. The brown sugar had caramelized in spots, which added deeper flavors and a fantastic textural note. And even better, after an overnight rest in the fridge (removed from the skillet), the pancake sort of settled in on itself, became fudgy and dense. This, with a glass of cold milk, made a superb weekend breakfast.

I can't wait to make this again. But today and tomorrow, with Ben out of town, I get all the leftovers to myself. Glory, glory, glory! Have a wonderful long weekend, everyone.

Baked Apple Pancake
Serves 6

5 tablespoons butter, melted, divided
3 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour
2 small apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons brown sugar, lightly packed
3 tablespoons powdered sugar

1. Heat the oven to 450°. Combine 2 tablespoons of melted butter with the eggs, milk, granulated sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, salt and flour. Mix the batter by hand or in a food processor. Set aside.

2. Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter with the apple slices in a 10-inch oven-proof skillet until the apples are sizzling and slightly cooked. Pour in the batter. Sprinkle the top with brown sugar and bake until well browned and puffed, 20 to 25 minutes.

3. Dust with powdered sugar. Cut into wedges and serve immediately.

Comments

[Tanna]

Ok, I think I get this picture. Print out. Bake.

[deb]

Ahem. You get the leftovers all to yourself? Fine, be that way. I love love love this addition to the tradition, it puts my Murray's bagel breakfast to shame. Gorgeous!

[Honeybee]

That looks perfect. I wouldn't mind some just right now, actually...

[Alanna]

Gorgeous! And I'm reading on Sunday, no less ... appropriate since this was often "Sunday Supper" when I was growing up, no square meal required. ;-)

[RA]

Oh my goodness, yum. First Deb with her quiche and now you with dessert! Sign me up! Luckily, the husband doesn't think that fruit goes in dessert (boo), so I would get it all for me... oh, yes.

[Natalia]

Beautiful writing. I feel like I just one! But of course I have not and now I really, really need to!

[aliza]

Barbara is one lucky friend! I need to pass your blog around to *my* freinds so I can be a lucky freind too!

[Frank in Austin]

I don't cook many desserts, but this one looks great, so I will try soon!
Cheers!

[Lia]

This sounds amazing. Brazil was great, but I'm ready to start cooking for myself again!

[lobstersquad]

have fallen in love with that skillet. must have one inmediately.

[Lydia]

My dessert repertoire is limited, but this looks like one I can add to my list of desserts I'm willing to try to make. Thanks!

[Patricia Scarpin]

Luisa, what a delicious suggestion.

I love recipes with baked apples, and if there's cinnamon I surrender.

[Eileen]

Apple pancake... Yum...

[ann]

omg, that sounds delicious.
My mom used to make us dutch babies for both dinner and dessert, usually with canned peaches or stewed apples like this or some savory concoction... so good... so very very good... i should make one of those, i've never tried...

[deb]

I made this Monday morning and it was awesome. I can't believe I held out a whole day before making it. Can you imagine it with strawberries? Blueberries, bananas or pears? I'm itching to try all these versions. Um, now.

[Astrid]

Just discovered your blog. Thanks for this great recipe, it sounds incredible!

[Ani]

I love puffed apple pancakes. I have a similar recipe. I posted the pick a bit ago with how mine came out.

[erika]

I have all those ingredients on hand and I'm heading downstairs to bake. Right. Now.

[Finest Wine Racks]

I have personally prepared this recipe in the past. Tip: the recipe calls for THINLY sliced apples. I have found the thinner the better!

Ken

[marie]

Just discovered your blog and this recipe looked easy and delicious. I tried it. Didnt enjoy it as much as I thought I would... First off it was really really thin, flat actually after it deflated. It was kind of sweet yet bland... It needed more "ummph" and perhaps doubling the apple quantity and the batter quantity would have given it more substance. Perhaps this was the desired outcome tho?

[Nancy]

We have a restaurant in the Chicago Area called Walker Brother's Restaruant that serves the best Apple Pancakes...that is until I tried this one. Much less sugar and more dough. Just what a gal likes.

[liz]

Thank you for that recipe -- it was delicious. My husband, two teenage boys and I made short work of it (eating it -- I had to cook it by myself) after dinner tonight. I was hoping for leftovers but there were none. They wanted me to make another one but I didn't have enough apples. Next time I will have to scale it to my 14-inch pan.

[Emily]

I love your blog and have whole list of recipes from it that I want to try. One question about the sow ear's pancake: are you supposed to heat the butter and apples on the stovetop or in the oven? We tried the former this morning and it ended up being a little overdone even though we only cooked it for 20 minutes.

[Beth]

I've been wanting to make something like this for about, oh, 20 years and I finally made it tonight. It was fantastic. I had to use bread flour (so I added a pinch of baking powder) and I upped the cinnamon and added nutmeg, mace and ginger. That combination of spices is both delicate and earthy. What a thing of beauty to watch it rising in the oven, and the curling up around the edges. I'm not a baker (more a cooker), so I impressed myself. Ummm...I also almost half of it myself ....instead of waiting for my main man to come and share it with me. It was that beautiful!
The texture crisp at the edges, and the inside varied between cake-like, bread-like and eggy-custardy. I had to put it up to the broiler to do the final browning just for a minute or so....and next time I would sprinkle some spice directly onto the apples as well (rather than just in the batter). THANKS FOR REMINDING ME TO MAKE THIS!!!

[Jillian]

In answer to the post asking whether the apples and butter need to be heated on the stove or in the oven: ON THE STOVE TOP!

It's so much easier that way. Then you just pour the batter on top and pop it into the preheated oven.
Easy and delish!

[Georgia]

Can keep comments focussed on cooking questions or to share result of people who have actually tried the recipe?????

It's so annoying to have to skim through a dozen messages that essentially say that it SOUNDS like a good recipe and that they WOULD LIKE TO TRY IT SOME TIME.

Just go ahead and try it, and then share your comments - - telling us what worked and what didn't. Don't just gush on about the description, the photo or the recipe.