Dutch Baby Pancake with Frutti di Bosco Sauce
When I opened our window yesterday to take a peek at how the morning looks like with my eyes barely open, I saw everything in WHITE. It seemed like someone took a rubber eraser and erased the familiar framed world that I look at every single morning from my window. There was no other color except pristine white. It shook the morning cobwebs away from my head and my usual coffee that my husband takes to me was forgotten on the bedside table. I knew that snow was coming but to see it right infront of my eyes is just beautiful! Rome just received its first heavy snowfall after 26 years. We live at the outskirt of the city in the beach area so we didn't get the full impact but we got a fair share to enjoy. If you live in a place where you regularly get snow, I think your perspective about it is different from mine. I can imagine how you dread to look out your window every morning to see how much snow you have to shovel after your morning coffee.
Of course, I was looking at the bright side of this cold snap that hit the city and half of the country which by now is slowly crawling its way downwards to the south. On the gray side of it, paralysis had gripped the entire city with a lot of stuck commuters and motorists, potential icy road dangers, isolated places, and the list goes on. The message of the mayor simply goes to the point. Stay home unless you really need to go out. There's ice everywhere. In fact, schools and public offices are closed tomorrow.
With the freezing temperature, came a sweet breakfast that perfumed and warmed up the house with its wonderful baked scent. Dutch baby pancakes. I baked two and you know how big they are. They both disappeared fast. I made a quick frutti di bosco (mixed berries) sauce from some frozen berries I had in the freezer. And the other one, just a bottle of simple maple syrup. Sprinkled with powdered sugar sealed it to a delectable breakfast.
Three of the ingredients are,
Flour = farina.
sugar = zucchero.
Milk = latte.
When there is snow there are snowball fights. The kids won over us hands down. *Wink* Wink* There was snow, the sun was shining bright and snowballs were zipping left and right. At least the "media" (that's me) had the immunity to the chaos.
With it's rare occurrence, I am happy to have experienced it with my family. None of us, except my husband, experienced the 1986 phenomenon, but at 2012, all four us went out and took advantage of nature's atypicality.
Dutch baby pancakes and snow.
Dutch Baby Pancake with Frutti di Bosco Sauce
Ingredients:
Serves 2 - 3
- 3/4 cup flour
- 3/4 cup milk
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped out or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons butter
- Icing sugar for sprinkling
- Preheat the oven to 200°C.
- Meanwhile, combine the eggs, milk, flour, sugar, vanilla and salt in a blender and blend until smooth. You can also whisk this manually but putting everything in the blender is much faster and easier. Set the mixture aside.
- When the oven has already reached the right temperature, put the butter in an ovenproof cast iron skillet then put it in the oven until the butter melts. Swirl the butter around to distribute it around the skillet.
- Pour the batter in the skillet and put it back inside the oven. Cook for 20 - 25 minutes or until the Dutch Baby is puffed and golden brown.
- For the frutti di bosco sauce, put the berries in a small saucepan. Add water, 1-1/2 tablespoons sugar & a squeeze of lemon. Cook on low flame until the sauce starts to thicken. Let it cool.
- Garnish the Dutch Baby pancake with a dusting of powdered sugar or maple syrup or frutti di bosco sauce.
Frutti di Bosco (Berry) Sauce
Ingredients:
- 80 g. frutti di bosco (mixed berries)
- 1/8 cup water
- 1-1/2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
Directions:
- In a small saucepan over low - medium heat, combine the frutti di bosco, water, sugar and lemon.
- Cook on low flame until the sauce starts to thicken. Let it cool.