Emily Mohlmann

Dig It

Warning: Your mouth may water while reading and/or cooking this recipe. Apples and pancakes together in one dish? It sounds like a perfect combination.

You must be willing to put in a bit of work for this recipe. It takes about 50 minutes from switching on the oven to the first delightful bite.

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Apples

Peel, core and slice two large Fuji apples while the oven is warming. Three apples might seem like a good idea, but even with two, this pancake was overflowing with apples.

Gently melt two tablespoons of butter in a large (12") ovenproof skillet. I accidentally used three tablespoons of butter to cook the apples, but hey, you can never have too much butter. Add the apple slices and heat until tender, about 8 — 10 minutes. Add two tablespoons of the brown sugar and stir to combine; remove from heat.

Batter

It's best to prepare the batter while the apples are cooking. Whisk the eggs, granulated sugar, salt, milk and flour together in a bowl. After the apples have been removed from the heat, pour the mixture over them.

Bake in the oven until puffy, about 10 minutes. While the skillet is in the oven, mix the cinnamon and the remaining brown sugar together. Cut the remaining tablespoon of butter into small chunks. When the pancake puffs, remove it from the oven it and dot it with the butter chunks. Sprinkle with the cinnamon and brown sugar mixture. Then, return to the oven until browned, about 10 more minutes. Let set for five minutes and serve.

The Result

It took longer than 10 minutes for the apples to become tender, but would certainly go faster if the apples were sliced thinner. When combining the batter and apples, the batter was lumpy and did not completely cover the apples, but this did resolve some during the baking process.

The pancake looked delicious as it puffed up in the oven. The sweet aroma of brown sugar and cinnamon filled my kitchen, causing my roommates to peek in.

Once it reached a nice golden brown, and it came out of the oven once again. The most disappointing moment was watching the pancake deflate during its five minutes of cooling time.

Cutting the pancake into the eight recommended slices made the servings rather small. If it is the main course of a meal, it may be better to divide into four pieces.

My roommates and I poured syrup over it and were quite satisfied with the resulting taste. One of them thought it was "eggy," but I did not agree and went back for seconds.

If I were to make this recipe again, I would try adding walnuts. They would add a good crunch and flavor to this pancake. Also, try grade B maple syrup; it is darker and richer than grade A. While not many places carry this grade, it is worth the search.

Recipe courtesy of Inn at the Crossroads Bed and Breakfast, Charlottesville, Virginia.