German Apple Pancake – Barefeet in the Kitchen

Forget about leftovers with this recipe for German Apple Pancakes. You won’t believe how easy it is to make such a delicious breakfast treat.

German pancake with apples

I added apples to a batch of these pancakes for the first time over ten years ago and my family went absolutely crazy over them. I made this recipe one morning a couple of weeks ago to reshoot the photos and fell in love with these pancakes all over again.

I enjoyed the German Apple Pancakes so much, I’ve already made them again for a family dinner. Whether it’s my grandmother’s traditional recipe or a grain-free and gluten-free variation, we just love German pancakes.

For a fun change, try making miniature German pancakes in a muffin tin or Cranberry Almond German Pancakes during the holidays. (You know I can never get enough cranberry recipes!) No matter how you make them, they are always delicious.

My grandmother passed down a recipe for a sweet orange sauce that has become traditional in my family when eating German pancakes. I love this sauce, both because it’s delicious, and because it reminds me of her.

But, honestly, I like these German pancakes with apples on their own the best. Sweet enough from the apples, all the finished pancake needed was a light dusting of powdered sugar. (My kids sure love them with a drizzle of maple syrup.)

A word of warning when you make the apples for these pancakes, you may want to make a side dish. It’s hard to resist tasting some straight from the pot – just try not to eat them all before you can bake the pancakes!

Apple Dutch Baby

Depending on where you are from, you may know these pancakes by a different name. I’ve heard them called dutch babies and dutch puffs, and they’re also pretty similar to popovers.

The Dutch Baby Apple Pancake highlights the wonderful sweetness and flavor of the fruit, like you might find in an apple pie. But the Dutch apple recipe for babies has much less added sugar.

We may have different names for this recipe, but anyone who tastes a Dutch apple pancake calls it delicious. Light and airy because of the way the egg puffs up in the oven, and with an endless variety of toppings available, this is a breakfast I happily eat as often as possible.

German apple pancake recipe

To make this recipe you will need the following ingredients:

• Apple
• lemon juice
• milk
• eggs
• butter
• flour
• salt and ground cinnamon
• Light brown sugar and powdered sugar

To start this recipe, preheat the oven to 500°F. Add the apples, sugar, cinnamon and lemon juice to a small pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until golden – about 5 minutes.

While the apples are cooking, whisk together the flour, salt and milk. Add the eggs, then whisk again and set aside. Place the butter in a glass pie plate and melt it in the oven, this should take about 2 minutes.

When the butter has melted, carefully remove the hot dish from the oven and turn it with your hands to coat the bottom and sides. Add the apples to the plate and spread them on the bottom. Pour the pancake mixture over the apples.

Return the pan to the oven and lower the heat to 425 degrees Celsius. Bake for 18 minutes; The sides of the pancake will rise to the edge of the pie plate and brown a little.

Remove from the oven and place a large plate on the pancake. Turn the pie pan over on the plate to release the pancake. Dust them generously with powdered sugar, slice and serve.

I triple this recipe for my family and it easily serves six. When making this, I divide the triple recipe between a pie plate (⅓ of the mixture) and a 9×13 baking dish (2/3 of the mixture).

German apple fritters

If you liked this German Apple Pancake, and you want to try some other apple breakfasts, you have to try this Old Fashioned Apple Crisp. It’s really wonderful. (And yes, apple crisp can be breakfast. Oats + apples = my way to start the day.)

You might also like this Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal recipe. (I love a hearty bowl of hot, steaming oats!) But I also love the texture that oats get when they’re baked, like baked oats in apple pie.

I am considering these Apple Cinnamon Muffins For my next breakfast. The recipe reminds me of banana bread, which I love.

{Originally published 7/12/12 – recipe notes and photos updated 5/10/23}