avocado toast dutch baby
If avocado toast and a pancake had a child, it would be Dutch, baby.
I am real excited for this one today, folks. Another incredible brunch, but for us salty people, inspired by one of my favorite stereotypical millennial dishes of which I will never tire despite its ubiquity.
Avocado toast is a standby I make at home most days, usually without frills or fuss – just toasty bread, mashed avo, salt, and red onions when I have them. Scramble up some eggs and you’re good as gold. This fancier rendition pays homage to the simplicity of a delightful avocado toast; but while it’s beautiful and elaborate puffs might trick some into thinking the method is difficult, I can tell you with the white flag raised that it is not at all.
I know some of ya’ll are looking for Father’s Day ideas, or just a new and funky weekend fixture to try with your friends. We’ve got here a fluffy, cheesy base infused with everything seasoning, lots of creamy avocado, colorful pickled red onions, a dollop of Greek yogurt or sour cream, and loads of fresh cracked black pepper. A stunning centerpiece for a spring or summer table, or a nice light dinner.
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Do It Like the Dutch
Dutch baby, German pancake, whatever you call it, the formula is the same. A smooth, whipped batter gets its characteristic lift from the eggs and from a smoking hot cast iron skillet preheated in a 450 degree oven.
The preheating is very important here – the pancake will not rise if you skip this step. I just leave the skillet in the oven while I prepare everything else.
Which brings me to key #2: have everything ready to go for baking. You have to work quickly in order to ensure the pan doesn’t cool too much (which won’t happen right away, but if you let the skillet sit, it will lose some of its hard-earned temperature).
The batter is very minimal: eggs, flour, milk, melted butter, and salt. Whip it up in a large bowl or even in your blender until very bubbly and totally smooth. You might need to scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice to ensure everything gets well incorporated.
Quick Now!
When your batter is at the ready and the cheese shredded and tossed with everything seasoning, it’s go-time, people.
Pull the skillet from the oven and toss in a couple more tablespoons of butter. Swirl it around carefully until it totally melts, then pour in the batter. Sprinkle the cheese evenly overtop – try not to let any big clumps accumulate in one spot. While the Dutch baby is in and of itself an easy affair, it will throw a tantrum if you treat it improperly. Kinda like an actual baby.
Bake the Dutch baby for about 18-20 minutes. DO NOT FOR ANY REASON OPEN THE OVEN DOOR THE FIRST 15 MINUTES OR ELSE IT WILL LOSE ITS POOF. The poof is the whole point of the pancake, so if you need to watch during that span, turn on your oven light. After 15, you’re free to check on the pancake to see its baking progress and admire all the dips and swivels.
The wondrous thing about the Dutch baby is that no two are exactly the same. The points of rise, and the aggression of such, varies between each batch. So long as the edges creep up your skillet and the center has some dunes to show for, you’ve done everything perfectly. Bravo, you sly dog, you.
To pull the whole dish together, arrange your sliced avocados and lots of pickled onions overtop. Drop a few spoonfuls of Greek yogurt or sour cream, sprinkle with cracked pepper, and drizzle with a good olive oil. The aesthetic is glorious, tempting, and incredibly colorful.
If you’d rather let individuals chose how they top their pancake, or if you plan leftovers, just serve all your avocado toast toppings on the side and let people pick and choose their amounts and styling and whathaveyou.
I ate this for dinner and served it along with a fresh tomato salad with cucumbers and the garlic dressing left from yesterday’s Marinated Tomato Caprese Salad. Fab. Shit, you can even use aforementioned dressing instead of Greek yogurt for the pancake itself.
If you’re making this for brunch, a good coffee is a must, and maybe some lightly dressed greens or fruit salad. Just have fun with it. That’s what cooking is all about, right?
Tried this recipe out? Leave a rating and comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!
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avocado toast dutch baby
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp butter, divided
- 4 eggs, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup all purpose flour
- 2/3 cup whole milk, at room temperature
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
- 1 tbsp everything seasoning
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 1/4 cup pickled red onions, plus more for serving
- extra virgin olive oil, fresh basil, cracked black pepper, and sour cream or Greek yogurt
Instructions
- Place a 10-inch cast iron skillet in the oven and preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in the microwave. In a large bowl, vigorously beat the butter with the eggs, flour, milk, and salt, until very frothy and smooth, about 1-2 minutes. There should be no large lumps in the batter.
- Toss the shredded cheese with the everything seasoning.
- Remove the skillet from the oven and quickly toss the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter into the pan, swirling around the bottom until the butter melts. Pour in the batter, then sprinkle the cheese mixture evenly overtop.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes until the pancake is very puffy and golden brown. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR IN THE FIRST 15 MINUTES OR ELSE YOU'LL HAVE A FLATASS PANCAKE.
- Top the pancake with the avocado slices, pickled red onions, and dollops of Greek yogurt. Sprinkle with flaky salt and black pepper, and drizzle with good olive oil. Alternatively, you can slice the Dutch baby and garnish each individual portion as desired.
