German Pancake with Butter Syrup
This easy German pancake recipe is a breakfast staple! Five basic ingredients for a perfect baked pancake. Those craggy, golden edges are the best!
This simple German pancake is a staple breakfast around here, especially on the weekend!
Puffy and golden, it’s a classic, and this recipe has been in our family for years.
Blender Recipe
Five basic ingredients go into a blender:
- eggs
- milk
- vanilla
- salt
- flour
Process until smooth and well-combined. You don’t want to over blend here, but at the same time, you don’t want flour bits and lumps.
Best Pan for German Pancake
I always use a glass 9X13-inch dish for this recipe.
I’ve tried baking in a metal pan, and while it worked ok, it was much harder to clean the metal pan of the egg-based batter than the glass pan.
A cast iron skillet could also be used, although you’d likely need to cut down the recipe to use for a 9- or 10-inch skillet.
One word of caution for glass pans: after removing the baked pancake from the oven, ALWAYS set the hot glass pan on a trivet or hot pad and NOT on a cold countertop (even if it’s a material that can withstand heat). I’ve learned the hard way that the glass pan will shatter in to a million pieces.
Puffy Golden Pancake
German pancakes are notorious for their puffy, golden edges and wavy middles.
Our house is deeply divided on which section is best. Several of us fight over the craggy edges while the others try to sneak seconds on a middle piece before anyone notices.
Three Tips for the Puffiest German Pancake
- Blend the batter until very well-combined.
- Pour the batter into a warm, buttered pan (not a cold pan).
- Bake in a hot 425 degree F oven.
What to Serve with German Pancake
This German pancake is delicious served with maple syrup, jam, or a sprinkle of powdered sugar.
But when we’re feeling like we want to treat ourselves in a special way, I’ll make the buttermilk syrup featured here. It’s also included with the recipe below.
It may seem unusual to simmer butter, buttermilk, baking soda, and sugar together to make syrup, but I promise it works.
I mean, if you are morally opposed to eating caramel for breakfast, you might want to look away, but otherwise, this is the breakfast dreams are made of.
A Special Breakfast
Brian makes this recipe more often than I do. It’s his signature recipe for weekend breakfasts, and we all love him for it.
For our family of seven, one pan isn’t enough anymore. So we (or rather, Brian) doubles the recipe and splits between two 9X13-inch pans.
It’s gobbled up lickety split, and it will definitely be a recipe that is passed down to future generations!
One Year Ago: Amazing Romaine Salad with Light Poppy Seed Vinaigrette
Two Years Ago: Stir-Fried Broccoli with Brown Rice {Meat Optional}
Three Years Ago: Cinnamon Roll Sugar Cookies
Baked German Pancake
Ingredients
For the Pan:
- 2 to 4 tablespoons butter
Pancake:
- 6 large eggs
- 1 cup milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup (142 g) all-purpose or white whole wheat flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Syrup:
- 1 cup (212 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ½ cup (113 g) salted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- For the pancake: preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Put the butter in a glass 9X13-inch baking dish and pop the pan in the oven while it preheats (if it's taking a while to mix up the batter, keep an eye on the dish so the butter doesn't burn; take it out when the butter is melted). Swirl the melted butter to coat the bottom of the 9X13-inch pan and set aside.
- Combine all the pancake ingredients in a blender and process until smooth and well-combined, 20-30 seconds.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and immediately return to the oven. Bake for 20 minutes until the pancake is puffy and lightly browned on the bottom and edges.
- Serve immediately with jam, butter syrup, maple syrup or whatever else your heart desires.
- For the syrup: in a larger than you think saucepan (it will foam and triple in volume at the end), combine the sugar, buttermilk and butter and bring to a boil, stirring often. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5-7 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the vanilla and baking soda until well-combined. Serve warm over pancakes. For an extra caramelly version, add the baking soda at the beginning with the buttermilk.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: pancake recipe from my Aunt Marilyn, syrup a combined recipe from Aunt Marilyn + Lindsay, a reader who emailed me her favorite butter syrup recipe eons ago
My husband loves these so much, we have them almost every Sunday after church 🙂 We also like to sprinkle on powdered sugar and lemon juice! Whipping cream on top of that is delicious, too– it tastes like a lemon cream pie.
We make this same syrup but instead of vanilla use 1/2 tsp of coconut flavoring (and 1/2 tsp of baking soda – I’ll have to try it with the full 1 tsp). So so Yummy!!!
I made this this morning for my son’s birthday breakfast and it turned out very eggy. Never had a German pancake before, so maybe they’re supposed to be eggy? Luckily I had some waffles in the freezer. 🙂
Yes, since the base of the batter is made of a lot eggs, the baked pancake is definitely on the eggy side.
If we make it again I might just go crazy and top it with veggies and cheese instead of syrup!
I’m making it! I made the dutch one, but not german. And I live in Germany now 🙂
We just had this for dinner and was amazing! Kids were over the moon. Only had 1/2 cup of white sugar for the syrup after I had pancakes already in the oven (arg) so subbed in 1/2 cup brown and was magical anyway! Will have to try again after we have the right amount of white- but as it was- this is a keeper. THANKS!
I know this is a long shot, but any idea on how this would work with a gluten free flour blend?
I haven’t tried it gluten-free but I think it stands a good chance of working (or at least experimenting!).
It works fairly well, since it’s a low flour yield. Good luck!
I have made a similar recipe with gluten free “cup for cup” type flour. It’s still delicious. There are never leftovers for our family of 3! It doesn’t get AS light and puffy as white flour, but I’ve eaten bread that tastes like cardboard as my only option. This is AMAZING.
Works well. My daughter is GF and I make this for her any time she stays overnight. It’s her go to breakfast from mom. I use King Arthur GF flour. It’s a little denser but we don’t mind that.
my kids love those and we call them hootinanies which is even more fun 🙂
This made me smile! My husband (who loves to cook) doesn’t seem to find much time these days to cook. If you ask my children (who didn’t get to see him cooking up a storm during our early years of marriage), the one thing Dad is known for in the kitchen is this exact same thing! He serves it with lots of powdered sugar and fresh squeezed lemon. It is typically the dish served the morning of a sleepover. He is now known outside of our household for this specialty. Another child who hasn’t experienced it approached my husband on the playground b/c he had heard of the epic deliciousness. Love that your husband has the same rock star ability!
Mel – since I am not one to comment often. Let me take the opportunity to say THANK YOU! My family loves your recipes. My sister pointed me your way and we have never, ever been disappointed. If I say “this is from Mel”, my family knows they are going to love it. I am not exaggerating when I say you make at least a weekly appearance at our dinner table if not more. As a working mom of two children with lots of activities, knowing that your recipes will be straightforward and delicious is more than I could ask for!
Thank you so much, Eliza!
Dinner tonight–thanks!
When I saw the syrup made the blog this morning, I might have cheered and then immediately texted my sister and husband bragging about my new-found fame. Haha! You’re basically my kitchen idol, so I was pretty excited! I’m curious what cooking the syrup longer does? I usually only let it boil about a minute, but I will try 7 next time, with these German pancakesI I know I’ve said this before, but I use your almost blog every day. Yesterday I made roasted cauliflower and this morning your newer applesauce muffins. So thanks for all the work you put into your blog–it is always my go-to for something delish!
Hey Lindsay! I was hoping you’d see this post. I’ve always made a similar buttermilk syrup and it boils for 7 minutes so I make this version the same way. It might be my imagination but I think it makes it slightly thicker and richer. 🙂
That’s good enough for me! I’ll try it next time! Thanks. 🙂
Plus, I’m getting a kick (from here and the comments on Instagram) about all the alternate names. Love it!
You guys are killing me with all your variations. Yum! We do the lemon juice/powdered sugar number on ebelskivers but it looks like we need to introduce our German pancakes to the same deal. And I love the idea of baking the batter in muffin cups. Thanks for chiming in! Gosh, I love you guys.
I LOVE german pancakes, my mom made them about once a week when I was a kid. I always put powdered sugar and fresh squeezed lemon on them. However, I have to say that your buttery syrup sounds amazing. I might just change my ways and try it. I’m so glad you shared this because since I’m a grown up now, my mom is no longer making me breakfast, I sort of forget about this breakfast delight.
Thumbs up from another of your male readers!
Hey, Nick! 🙂
We love to add sliced apples, that have been cooked with butter and brown sugar on top. It’s a German Apple Pancake.
These are my kids favorite! We always have them for our “friend” Christmas breakfast:)
Butter syrup is the best!
This also happens to be my husband’s go to breakfast. He likes to make them in a jumbo muffin pan and then they become little cups that the kids can fill with fresh fruit and whip cream, jam, or lemon juice and powder sugar. YUMMO!
4-4-1-1 German PANCAKES We have these almost every week.
Oven 400, 4 eggs, 1 c flour, 1 c milk. Add vanilla and pinch salt. I use 2 frypans
heated w lots of butter rolled around, before pouring in the egg mixture. We put lots of powdered sugar and 2 whole lemons squeezed over them making a glaze. YUMMM.
Exactly the recipe that I have in a German cookbook but they called it Flaffle. We just call it wonderful. Has been a favorite in our home for the last 25 years and mostly have it with fresh lemons and powder sugar. Only difference is our book calls for 425. Will have to try the butter syrup
I adore German pancakes. They are also great with lemon juice and powdered sugar. I’ve made the same buttermilk syrup recipe often, but it turns out a darker caramel color. I wonder if it’s because I add the baking soda in the beginning with the rest of the ingredients? I only boil for 4-5 minutes. I think I like the lighter color better so will have to try adding the baking soda at the end.
we cook ours at 450 for 15 ,minutes….it puffs up high….
German pancakes are one of our favorite meals for breakfast, and breakfast for dinner. My husband grew up eating them all the time, so they’re a staple for us now!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
ps…….we use half butter and half olive oil
and no vanilla………in fact we don’t even put
syrup on, we like them plain!!
We call them Hootenanny’s.
Would be interested to see the whole grain version…….I have made our recipe with white whole wheat flour and it does not rise/puff at all…….
Haha this reminds me so much of my family!!! I have twin uncles, who we actually live with right now (and my grandparents too, but that’s not important), but this is the ONLY thing they make (other than frozen pizza a cereal lol)!!! It is so funny because when they make it it always tasted better than when we do lol. And they make the butter syrup too (except we call it buttermilk syrup).
My dad’s claim to fame is Kraft Mac n Cheese with cut up hot dogs or, if he was feeling really fancy, ground beef. So I applaud Bart’s efforts!
I’ve never made German Pancakes – we’re addicted to your oatmeal pancakes. But with your go-ahead to use whole wheat flour, I think we’ll give them a shot this week!
We made this for dinner last week. Breakfast for dinner is always a fav at our house. Will have to try it with the syrup next time and with the whole wheat. I have never done that. Thanks Mel/Brian and Go Bart Go! My husband’s legacy is aebelskivers 🙂
This is too funny. I made a german pancake yesterday with almond milk and the taste was (obviously) a little different. As I sat there eating it, I thought to myself, “I wonder why Mel has never posted anything like a german pancake. I wonder what variations she would dare to try.”
MMMMMmm! Have to say I love the idea of one pan and done- no flipping. Printing it out. 😀
This is my Yorkshire Pudding recipe minus the vanilla. We make it with a roast dinner and top with gravy! Heavenly!!
Funny timing, Heather! I decided to make Yorkshire pudding last night VERY last minute with our roast beef and gravy and as I was whipping it up (just grabbed a recipe from trusty Joy of Cooking) I thought, Hmmm, this is shockingly similar to our German pancakes. 🙂
This looks delicious! Since there are just two of us, do you think it would be possible to make half and bake in an 8″ square pan or an 11 x 7 dish? Thanks!
Yes, it works with half recipe….
Yes! Halving it works great. I’d suggest using an 8X8.
We like them a little thicker and usually make this same full recipe in an 8×8 or 11×7. I usually cook them around 30 min,maybe a smidge more if needed. Adding 1tsp sugar to the mix can make the top have a yummy crisp to it.
We grew up eating German pancake baked with peaches thrown in and topped with powdered sugar when it was done cooking. So yummy good (although I picked out the peaches).
Are these also called Dutch baby’s?
Yep.
I have no idea why my first comment disappeared into cyberspace. Anyway, I grew up eating German pancakes. They are simple AND delicious! Two things that make a great recipe in my book. My mom would serve them with warm homemade applesauce with cinnamon mixed in. That was a piece of heaven on a plate. During peach season, making German pancakes with fresh peaches on top was a must. I often make sautéed cinnamon apples to serve along with these. The addition of white whole wheat flour and butter syrup looks like a must try for breakfast very soon.
I’m excited to make these with whole wheat flour. I’ve never been brave enough to try. We call them puff pancakes in our house or ‘puffers’ for short. I’ve always made mine in our non-stick skillet. I’m going to have to give the 9 x 13 a try. Thanks for all your great recipes, some of our new family favourites are from your site:)
We too love German Pancakes. I think that the kids would love butter syrup and me too, so we’ll have to try that for a special occasion. My husband has the same problem as you, but all of my brothers cook and enjoy it.
Mel, next time leave the butter in the oven until it’s hot and bubbly, and slightly browned. It’s AMAZING!
That’s what we do too.
German pancakes were my family’s go-to for birthday breakfasts and Christmas morning, and now I make them at least a couple of times a month for my family. I use lots more butter (6 Tbsp.) and up the flour and milk to 1 1/2 cups, and the eggs to 9. For a fun variation, try adding orange zest to the batter. It’s delicious!
My son-in-law made this for us and I LOVE them. He taught us to sprinkle with powdered sugar and squeeze lemon juice over. DELICIOUS!!!!
Oh Mel, I’m loving that you have gone a little ‘retro’ lately … Jello, rice Krispy treats, and now this !!! I’ve wanted to ask you for as long as I’ve been reading this blog why Gernan Pancake was not on the breakfast rotation … Honestly it’s my kids favorite and first request when I ask what they want for breakfast … And it’s my go to on Saturday’s that are filled with a day of sports …or any other day that I want to load my kiddos up on protein … I’m even known to sometimes make it with 9 eggs, 1 1/2 cups of milk and 1 1/2 cups of flour in an 11x 15 pan…. No leftovers !! We too, occasionally, enjoy it with the butter/buttermilk syrup (my hubby’s favorite). And of course, it’s one of the first things each of my kids are learning to make as they venture into the world of cooking…. My missionary makes it … And sends photos of it :-). I love this post… A little glimpse into your world … My hubby too doesn’t get much kitchen time.. And when he does it usually involves breakfast ❤️
These look so delicious, and a perfect way to have pancakes without standing over a griddle forever.
You had me at butter syrup. Definitely going to try this next weekend (if I can get up early enough before my hangry toddler wakes up). Thanks for sharing!
My husband’s family calls these Inky Monsters, no idea why but it’s so much more fun to say we are having Inky Monsters than German pancakes so it’s stuck with our boys too.
I grew up eating German pancakes. The butter syrup looks really good. I’ll have to give it a try. One of my favorite ways to eat them is with fresh peaches, sautéed cinnamon apples or just warmed cinnamon applesauce.
A woman I serve with in church just made german pancakes in cupcake pans and they were incredible! The edge is always the best part and so this way, everyone gets an edge and a nice fluffy middle. They were amazing and I plan to make them that way from now on! I will have to try it with whole wheat flour now. Thanks!!
Yes! The edges are the best.
Sounds like a great way to prepare them. Thanks for the tip!
You literally read my mind. I have been wondering if whole wheat flour would work for these. And to take the butter syrup to the next level add a tsp of coconut extract in place of the vanilla. It’s so good, I can’t go back to just vanilla!
The coconut sounds delicious (although we would be a house divided on the matter). The whole wheat flour is delicious – the pancakes are tad less light but we still love them.
I agree with the Coconut extract! It’s amazing. And even most non coconut lovers like it because it doesn’t have coconut texture.
I have been making these for years. We eat them almost every weekend and sometimes during the week for dinner. I use my electric hand mixer to beat the batter instead of the blender. Often I am using the blender to make smoothies. I make the syrup sometimes but most often we use maple syrup. They are also great with powered sugar and fresh lemon juice. To make it go farther I add an extra egg. The whole family loves these and I love getting to sit down to breakfast instead of flipping pancakes.
This looks so fantastic. A great choice for breakfast this weekend. I was happy to see there was not too much butter in the pancake (although I think the 2 T. is missing from the ingredient list), but the syrup looks decadent! Can’t wait to make. Wow, 8 1/2 years goes by fast. I am curious what your first post was–do you remember–I would love to check it out! So many years of fun with you, Mel!
I’ve actually deleted some of my very first posts (they were so bad!) and hidden others in the archives. 🙂 But this lemon pound cake is right around the first. I hope you still love me.
How long will the leftover syrup last?
A week or so in the fridge (we warm it up as we need it).
Mel. Please tell Bart about EBELSKIEVER , the danish pancake balls. He can learn how by YOUTUBE, the kids can help. Ingebretsens scanddinavian center has a store in mpls,mn and wisconsin. I recomend taking the whole family there and sampling everything and bring home a EBELSKIEVER pan. Fun deciding what to hide in the pancake ball. I love berries. from minnesota jade sharp
I’ve made your rollup blender pancakes which are my favourite till now. But I really need to try this, it looks so yummy.
Your writing always brings forth an inner smile. Never had a German pancake and I have never heard of butter syrup. Like Bart, I learn so much from following your blog. I like the fact that the pancake is done in a blender and is baked so requires no constant attention or flipping. Saturday is our “special breakfast morning” and I’ll let you know how well received butter syrup is in our home.