Puff pancake

Puff pancakes are very easy to make - all you have to do is mix up a simple batter, pour it into a hot, buttered baking dish, and bake. After about 15 minutes the pancake will have puffed up to extraordinary heights, making a grand (if short-lived) presentation. The finished pancake is sweet and buttery, with crispy edges and a soft center. Since we just had one of these for breakfast, it's this week's end-of-the-week recipe blogging post.

1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
4 large eggs
6 tablespoons butter

0) Preheat the oven to 425F.
1) To make the batter, whisk the flour, sugar, salt, eggs, and milk together until smooth.
2) Cut the butter into a few pieces, place in a 9x13" glass baking dish, and place the dish in the oven until the butter is melted (a few minutes).
3) Remove the baking dish from the oven. Carefully rotate the dish to coat the bottom and sides with melted butter. Buttering the sides thoroughly helps the pancake rise.
4) Pour the batter into the hot baking dish and bake for 15 minutes, or until the pancake has puffed up, the top edges of the pancake are well-browned, and the center of the pancake is lightly browned.
5) Slice into pieces and serve immediately.

Notes:

This pancake should easily serve four for breakfast; it reheats relatively well in a 350F oven (though it never regains its puffiness).

The pancake will start to deflate almost immediately upon removing it from the oven; if you want to impress people with the pancake's "puffiness", make sure they see it as soon as it comes out of the oven.

This pancake does not need syrup; we almost always eat it plain (but use syrup if you want). However, this morning we sauteed apples with brown sugar and butter for a topping; the two went together well.

To save time, we often melt the butter in the pan (step 2) while we're mixing the batter (step 1). However, if you're easily distracted (or mix things slowly) don't try this, as the butter will burn if left in the oven too long.

If, when cutting the pancake, you find that it isn't quite cooked in the center, just pop the pan back in the oven for a few minutes more.

If you find that you're out of fresh milk, but absolutely must have this pancake right now, you can substitute evaporated milk in place of the milk in the recipe: just use 2/3 cup evaporated milk mixed with 1/3 cup water.

This recipe is slightly modified from Rombauer et al. (1997).

Rombauer, I. S., M. R. Becker, and E. Becker. 1997. Joy of Cooking. Scribner, NY.