German Pancake with apples

German Pancake with apples
My husband and I are making pork schnitzel, spaetzle dumplings and German apple cake for dinner tonight, definitely not a one pot meal! So I decided to make a German Pancake for our Sunday breakfast in keeping with the German food theme. Delicious!
Unfortunately, our staff photographer didn't get a picture of how impressive my pancake looked coming out of the oven, all puffed up and golden.

German Pancake:

6 eggs, room temperature
1 cup milk, room temperature
1 cup sifted bread flour or all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
5 tablespoons butter
Freshly squeezed lemon juice
Powdered or confectioners sugar

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. NOTE: It is very important that you preheat your oven. Place oven rack on the middle rack of your oven. Place a large, heavy ovenproof frying pan or a cast iron skillet (I like to use my 12-inch cast-iron skillet) with the butter, in the oven until hot and sizzling. While pan is heating, prepare your batter.
2. In a large bowl, beat the eggs until light and frothy; add milk, flour, vanilla extract, and cinnamon; beat for 5 minutes more. The batter will be thin, but very smooth. Carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven; add the butter; tilting the pan to melt the butter and coat the skillet.
3. Pour the prepared batter into the hot skillet; all at once and immediately return the skillet to the oven.
4. Bake approximately 20 to 25 minutes or until puffed and golden brown (bake until the pancake puffs up around the edges - it may puff irregularly in the center).
5. Remove from oven, sprinkle with freshly squeezed lemon juice and dust the top with powdered sugar. (Note to photographer, take picture NOW.) Pancake will defalte quickly so have your guests at the table.
6. To serve, cut into serving-size wedges and transfer to individual serving plates.Top with cooked apples and serve immediately. In the summer, try serving your pancake with fresh strawberries macerated in Grand Marnier and a little sugar.




Cooked apples:

6-8 Winesaps, Golden Delicious or Rome apples, peeled, cored and sliced
(an old fashioned apple peeler is a must)
¼ cup apple cider
¼ cup REAL maple syrup
¼ cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp chopped crystallized ginger

Dump all the ingredients in a sauce pan and cook over medium heat until the apples are tender (about 20 minutes).