Baked Puff Pancakes With Strawberry Sauce

Yep, I'm still overdoing the strawberries.  At just about every nearby supermarket, strawberries have been on sale for at least a month and they're pretty much the first thing you see when you walk in the door.

And I just can't stop buying them.  Fortunately, I haven't even come close to running out of ways to use them in my cooking!

Today, I'm using them to make a sauce for my puff pancakes.  You can use any fruit you like, and frozen fruits work well, too.  But c'mon, admit it.  You want to use strawberries, too, right?

Today's Playlist

"Ain't No Rest For The Wicked"...........Cage The Elephant

"Badfish"......Sublime

"Blister In The Sun".......Violent Femmes

"Family"......Zach Gill

"Show Me What I'm Looking For".........Carolina Liar

"In One Ear"........Cage The Elephant

"Rhythm Of Love".......Plain White T's

"Naive"......The Kooks

"Somewhere Only We Know"......Keane

"Animal"........Neon Trees

Baked Puff Pancakes With Strawberry Sauce (makes 2 puff pancakes, serves 2-4)

For the pancakes:

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons butter

For the strawberry sauce:

• 1 lb. fresh strawberries
• 1/4 cup water

confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Gather your ingredients.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Wash the strawberries and remove the stems and leaves.

Roughly chop them.  Don't stress that they're lopsided and uneven.  They will magically become perfect when you cook them all mushy and warm and wonderful.

Place them in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add the water.  You want to just bring them to a boil.

While you are waiting for them to boil, get started on your pancakes.  

You are making two pancakes, so you will need two 10" skillets or pie plates to cook them in.  I'm gonna use a skillet and a pie plate.  

For illustrative purposes.  And also.......because I don't have two 10" skillets.  And I don't have two pie plates either, because this month I broke my favorite pie plate.

Place a tablespoon of butter in each of your skillets/plates and place your skillet/plates in the oven so the butter can melt.  By the time you prep your batter the butter will be melted.

Crack your eggs into a large bowl.  It's great if your bowl has a spout, the spout will come in handy when you pour your batter into the skillet/plates.

I feel awkward, repeatedly writing "skillet/plates," but now that I've gone down the skillet/plates path I don't know how to stop.

Add the flour.

And the milk.

Strawberries are probably starting to boil.  Turn the heat down and let them simmer while you continue with your pancake batter.

Add the salt to your batter bowl.

And the cinnamon.

Whisk to combine.

Ta-da!  Done.

Remove your skillet/plates from the oven and swirl the butter around to coat the bottom of the pan.

Here is the skillet, all swirled.

And here is the plate.

It was a relief not to have to type skillet/plate.

By now your strawberries are probably cooked.  All soft and syrupy and splendid.  Turn the heat off and let them sit until your pancakes are done.

Pour half of the batter into one of the skillet/plates.

And pour the remaining batter into the other.

Notice I didn't write skillet/plate in that last sentence.  I think I've written it enough.

Place the pancakes into your preheated 425-degree oven.  Bake for 12-15 minutes.  The pancake should be firm in the center and puffy around the edges.  

Sometimes the pancake will get extra puffy and you will think, "How on earth am I going to eat this hollow cloud of a pancake?"  If that happens, don't worry, it will deflate quickly after you remove it from your oven.

And I probably should have mentioned this earlier, but if you are using a skillet, please make sure it is an oven-proof skillet.  No wooden or plastic handles.

When the pancakes are done, remove them from the oven and serve immediately.

After you've removed them from the pan, pour some of the strawberries on top and sift some confectioners' sugar on top.

Slice and serve.

Enjoy!!