Giant Oven Pancakes

Ordinary sized pancakes aren't very much fun at all. But make them either tiny or huge, and it's a whole different story. Tiny pancakes can stack up like a roll of quarters. You can fit three of them on your tongue at a time (I've tried) and if you're really hungry you can eat more than a dozen (I haven't tried that but my kids have).

This post is not about tiny pancakes, though. It's about a giant oven pancake from a new favorite cookbook - In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite.  This pancake was huge. So huge that it served my whole family, including three hungry girls, a little boy monster who can eat a horse for breakfast, and a big hungry dad who can eat even more. And me. 

The tricky thing about this pancake was what to call it. The original recipe from In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite is called The Mysterious David Dare's Pancake and there's a really fun story about the name. My hungry horse-eating son dubbed it a 'pomlet.' (That's a combination of Pancake and Omelet.) One of the hungry girl monsters called it a 'pamlette,' a slightly fancier combination of Pancake and Omelette. 

In order not to play favorites, I'm going to give it a name that says it like it is. Giant Oven Pancake. Because it is giant. It goes in the oven. And it certainly is a pancake. One of the fluffiest pancake-iest pancakes I've ever had. A lovely Sunday breakfast meal. 

Giant Oven Pancakes, adapted from In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite

Serves 6.  Time: 25-30 minutes

The original recipe calls for grated nutmeg but I know my customers. They are not a nutmeg-loving bunch. I substituted ground cinnamon. I also left out the final step, freshly squeezed fresh lemon juice, although I am including it as an optional step here in case you do want to try it. I also increased the eggs to 4 and all the other ingredients by about 30% to feed my family of six. 

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons milk

1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch kosher salt

5 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, optional

Preheat the oven to 425*. Whisk together the eggs, milk, flour, cinnamon, and salt until combined but still a bit lumpy. 

Heat a 12-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. Drop in the butter and let it melt. 

Pour in the pancake batter and transfer the pan to the hot oven. Bake until the pancake is puffy and brown, about 15 minutes. 

Take the skillet out of the oven and shake the sugar evenly over it. Return it to the oven to caramelize the sugar for another 2 minutes or so. 

If you're using lemon juice, splash it over the pancake. Bring the pan to the table - it's so puffy and dramatic! -  and serve immediately with maple syrup or extra sugar for sweetening. 

Linking this up to Pennywise Platter Thursdays, Real Food Wednesdays, Full Plate Thursdays and It's a Keeper Thursdays.