The "so Easy a Man Can Do It" Self Rising German Pancake

Intro: The "so Easy a Man Can Do It" Self Rising German Pancake

Brunch is a meal dedicated to women.  You can argue if you want, but it's true.  Men never make plans to have brunch with their man friends.  Men don't do brunch with their family.  In fact, the only time you'll catch a man at brunch is when in the company of a person he's interested in.  There I said it.

That said, this one is so easy, even the most kitchen inept man can make it - and its so impressive and delicious, it may actually help you score a few culinary genius points (which make for a great barter), as long as 1) no one knows how easy this is, and 2) you use a few culinary terms, which I will insert into this instructable.  

This main components of this recipe are (shockingly) from a men's fashion magazine, which by default means you need to be wearing a dapper outfit during this undertaking.  Remember, you're going for culinary genius points, but fashion points are also acceptable.

STEP 1: Ingredients

First, gather the ingredients:

1. 1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour
2.  1/2 Cup Milk
3.  3 Tablespoons butter
4.  2 eggs
5.  1/4 teaspoon salt
6.  1 teaspoon sugar

That's it.  6 Ingredients.  I told you this was easy.

Culinary Genius unspoken conversation point: Use organic ingredients, they speak for you and say, "We are superior to regular ingredients, we're healthy, and the person using us obviously recycles, loves plants and animals, and conserves energy" which would sound like a lie if you said it, and which probably is a lie because no one actually shuts the water off the entire time they brush their teeth.

STEP 2: Initial Preparations

initial preparations:

You're going to need an oven-proof skillet, but can probably make do with a cake pan if you have to. 

1.  Heat the oven to 425 degrees.  
2.  Put the 3 tablespoons of butter into the pan and place it in the oven for a couple minutes until it just finishes melting.  

Don't leave the melted butter in the oven or it will burn, and your status as a cullinary genius will, well, go up in smoke. 

STEP 3: Ingredient Mixing

With the butter melting in the pan (which you should have in the pre-heating oven) whisk up the following:

1.  2 eggs - Whisk these up first for about 2 minutes.  They should have a little bit of air incorporated into them.

Then add (don't say add, say incorporate):

2.  1/2 cup flour
3.  1/2 cup milk
4.  1/4 teaspoon salt
5.  1 teaspoon sugar

Tips:  Use a whisk to mix the above ingredients.  Stop mixing as soon as all the batter looks smooth (see photo).

Culinary genius conversation point (I have underlined the culinary terms):  This is a good time to mention that the french use copper bowels when whisking egg whites for meringue because the copper ions keep the eggs whites from denaturing (un-fluffing)

STEP 4: Baking

Now to the oven:

1.  Take out pan with the melted butter.  Be careful, the pan is hot.  
2.  Poor the batter into the buttered pan and place the pan back into the 425 degree oven.
3.  Bake for 15 minutes.

Keep an eye on the pancake during the baking process as it will go from perfection to burned in a short amount of time.  I usually set the timer for 10 minutes, check it, then add 4 minutes, then check it, then watch it for the last couple minutes to make sure it doesn't ruin my carefully cultivated culinary reputation...

Culinary Genius conversation point:  The reason this pancake rises without any additional leavening (baking soda), is due to:
1) the beaten eggs, which by whisking, incorporated air and increased their volume 2) the wet ingredients evaporating in a relatively high temperature oven and 3) the glutton in the flour acting in tandem with evaporating wet ingredients (steam).  

STEP 5: Remove and Revel

Last step:
remove the pancake from the oven, graciously accept praise and amiration, move pancake from skillet to a serving plate using a spatula, and enjoy with maple syrup, orange juice, and the company of the only person you would actually agree to have brunch with.

Culinary Genius presentation point:  If going for shock and awe, use a small amount of whip cream and some crushed strawberries, which you should call a strawberry compote.  

Enjoy your brunch!

Comments

[LiveCrafts]

Ooh! Remember to flip it. Maybe you wrote that....

[LiveCrafts]

Great Recipe! Just wanted to make a suggestion: try adding in 1 tsp. of vanilla. It really brings the flavor!

[SusanML]

Ah! There it is, in Step 4, and underlined, too! It conjures a mental picture of a very heavy man covered with flour, wearing nothing but a large, white towel around his waist, and dancing the tango in tandem in a steam room. I love this site, and I love your sense of humor, too, Mr. GoDevils! You're great!

[GoDevils]

Thanks for the nice, and partially true comment. One correction - obviously I only tango in the kitchen.

[SusanML]

Oh, hey, even better! We're having fun now! :)

[SusanML]

All your photos are beautiful!

[vincent7520]

Great !…
I'll try it to morrow, sunday (this is to say that your statement on men and brunch is not 100% true …)

Didn't know that we use copper bowels when whisking egg whites for meringue : thank you for telling me about my own country cooking (honest ! no cynicism intend in the remark).
But I do know that here everyone says fruit jams / preserves,are undoubtedly better when cooked in a copper pan (certainly for the same reason).

All in all : thank you for sharing ! … 

[GoDevils]

Hope it turns out well!

[vincent7520]

Yep, it did.
Ergo : men and brunch do, sometimes, connect !!…

In fact it was excellent !…
Thank you.

[redskynight]

This was so, so good! Thank you for the recipe!
I used small frying pan so the pancake was kind of thick, but it turned out alright anyway.

[SusanML]

Yep, to make egg whites fluff up, you need to add a tiny bit of cream of tartar (a white powder sold in the spice section of grocery stores), OR whip the egg whites in a copper...um...bowel. Gee, I sure am glad MY bowel isn't copper! Oh, that would hurt! :) Love your recipe!

[GoDevils]

I am an admittedly horrible speller, which yields some good ones on occasion :) (See glutton below...)

[NaturalCrafter]

I have missed logging onto this site and enjoying the craft of others. I loved the way this looked and had to drop in to take a closer look. I love trying a variety of pancakes and its amazing to think that there are so many possibilities.

[GoDevils]

There are lots of possibilities...even baked.

[The Cartographer]

Are you calling men dull?
That's not nice.

[pmduro]

I just made this dish. Does not taste like a pancake. BUT, on a scale of one to ten this recipe was a 11!!!! Was super easy and quick to make, looked awesome and impressive and tasted fantastic! My roomie and I hate pancakes, but I had to try this recipe because it looked so cool. The taste and texture reminds me of a really well-made crepe and some kind of sweet pastry, especially with fresh bananas and maple syrup. The only changes I made were I used coconut sugar, i used half milk and half homemade kefir and I used an iron skillet. Can't wait to make this for my other roommate.

[GoDevils]

I had never heard of Kefir, and had to google it. An interesting substitution. Glad it turned out well! It looks even better with a smaller skillet (mine is 12", a 10" would make it rise up a little more).

[scoochmaroo]

I think the first picture in step 5 would make an easier-to-see intro picture! Looks delish!

[GoDevils]

Given your reputation, I will do whatever you say :) Thanks for taking the time.

[ModlrMike]

I think you mean gluten in the flour, rather than glutton.