German Pancake with Protein
Were you ever looking for a protein pancake recipe that’s easier than…well…pancakes? German Pancake with Protein is it! It comes together in a blender within minutes and gets baked in the oven, puffing up to an impressive height and tasting just incredible with crispy edges and soft, spongy middle. If there are pancakes in heaven, I’m reasonably sure this is the one. And did I mention it has added protein?
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Why You Will Love This
Easier than pancakes
Look, I am, by default, just utterly lazy. If I don’t have to stand on the hob turning pancakes when I feel like eating some, I won’t. Let alone after a sweaty workout. I mean…I’m hot and exhausted already, so the very last thing I want is to manually fry a stack of pancakes!
That’s where this beauty comes in. Put your cast iron pan in the oven and pre-heat, blend all the ingredients together and once the pan is hot just melt some butter in it and pour the batter in. Back in the oven and about 18min later you have the perfect puffed up German Pancake, including the protein you need to feed your body after said workout. Though you certainly don’t need a workout to enjoy this! You can have it entirely without torturing yourself, I promise.
Looks super Impressive
I mean sure, a stack of pancakes looks lovely and tempting and if someone makes them for me, who am I to resist, right? But if you see one of these beauties coming out of the oven, puffed up edges and all, the stack of pancakes does pale in comparison I feel. Not to minimise its appeal, considering you all seem to really love my Sourdough Protein Pancakes with Whole Wheat, and for sourdough, they are still the way to go. But without? I’d go for this German Pancake with Protein any day. And I did, for weeks on end to be honest. I think this is the one breakfast (or breakfast for dinner) I made over and over in the last year.
Isn’t this a Dutch Baby?
You are totally right asking that question! It is. And it is a German Pancake. Apparently the name “Dutch Baby” came from a German Pancake house where the daughter couldn’t pronounce “Deutsch”, meaning German, so it transformed into “Dutch”. But the original dish is said to be based on the German version of Pancakes, called “Pfannkuchen”. And considering my moms pancakes she made for me, growing up in Germany, that feels pretty correct.
The difference between the American version and German version is, that ours has no leavening agents, leading to a less puffed and sponge-like middle, but a silkier feel in the mouth while eating it. It’s also generally made as one large pancake, often studded with apples. Which is a lovely variation of this one.
What my mom didn’t do was make them in the oven. I discovered that version for the first time in a Pancake house in Germany and absolutely adored it.
Extra Protein
My main adaptation here is, that I added protein, because I personally constantly struggle with eating enough of it, so I tend to try and sneak it into nearly every sweet recipe I make. Replacing about 1/3 of flour with protein powder usually works marvellously and also adds a subtle sweetness without adding extra sugar, if you use a flavored protein powder. I used MyProtein Vanilla here, but any good whey protein should work fine. You may try a vegan one if that’s what you have, but I can’t guarantee the outcome, as I never tried it. If you do, I’d love to hear about it!
Can I make this with Sourdough discard?
Now, while I sure tried to develop the perfect version with sourdough, none of them puffed up as intended. Looking at the surface when taking the pancakes out of the oven, I assume it’s because the little sourdough bubbles allowed the air to escape, considering there is not much gluten developed in a super quickly mixed batter to trap it, as it would in a bread (this is purely an assumption based on what I saw. If you have a scientific explanation and know how to get around that effect, please share it with me!). And you wouldn’t want it to be either, or you’d have rather chewy pancakes! So since for me personally the puffed up rim is half the attraction of this type of pancake, I decided to leave it out.
Though if you’d like to include some sourdough discard to try it yourself, use ½ a cup, but lower the flour by ¼ cup and the milk by ¼ cup and bake it a little longer for it to cook through properly.
You’ll get a much thicker, more Clafoutis like texture, which still is lovely, but not what I was aiming for here. Let me know if you’d like to see some version of it and I’ll create one for you.
Right, let’s get to making the pancake, shall we? I promise it will be much quicker than my ramblings!
The Ingredients
- Eggs – As in most pancakes, eggs are at the core of the batter. The usual ratio is 1 egg per ¼ cup flour and ¼ cup milk, which is a pretty safe formula to work with.
- Oat milk – In the classic version whole milk is used, but being lactose intolerant, I’m using oat milk, to emulate full fat milk. I’ve also tried buttermilk, which tastes lovely but leads to the pancake not rising as it should and almond milk, which felt slightly drier due to the lower fat content. You could try another full fat plant milk if you want to vary it or simply don’t have oat milk.
I realise this sounds a bit odd, considering I’m using whey protein powder, which you’d assume leads to a reaction in someone with lactose intolerance. But I found it to be low enough in lactose that I’m completely fine with it. Your mileage might vary of course. - Flour – For this one I’m using for once plain white flour, to keep the tender structure. I tried whole wheat, but it came out a bit too dense for my taste, especially since no leavening agents are involved.
Note:
Cups, due to the possibility of compacting the flour while dragging the container through it, can give you wildly different results. Use a tablespoon to gently fill the cup with flour, then drag the back of a knife over it to level. This should give you the closest to the standard 120g per cup of flour.
Alternatively, if you have kitchen scales, assume 120g flour per cup and weigh it out.
In some of my recipes I will give gram measurements for this reason, but I mostly try to accommodate the American cup system.
- Whey Protein Powder – This replaces 1/3 of the original flour content, raising the protein, lowering the carbs and adding a little sweetness without the sugar. Plus whatever flavor of powder you use. I’ve also made it with cinnamon flavored powder, and it came out lovely.
- Salt – This brings out the flavor of the pancake, as in so many baked goods.
- Butter – Some recipes add a bit of butter to the batter itself. I didn’t find that necessary, so I use it mainly to melt in the pan before the batter goes in.
Note:
In my trials over time I found that if I only use butter for the “sticking to the pan prevention”, there is always one hot patch in the middle of my cast iron pan where the batter does stick. So over time I resorted to adding just a few sprays of olive oil before the butter and it worked like a charm. No sticking whatsoever and the whole marvel of a pancake just glides out of the pan.
Equipment
Which brings me to the equipment section. I don’t usually add this under the ingredients, but it’s pretty essential for this recipe to have a cast iron pan*. The whole magic of the puffing up happens due to a pan that was properly pre-heated in the oven and holds that heat while you take it out and melt the butter in it, upon which the batter gets poured in. This initial heat burst is what enables the crazy rise, very similar to Yorkshire puddings.
The Process
I feel I say this a lot, but here it gets really easy!
Start by setting your oven rack to the middle of your oven, add your cast iron pan and pre-heat your oven to 450°F/225°C.
Meanwhile either in a blender* or a bowl* using a whisk, mix all your ingredients except the butter and, if using, olive oil, until you have a smooth batter. Don’t overmix. Let it rest for a while until your oven and pan are hot.
Using Oven gloves, take out your cast iron pan* and set it onto the hob at medium/high temperature, spray with a little olive oil, ideally at your pans hot spots. Mine are mostly in the middle. Then melt the butter. Pour in your batter and transfer back into the oven.
Note:
I learned this the hard way, so you don’t have to: Do not add the butter when you put your pan into the oven to pre-heat. It’ll be burned by the time the oven is hot.
Bake for about 18 minutes, turning the pan once about halfway through, so you get even browning and rise on all sides. It should be golden brown and puffed up when ready.
Take out of the oven, transfer to a serving platter and top with anything your pancake loving heart desires. I particularly love it with fresh fruits and icing sugar. But of course extra butter and maple syrup can’t go wrong either. Or can I interest you in one of my all-time favourite pancake toppings: Nutella, bananas and advocaat? So, so good! Who needs dessert when you can have breakfast like this?
Meal Prep
You could mix the pancake batter in the evening, keep it in the fridge overnight and just pour it into the hot pan in the morning.
The ready baked pancake is best eaten fresh, but I have often re-heated half of it in the microwave the next morning, as it’s a rather large portion to eat alone. Keep it covered with clingfilm in the fridge, so it doesn’t dry out if you choose to do the same.
Looking for more Breakfast ideas with protein?
Sourdough Pumpkin Pancakes with Protein
High Protein Muffins with Berries and Hidden Veggies
Now I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
Have you tried this? Did you enjoy it?
What other recipes would you like to see?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please share. It helps me a lot.
German Pancake with Protein
Equipment
- 1 Blender or
- 1 large bowl and
- 1 whisk
Ingredients
- 3 eggs large
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup protein powder I used MyProtein Whey
- ¾ cup oat milk alternatively use full fat milk or any other full fat plant based milk
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil or a few sprays
- 2 tbsp butter unsalted
Optional Toppings:
- 1 tsp icing sugar
- Mixed fruit such as blueberries raspberries, banana, kiwi, strawberries
- Maple syrup
Instructions
- Start by setting your oven rack to the middle of your oven, add your cast iron pan and pre-heat your oven to 450°F/225°C.
- Meanwhile either in a blender or a bowl using a whisk, mix all your ingredients except the butter and, if using, olive oil, until you have a smooth batter. Don’t overmix. Let it rest for a while until your oven and pan are hot.
- Using Oven gloves, take out your cast iron pan and set it onto the hob at medium/high temperature, spray with a little olive oil, ideally at your pans hot spots. Mine are mostly in the middle. Then melt the butter. Pour in your batter and transfer back into the oven.
- Bake for about 18 minutes, turning the pan once about halfway through, so you get even browning and rise on all sides. It should be golden brown and puffed up when ready.
- Take out of the oven, transfer to a serving platter and top with anything your pancake loving heart desires. I particularly love it with fresh fruits and icing sugar. But of course extra butter and maple syrup can’t go wrong either. Or can I interest you in one of my all-time favourite pancake toppings: Nutella, bananas and advocaat? So, so good! Who needs dessert when you can have breakfast like this?
What a gorgeous pancake! Adding protein to something this good feels like a win win for both my taste buds and my morning routine!
Thank you, that what I love about it too. 🙂
This was simple to follow and really turned out wonderful thanks for sharing!
Thank you, so happy it worked for you. 🙂
Great recipe indeed and love that it can be baked it in a cast iron pan and has protein in it, will try it this weekend!
Thank you. Let me know how it went. 🙂
This is such a great recipe. The pancakes is fantastic, and I love that extra kick of protein.
Thank you. 🙂