German Apple Pancake

Forget leftovers with this recipe for German apple pancakes.It’s incredibly easy to make a delicious breakfast.

German pancakes with apples

I first added apples to a batch of these pancakes over a decade ago, and my family is obsessed with apples. Made and fell in love with these pancakes all over again.

I loved the German apple pancakes so much that I made another one for a family dinner. We love German pancakes, whether it’s my grandmother’s traditional recipe or a grain- and gluten-free variation.

For a fun change, try making miniature German pancakes in muffin tins for the holidays, or try making these cranberry-almond German pancakes. No matter how you make it, it’s always delicious.

My grandmother passed on the recipe for the sweet orange sauce that has become a tradition when eating German pancakes in my family.

But honestly, I like these German pancakes with apples the best. Full of apple sweetness, the finished pancake was just a light dusting of powdered sugar. (My kids certainly like the maple syrup drizzle.)

A word of warning when making these pancake apples, you may want to make extra.

apple dutch baby

Depending on where you’re from, you may know these pancakes by a different name. You’ve heard them called Dutch babies or Dutch puffs, but they’re also very similar to popovers.

Dutch Baby Apple Pancakes showcase the wonderful sweetness and flavor of fruit found in apple pie. However, the apple dutch baby recipe has much less added sugar.

This recipe may go by many names, but anyone who has tasted Dutch apple pancakes will rate it delicious. Light and airy due to the way the eggs puff in the oven, and with an endless array of toppings available, this is a breakfast I happily eat as often as possible.

German Apple Pancake Recipe

To make this recipe you will need the following ingredients:

• apple
• lemon juice
• milk
• egg
• butter
• flour
• salt and ground cinnamon
• cane sugar and powdered sugar

To start this recipe, preheat your oven to 500°F. Place apples, sugar, cinnamon and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 5 minutes.

While the apples are cooking, whisk together the flour, salt, and milk. Add the eggs, whisk again and set aside. Put the butter in a glass pie plate and let it melt in the oven. This takes about 2 minutes.

Once the butter has melted, carefully remove the hot dish from the oven and turn it by hand to coat the bottom and sides. Add the apples to the plate and spread them on the bottom. Pour pancake mix over apples.

Return pan to oven and reduce heat to 425°F. Bake for 18 minutes. The sides of the pancake will lift off the rim of the pie plate and be slightly browned.

Remove from oven and place a large plate over pancakes. Invert the pie plate onto the plate and remove the pancake. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, slice and serve.

If you triple this recipe for your family, you can easily make 6 servings. When making this, divide the 3x recipe between a pie plate (⅓ of the mixture) and a 9×13 baking dish (2/3 of the mixture).

German apple pancake

If you love these German apple pancakes and want to try other breakfasts with apples, try this old fashioned apple crispy. (And yes, apple crisps can be breakfast. Oats + apples = my way of starting the day.)

I also recommend the apple cinnamon oatmeal recipe. (I love a hearty bowl of steaming hot oatmeal!) But I also like the texture I get when I bake oatmeal, like this apple pie baked oatmeal.

are considering these apple cinnamon muffin for my next breakfast. The recipe reminds me of my favorite banana bread.

{First published 7/12/12 – recipe notes and photos updated 5/10/23}