This Bananas Foster Dutch Baby is quite literally bananas! Some people call these "Dutch Baby's" or "German Pancakes", but they are referring to the same thing: a large, puffed-up pancake-like pastry that's cooked in one pan. It's like the best parts of a pancake, crepe, and a popover all rolled into one and makes a fantastic breakfast!
The uses for this pastry are pretty much endless, but this recipe takes things to a whole other level with the addition of my Banana Caramel Topping. It's completely irresistible and chock full of sticky, sweet, banana, and cinnamon goodness!
Dutch Baby Ingredients
Simplicity is the name of the game when it comes to the ingredients for the base Dutch baby. It's a thin, pancake-like batter that has flour, milk, eggs, sugar, salt, and a splash of vanilla extract. Simply combine all of these ingredients together until there are no more lumps, and pour into a preheated skillet (or oven-safe dish) with melted butter. Throw it in the oven, then bake for 20-minutes!
The key to achieving the signature "puff" is to make sure your skillet is hot before you add the batter. Don't open the oven while it's baking either; the temperature difference will cause your Dutch baby to collapse early, and that's definitely not what you want!
Any heat-proof pan or dish will work for this recipe, but I prefer to use my 12-inch Lodge Cast Iron skillet. This has been an absolute workhorse in my kitchen, and I love it. I highly recommend Lodge skillets, so go check out this link to the 12-inch skillet here if you are in the market for some cast iron! Lodge also has bundle packages available if you're looking for multiple size cast iron pans - take a look here.
Banana Caramel Topping Ingredients
The real star of the show is the Bananas Foster-inspired Banana Caramel Topping. A combination of butter, light brown sugar, dark brown sugar, water, fresh banana slices, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg are simmered together while the Dutch baby is in the oven. My version omits the dark rum and banana liqueur additions and flambéing steps that traditional Bananas Foster recipes call for. That seems a bit extreme for early in the morning, if you ask me. You still end up with a sticky-sweet Banana Caramel Topping that's absolutely to die for!
It's important to make sure that this is cooked long enough, or it will be thin and runny. It needs to be thickened and sticky in order to cling to the Dutch baby. Cook the butter, sugars and water for 8 to 10-minutes over medium heat to ensure that everything thickens nicely. Once sticky and thick, add the cinnamon, nutmeg, banana slices, and a pinch of kosher salt and simmer for an additional 2 to 3-minutes. If you cook the bananas for too long, they begin to break apart. You want the bananas softened, but not mushy, and this is achieved by cooking them for only a few minutes.
This Banana Caramel Topping can be used for more things than just this Dutch Baby. Go take a look at my separate blog post linked below for more details!
Bananas Foster Dutch Baby Assembly
Once the Dutch baby comes out of the oven, top with a few pats of butter, pour the banana caramel sauce over everything, finish with maple syrup and a light dusting of powdered sugar. Cut in to slices or quarters, and serve!
As with all of my recipes, feel free to take this and make it your own! This is fantastic with fresh fruit or jam with whipped cream on top.
Did you make this recipe for Banas Foster Dutch Baby?
Let me know in the comments below how yours turned out, and don't forget to leave a rating!
Recipe
Bananas Foster Dutch Baby
Equipment
- Blender or Immersion Blender Optional
- Whisk Optional, If not blending
- 12-Inch Cast Iron Skillet Or other similarly sized oven-proof pan or dish
- Large, Heavy Bottom Skillet or Sauce Pan For Banana Caramel Topping
Ingredients
Dutch Baby
- 4 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter 70g, Plus more for garnish
- 3 Large Eggs
- ¾ Cup Whole Milk 180g
- ¾ Cup All-Purpose Flour 100g
- 1 ½ Tablespoon Granulated Sugar 26g
- 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract 10g
- ½ Teaspoon Fine Sea Salt 4g
- Powdered Sugar For Garnish
- Maple Syrup For Garnish
Banana Caramel Topping
- 2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter 35g
- 2 Bananas About 300g, Sliced in ½ inch slices
- ⅓ Cup Light Brown Sugar 65g
- 1 Tablespoon Dark Brown Sugar 14g
- ¼ Cup Water 60 ml
- Pinch Nutmeg
- Pinch Cinnamon
- Pinch Kosher Salt
Instructions
Dutch Baby
- Preheat a 12-inch cast iron skillet (or other similarly sized oven-safe pan or dish) in a 425°F oven.
- While oven and skillet preheats, blend eggs, milk, flour, sugar, vanilla extract, and sea salt in a blender until just combined. Optionally, whisk by hand. Work the batter until lumps are dissolved, taking care not overwork. (You can work too much air into the batter if you blend or whisk too much.)
- Once the oven and skillet are preheated, remove the skillet from the oven and add the unsalted butter to melt.
- Pour batter into the hot skillet and bake for 20-minutes until golden brown and puffed up.
Banana Caramel Topping
- While the Dutch Baby is baking, melt butter in a large saucepan or skillet over medium-high heat. Add water and sugars, stirring until melted and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 8 to 10-minutes until thickened. Dragging a spoon or spatula across the pan should leave a trail.
- Add banana slices, nutmeg, cinnamon, a pinch of kosher salt and cook for 2 to 3-minutes until bananas have softened, but are not falling apart. Keep warm over low heat until Dutch baby is done cooking.
Bananas Foster Dutch Baby Assembly
- Remove the Dutch Baby from oven and rest 2 to 3-minutes. Add several pats of butter and allow melt over the top.
- Top with Banana Caramel Topping, drizzle with maple syrup, and sprinkle with powdered sugar for garnish.
- Cut into quarters, and serve.
Emily Vosberg says
Absolutely delicious! First time making a caramel sauce and it went really smoothly 🙂
Spencer Klickman says
Awesome to hear Emily! This one is one of our family favorites!