Ube Dutch Baby Pancake

This Ube Dutch baby is beautifully purple because of the ube extract. The texture is more like a crepe than a pancake. Topped with powdered sugar, and served with fresh berries & an easy ube coconut sauce. It’s the perfect brunch for the weekend!

Brunch is one of our favorite things to eat. On the weekend, we always find a brunch place to go. A few years ago, I had some ube pancakes in the Bay Area. I can’t remember where it was, but it was delicious! Fast forward to today, I was craving for ube pancake. Why not do a dutch baby instead? It’s stunning looking and easy to make.

To give the pancake ube flavoring, ube extract is a great way to do it. Not only it gives the unique purple coloring, it also has that strong ube taste. Ube tastes a bit like vanilla with a little nuttiness. Since it’s an extract, it’s easy to add to different batter in baking without changing the texture. That’s the case in this recipe. For the basic dutch baby, I used Alton Brown’s recipe.

Here are 4 tips for making a successful dutch baby pancake:

1. The oven has to be preheated and the skillet has to really hot. It’s like making popover or Yorkshire pudding. The batter itself doesn’t contain any rising agent, so the steam is the reason why the pancake puffed in the oven. Keeping everything hot will help to achieve that result.
2. Do not open the oven while baking. Opening the oven door will lower the oven temperature.
3. Make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature. It will be easier for the pancake to rise higher.
4. Do not leave the skillet in the oven with butter for too long. The butter will start to burn. If you have a sensitive smoke alarm, that will go on as well.

Making a dutch baby is really easy. All you need is to put everything in a blender or food processor and blend. Blend until everything is just smooth. Once the skillet and butter is hot, pour the batter in the center and bake.

While the pancake is baking, prepare the berries and make the sauce. Everything from the sauce is ready to eat. Just mix well and warm up over the stove. Once the pancake is out, the puffed will quickly fall back down. Top with powdered sugar. Serve hot with berries and pour the sauce over.

This pancake is stunningly purple and has that distinct ube flavor. Its texture is a bit like a crepe. With the sauce, it added a little coconut flavor and sweetness. The berries bring some freshness. It’s a great combo of flavors. This will make an excellent weekend breakfast or brunch! I hope you’ll try it.

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Ube Dutch Baby Pancake

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Keyword breakfast, brunch, dutch baby pancke, easy, fusion, mother’s day, pancake, ube, ube pancake

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Servings 2 people

Author Lokness

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (divided)
• ½ cup whole milk (at room temperature)
• 2 large egg (at room temperature)
• 1½ teaspoons ube extract
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• Powdered sugar
• Fresh mixed berries (rinsed, pat dried and cut if needed)
• ½ cup ube coconut sauce (recipe followed)

Ube Coconut Sauce:

• ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons coconut milk
• 3 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
• ¼ teaspoon ube extract

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375˚F (190˚C).
• In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter (or use microwave). Set aside to cool slightly.
• In a blender or food processor, add milk, egg, ube extract, melted butter, flour, sugar and salt. Blend for 30 seconds. Scrape down the side of the blender or food processor with a spatula if needed. Blend for another 15 seconds. Set aside.
• Place a 10-inch oven safe skillet in the oven to warm up for 5 minutes.
• After 5 minutes, add 1 tablespoon butter in the skillet and keep in the oven for 5 more minutes. The butter should be melted, but not burnt. Remove the hot skillet from oven carefully and place on stove top. Working quickly, pour in the batter in the center and transfer the skillet back to the oven. Bake for 20 minutes without opening the door. The pancake should be puffy up on the edges and center.
• In the meantime, in a small skillet, combine ingredients of the sauce. Cook over medium-low heat until just warm through. Transfer to a sauce container or small bowl.
• Remove the pancake from oven. The pancake will deflate quickly. Dust with powdered sugar. Serve immediately with fresh berries and ube coconut sauce.

Notes

1. The ube extract I used is Butterfly brand and I got it on Amazon.
2. Cast iron skillet is what I used. If you don’t have one, other oven safe skillets or cake pans will work too. 
3. The coconut milk brand that I like is Aroy-D. It’s a bit thicker and tastes rich. It’s a lot better than many other ones out there. You can usually find it in Asian supermarkets or online. 

(Dutch baby pancake adapted from Alton Brown)