This thick, custardy baked apple pancake takes me straight back to my childhood. Dust it with powdered sugar for a sweet finishing touch & dig in!
My sister and I used to beg my mom for things like Fruity Pebbles and Frosted Flakes. She didn’t cave often, but I remember the few times she did… she’d sigh and say, “If I buy this, are you really going to eat it this time?” We’d smile and nod, excited to be taking home the same colorful boxes our friends had.
We’d each eat maybe one bowl full. Then up in the pantry it would go… to collect dust and then ultimately get tossed in the next pantry clean-out. The smiling kids on Saturday morning commercials would convince us to beg again… and we’d try SO hard to like the stuff. But sugary soggy flakes and blue milk were not for us.
Especially when homemade muffins, pancakes, eggs, doughnuts, and this German(ish) apple pancake were all part of our regular breakfast rotation.
This was a staple of our childhood, and my mom still makes it every time she visits.
Apples, brown sugar, and cinnamon get softened in a pan with butter, and an egg mixture gets poured on top. The thin egg layer and pillowy apples create more of a custard-like texture than a traditional doughy pancake.
Bake until it puffs up and serve hot slices right out of the pan.
For more brunch ideas, try these vegan banana pancakes, this shakshuka, or this frittata!
(The photo above is of a 5-inch mini skillet, but the recipe makes enough to fill approx a 12 or 13-inch skillet. Use either a seasoned cast iron skillet, or a non-stick pan).
Apple Pancake
- 2 tablespoons butter (or vegan earth balance)
- 3 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup almond milk (or regular milk)
- 2 tablespoons flour (any kind: white, wheat, spelt*, or a gluten-free blend)
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- Powdered sugar, for dusting (optional)
- Preheat oven to 375.
- Combine brown sugar and cinnamon.
- Whisk together eggs and milk.
- Mix together flour and baking powder and stir it into the egg/milk mixture.
- In a skillet, heat butter, add the apple slices and 1 tablespoon of the brown sugar mixture and cook, stirring, until soft. About 5 minutes.
- Pour the batter over the apples and sprinkle the remaining brown sugar on top.
- Bake until it puffs up, about 18-20 minutes.
- Dust with a little powdered sugar.
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Is this supposed to say 2 cups of flour rather than two tablespoons? This ratio doesn’t make sense
By the picture I was expecting a fluffy pancake texture. It was pretty disappointing to open the oven to a flat brown omelet or more like a brown crepe.
Forgot to post 5 stars!!
This in incredible, I have made it several times for many friends and it always brings so much joy 💗 one time I topped it with powdered sugar, blueberries, and edible rose petals
Hi Annie, I’m so glad you love the recipe!
I’m sorry, but this recipe is trash. I made it because it was the first hit on google and had good reviews. After making it I do not understand how either of these happened. I noticed red flags right away seeing the ratios. Two tablespoons of flour and three eggs? That sounds like an omelette! Sure enough that’s what it is. Am apple pancake should be an eggy pancake with seasoned apples. This was sliced apples held loosely together with eggs. If an apple omelette is what you’re going for, please enjoy! I mean that sincerely. But an apple pancake this is not
This is similar to the “Big Apple” that Bickford’s used to have. You are correct that it is not a pancake. Those familiar with the dish know that it isn’t a pancake. It is also not really an omelette. It’s a quiche. Coincidentally, this recipe was what taught me what I was doing wrong with my attempts at quiche: the recipes I was using for quiche said the oven should be at 400°. At 400° the diary in my quiches was getting overcooked.
I was sort of expecting a pancake texture but ended up with an omelet. It was fun to make.