The Controversial German Apple Pancake (Apfelpfannkuchen)

by: Gerhild Fulson  / Oma Gerhild shares easy, authentic German recipes you can trust, rooted in family tradition and featured in her cookbooks.

Published: Sept 10, 2009, Updated: May 4, 2025

Is it truly German? Some might argue, but this apfelpfannkuchen has been passed around in our family for years. It’s quick, easy, and oh so lecker. Oma-approved and always a hit at the table.

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German Apple Pancake, made in oven & puffs up beautifully! A very popular, simple recipe to make for a family brunch.

This delicious German pancake is also known by many other names, such as Dutch baby pancake, Dutch babies, Bismarck, Dutch puff, puff pancake, puffed apple pancake, and caramelized apple soufflé pancake. All interesting names for a wonderful dish!

As for us, we call it apfelpfannkuchen, or, German apple pancake. Whatever you want to call it, it is absolutely scrumptious! If you have company, this is sure to impress.

This puffy oven pancake is typically served for breakfast or brunch, but it's also perfect for a quick weeknight dinner, and it can also make a wonderful dessert when served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Yum!

Top Tips For Best Results

1. Preheat the Pan: This is a MUST! Heat the baking dish with butter and apples before adding the batter to create a puffier pancake.
2. Don't Overmix: Blend just until smooth; overmixing can lead to a denser pancake.
3. Serve Immediately: Enjoy the pancake right out of the oven while it's puffed and golden; it deflates quickly as it cools.
4. Use Tart Apples: Granny Smith or Braeburn apples hold their shape and add a nice tartness that balances the sweetness

It's very similar to a large popover or Yorkshire pudding, and some think its origins could be from this as well.

Unlike most pancake recipes, this pancake is baked as a single large pancake in the oven, rather than multiple smaller pancakes fried individually on the stove top.

As the Dutch baby bakes, the sides puff up beautifully along the edges of the pan while the center is more custard-like. Absolutely wunderbar!

How To Make This German Apple Pancake

(Find the printable recipe with measurements in the recipe card below.)

If this is your first time making this German pancake, it just might become your favorite way to make pancakes from now on. It's baked in the oven, so you're not standing there, making one pancake after the other on the stove top. Surely an easy way to make delicious-tasting German food!

Start by putting 8 tablespoons of butter in a baking dish or ovenproof skillet and place in the oven that has been preheated to 425 degrees F to melt the butter.

Put butter into baking dish and into the preheated oven.

While the butter is melting, peel the apples and slice them. 

If you prefer, you can use pears or peaches or a combination of them. 

Meanwhile peel the apples and slice them

Then add the apple slices to the baking dish once the butter has melted. Return to the oven and leave it in the oven until the butter sizzles again. This can take about 5 minutes.

Don't let the apples brown, though.

Add the sliced apples to the baking dish

Meanwhile, mix together the large eggs with the milk in a large bowl. Use a regular hand mixer or whisk.

The frothier you make it, the better.

Whisk the eggs and milk together until frothy

Then mix in the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Don't over mix it though. 

You want a nice smooth batter.

Whisk in the dry ingredients

Remove the baking dish from the oven and pour the batter over the apples. Sprinkle with some brown sugar, if you wish. (Personally, I usually leave out the brown sugar. The pancake is sweet enough... especially when accompanied with wonderful local Canadian maple syrup!)

Then return the baking dish to the oven. Remember to use the hot mitts. The baking dish is HOT!

Pour the batter over the apples

Bake 20 minutes or until the edges of the pancake are a deep golden brown and nicely puffed. Depending on the dish size (see the video above), this can take an extra 5 to 10 minutes.

Watch it rise in the oven. This one needs another 5 minutes.

You'll see that it's sort of like a soufflé. It's nicely puffed as soon as it's out of the oven, but will slowly fall as you start to serve it.

That's why I usually call everyone to the table, just before I'm ready to serve. That way, they get to see it in all its puffed splendor.

Hot out of the oven and ready to serve!

If you end up with leftovers, they taste great cold as well. :)

Use Buttermilk Instead?

I had some buttermilk that needed to be used. I thought, "Why not try it in this German apple pancake recipe?" I made no changes to anything else. Just subbed the buttermilk in place of the regular milk.

The end result? YUMMY! In fact, I may just plan on buying buttermilk on purpose, just for this. The resulting pancake with the buttermilk is just a bit fluffier. Wunderbar!

If you'd like extra fluffy pancakes but don't have buttermilk at home, you can easily make a substitute by adding vinegar or lemon juice to regular milk.

To make 1½ cups of buttermilk substitute, add 1½ tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice to a liquid measuring cup. Then, add milk to the 1½-cup line and stir.

Feeling Peachy?

If you don't have apples on hand, you can experiment with different fruits such as pears, peaches, blueberries, or even strawberries.

Here's a delicious peach pancake I made using canned peaches and sprinkled with almonds.

I love making this as a German peach pancake in a cast iron pan. Then I bake it in my air fryer oven.

I used this cast iron skillet that fits great into this air fryer, to get an extra-crispy top. Note that I needed to halve the recipe to fit it in the pan (or you can just make two batches... because leftovers are always great to have!).

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What To Serve With This  Pancake

This recipe is delicious all on its own, sprinkled with a little bit of powdered sugar and/or drizzled with maple syrup. But if you're having company or you just want a more substantial meal, here are some ideas.

You can stick to an all-sweet breakfast, brunch, or dinner:

• Serve with fresh berries, or other fresh fruit such as extra apple slices, banana slices, peach slices, or mandarin segments (or make a fruit salad!)
• Serve with extra caramelized apples and a dollop of whipped cream
• Serve with blueberry, strawberry, or raspberry syrups, jam, marmalade or applesauce
• Serve with plain or fruit yogurt

Or you can add other breakfast favorites for a sweet-and-savory affair:

• Serve with scrambled eggs and ham
• Serve with hash browns or home fries and toast
• Serve with a delicious spinach quiche 
• Serve with breakfast sandwiches

Print Recipe ♥ Save Recipe

The Controversial German Apple Pancake (Apfelpfannkuchen)

Is it truly German? That’s up for debate—but this apfelpfannkuchen is quick, easy, and undeniably delicious. Oma’s version might just win you over!

Prep Time:

20 minutes

Bake Time:

25 minutes

Total Time:

45 minutes

Servings:

4-6 servings

Ingredients:

• 6 large eggs
  
• 1½ cups (360 milliliters) milk or buttermilk
  
• 1 cup (130 grams) all-purpose flour
  
• 3 tablespoons (39 grams) granulated sugar
  
• ½ teaspoon (3 grams) salt
  
• ½ cup (114 grams) butter
  
• 2 large apples, peeled and sliced
  
• 2 tablespoons (30 grams) brown sugar (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C).
2. Add eggs, milk, flour, sugar, and salt into a large mixing bowl and use a whisk or hand mixer till smooth. 
3. Place butter in 10x13-inch baking dish (see video above for more ideas) and place dish in the hot oven to melt butter.
4. Add apple slices to baking dish and leave in oven until the melted butter sizzles. This can take about 5 minutes. Do not let the apples brown.
5. Remove baking dish from oven and pour batter on top of the apples. Sprinkle with brown sugar (if using). Return to the oven and bake 20 minutes or until golden brown and nicely puffed. Depending on the dish size (see video above), this can take an extra 5 to 10 minutes.
6. Serve immediately.

Notes/Hints:

• Best apples for this recipe? Whatever you happen to have handy in your crisper!
• Sprinkle with ½ cup (50 grams) of sliced almonds after the batter has been poured over the apples.
• Add 1 teaspoon (5 milliliters) almond or vanilla extract to pancake batter.
• Add ¼ teaspoon (0.75 gram) ground cinnamon to batter, or top baked pancake with cinnamon sugar (mix ¼ cup (50 grams) sugar with 1 teaspoon (3 grams) ground cinnamon).
• Add some raisins to the apples.
• Try it with pears instead of apples.
• Wanting to make an exceptional German pancake? Try Kaiserschmarrn!

Unless otherwise noted recipe, images and content © Just like Oma | www.quick-german-recipes.com

Recipe updated on May 4, 2025

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Hi, I'm Oma Gerhild! As a food writer and cookbook author, I'm always looking to find ways to pass on my German heritage using local ingredients. Quick and easy. That's my goal. Wunderbar food. That's the result.