Name: Dutch Baby Recipe
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 3 eggs; 1/2 Cup flour; 1/2 Cup milk; 1 Tbsp sugar; sprinkle nutmeg; 4 Tbsp butter ((half of a stick)); Toppings (fruit, jam, powdered sugar, Nutella®); campfire dutch oven ((10 inch, 4 quart size)); 20 charcoal briquettes; lighter fluid/matches/lighter; metal tongs; pot holders/lid lifter; wooden cutting board; whisk; zip top plastic bags; empty disposable water bottle; bowl; spatula

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If a crepe and a pancake were all mixed up – you’d have a dutch baby. It’s sort of like an eggy, fluffy pancake. And when this dutch baby recipe is cooked in a cast iron dutch oven, it tastes even better. Top it with a little Nutella®, berries, or just powdered sugar and it’s possibly the best campfire breakfast ever.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 5

Ingredients:

3 eggs
½ Cup flour
½ Cup milk
1 Tbsp sugar
sprinkle of nutmeg
4 Tbsp butter (half of a stick)
Powdered sugar, jam, Nutella®, berries, or other fruit – get creative!

Extra Equipment Needed at the Campsite:

campfire dutch oven (this recipe is tailored to a 10 inch, 5 quart size. dutch oven. A larger size could suffice, if need be)
20 charcoal briquettes/lighter fluid/matches or lighter
metal tongs
pot holders and/or lid lifter
cutting board or somewhere else to place the hot dutch oven
whisk
zip top plastic bags
empty disposable water bottle
bowl
spatula

Before You Leave Home

The beauty of dutch babies is that both the wet and dry ingredients can be prepped ahead of time and simply mixed at the campsite. To ensure maximum fluffiness, don’t mix the wet and dry together until right before cook time.

Step 1 – Prepare Dry Ingredients

Mix together ½ Cup flour, 1 Tbsp sugar, and the nutmeg. Place the mixture into a zip top plastic bag and after sealing, shake until all ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Keep this with your non-perishable items until time to head to the campsite.

Step 2 – Prepare Wet Ingredients

Whisk the 3 eggs and ½ Cup milk together. Using a funnel, put this mixture into an empty (and clean) disposable water bottle. This is an easy way to keep your mixture accessible, leak-proof, and compact enough to fit into your cooler.

Making Your Dutch Baby

Step 1 – Prepare Your Cooking Area

Begin heating up 20 charcoal briquettes. It is definitely possible to cook this with wood, but briquettes allow for more consistent temperatures and a better guarantee that your dutch baby will turn out just right.

TIP: The briquettes should be white-hot before you place your dutch oven on top of them. It will take approximately 20 minutes of burn-time before they’re ready.

Step 2 – Mix Together All Ingredients

Mix together the wet and dry ingredients (leaving the butter and toppings out).

Whisk the mixture together until the batter is nice and smooth. Lumps are no good for this mixture. After the mixing is complete, let your batter rest for a few minutes while your briquettes finish heating up.

Step 3 – Melt the Butter

When the briquettes have about 2-3 minutes left to finish turning white, place your dutch oven into the fire. Dutch ovens cook much more evenly when they are preheated. While the dutch oven is preheating, place 4 Tbsp of butter in the bottom of it. The butter needs to melt completely.

Once it’s totally melted, take your hot pads and carefully swirl your pot around until the butter covers the entire bottom.

Step 4 – Cook Dutch Baby

It’s time to cook the dutch baby! Pull the dutch oven off the heat and pour in the batter. Carefully separate 7 briquettes and put them in a small circle in the cooking area. Place your dutch oven on top of these briquettes.

Next, replace the lid and and spread the remaining 13 briquettes on top of the lid (metal tongs work best for this).

Cook for 20 minutes and then test for doneness. The dutch baby is cooked and ready when it’s a light brown all over and the middle is fully set (doesn’t wiggle when you move the dutch oven).

If it needs more cooking time, simply replace the lid and check again in a minute or two. When it’s nearly done, it’s easy for it to go from “almost ready” to “should have pulled it off sooner” so check often.

TIP: It’s worth noting that dutch babies are much like souffles – they are super puffy until you remove the lid. As soon as the lid is lifted, they will rapidly deflate – don’t worry – this is normal.

This is what the dutch baby should look like when it’s completely cooked. Yummy right?

At this point, it’s ready to be served. Carefully remove it from the dutch oven (it will slide right out thanks to all that butter) and add your topping(s) of choice. Try berries or other fruit, jam, powdered sugar, or chocolate spread (like Nutella®).

Explore more dutch oven camping recipes.