Technically, the title of this recipe appears in Flavour as "Harry Style's Dutch Baby", but - for this blog post - getting two names into the title was too confusing and we've renamed it slightly. The story goes that Harry Styles once recommended a version of this dessert to a friend of Ruby's dad while sitting at the counter of Soho restaurant Spuntino. The following is her own spin on it. We know what we're having for brunch this weekend.
Image by Charlotte Bland
Ruby says, "A Dutch Baby sits somewhere between a Yorkshire pudding and a pancake: a sweet, cinnamon-spiced batter, blasted in a hot oven until it rises to airy perfection. Served with tart rhubarb and ice cream, it’s a great dessert, though you could tone down the sweetness and just heap it with fresh berries for a fine breakfast, too. I don’t always have time to treat myself to this indulgent brunch treat, but through all the muesli and porridge and sad cereal bars, it’s this little baby that I miss."
Serves 2
150g rhubarb, cut into 3–4cm chunks
30g caster sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 star anise
For the batter:
50g caster sugar
2 large eggs
100ml milk
60g plain flour
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of ground nutmeg
pinch of salt
25g butter
Put the rhubarb, sugar, cinnamon and star anise in a pan and cook over a low heat for 10–15 minutes. The rhubarb will start off defiantly crunchy, but as it warms it will soften and release its juices until you’re left with a rosy rhubarb compote.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/gas mark 6. Have a 17–20cm cast-iron frying pan or similar size pie dish to hand.
In a mixing bowl, whisk the sugar, eggs and milk together. Combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a separate bowl. Add a little of the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and whisk to a thick paste before pouring in the remaining liquid. Mix the batter until smooth, then set aside while you prepare the pan.
Cube the butter, place it in the pan or pie dish and set in the preheated oven for 8–10 minutes, until the pan’s really hot and the butter is sizzling. As soon as the pan is ready, pour in the batter and bake for 20 minutes. When it’s ready, the Baby will have majestically puffed and tanned to a golden brown. Serve straight away with the rhubarb (rewarm it if you need to) and plenty of ice cream.
