With a Strawberry on Top

There are times when I menu plan where I assign a category, but not a specific recipe. Then, as the day to actually make the food draws near, I go in search of something that fulfills the category. Such as was the case last week with the "Dutch baby" category. I've made a lot of different varieties, but I'm guessing the Valentine's week had brought this jam-swirled version to the top of my Pinterest search.

Since I had homemade strawberry jam in the refrigerator, I made a switch on the fruit. Also, mostly due to Valentine's Day, the fresh strawberry selection in the store made this a good choice. This Dutch baby was much more "eggy" than some varieties. I loved it, and thought the sturdier texture helped it hold up to the jam very well. We topped ours with fresh slices of strawberry, a few milk chocolate chips, and whipped cream. It was divine.

The original blogger baked theirs at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Never in my life have I baked a German pancake/Dutch baby at that low of a temp for that short of time. I started following instructions, and at eight minutes in, switched to 425 and added five more minutes of baking time. I was using my cast iron skillet, so I don't think the baking pan made a difference either.

I would definitely make this recipe again, switching up the jam and fruit for what I have on hand or am craving. Peach would be scrumptious, and I'd love to try fruit combos too. So many things to try...