Apr 19, 2016 It will climb to teetering, nail-biting heights in the oven, but deflates almost immediately once removed – this is supposed to happen, don’t worry. It’s got a crepe-like texture and flavour, but with endearing puffy bits and a buttery, golden bottom. In making a Dutch Baby, it’s important to have the ingredients at room temperature, as the only leavening comes from eggs and cold eggs won’t whip as well. I warm my eggs in just a few minutes by putting them in a large bowl filled with hot tap water. And I take the chill off of milk with about 20 seconds in the microwave. It’s crucial that you preheat the skillet as well. My almost-3-year-old made it with me this morning – he actually did almost the whole thing. And he squealed with delight watching it rise. It’s a really fun, easy recipe to make with kids. And this was a totally unplanned segue, but there’s something I’d like to share while we’re on the topic – I’m a volunteer judge for a kids’ cooking video contest called Hands On Cook Off that opens this Wednesday, April 20th. It’s open to residents of British Columbia and Manitoba, Canada. The purpose is to get kids (and their families) excited about cooking and eating together! Family meals have so many benefits to kids – lower obesity rates, lower incidence of anorexia, teenage pregnancy and substance abuse (!), higher GPAs, better vocabularies, etc. etc. And cooking together has the immense benefit of teaching your kids the skills they need to feed themselves a lifetime of healthy, delicious meals. These are things that I’m really passionate about. If you live one of these places, I’d be so happy if you entered with your muchkins or helped spread the word (and the grand prize is $1,000 – that’d be a nice addition to the family summer vacation fund!)\
