This French Baked Pancake is one of our signature breakfast dishes here at Whispering Pines B&B and a crowd pleaser! We serve it often and top it with a homemade seasonal fruit sauce; typically whatever is in season or at the nearby orchards.
French Baked Pancake
A layer of cheese custard in the center of this baked pancake plays into the French cuisine. An almost blank canvas to dress up in every season with your favorite topping. A great make ahead and one to impress your guests or loved ones on a special day.
Ingredients
Pancake Batter
- 1/2 cup Butter room temperature
- 1/4 cup Sugar
- 3 Eggs best if room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring
- 2 cups Flour We use 1 cup white/1 cup wheat
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Baking powder
- 1 1/4 cups Milk
- 1 tablespoon topping optional – if you know your topping choice and it's already made, mix a small amount into the batter
Custard Filling
- 3 cups Small curd cottage cheese or a 22 ounce container
- 2 Eggs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoon Butter melted
Topping – seasonal fruit compote – See additional suggestions below
- 1 can Apple Pie filling – or homemade caramelized apples
- 1 cup maple syrup
- 1 cup Sour Cream or yogurt
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- 1 tablespoon Cinnamon
- Chopped Pecans and/or Dried Cranberries for garnish
- 1 tablespoon Powdered sugar
Instructions
Pancake Batter
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
- Combine the butter and sugar in a large bowl (or stand mixer, if using). Add in 3 eggs, one at a time; beat well. Add vanilla and mix.
- Combine flour and baking powder. Add dry mix and milk alternately into the butter mixture. Set aside.
- **Optional: If you have your topping already prepared or are using a canned fruit filling, you can add 1 – 2 tablespoons to the above batter to distribute the flavors.
Custard Filling
- Melt 3 tablespoons of butter. In medium bowl, slightly beat 2 remaining eggs, add salt, cottage cheese and melted butter. Mix well.
- Pour half of the batter into a greased pan, spreading it into a thin layer. Spread cheese filling mixture over the batter in the pan, then top with remaining batter, and spread evenly. Bake for 60 mins or until golden brown.
Toppings
- While pancake is baking, mix and heat apple pie filling and syrup together in a saucepan to make a sauce. Or prepare your fruit compote.
- Mix sour cream or yogurt, vanilla, powered sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl to make a sour cream sauce.
Putting it all together – The Presentation
- Remove the pancake from oven and let sit 5-10 minutes or until set. (OR, see note on reheating below.*) Cut lengthwise down the center, then make 4 cuts across to make 10 equal rectangle pieces, remove from pan. Cut each piece into two triangles. Place one triangle on the plate and place the other triangle perpendicular on top of the first with point sticking up. Spoon fruit topping over pancakes. Drizzle sour cream mix and top with garnish. Serve with a complimenting side of your favorite breakfast meat.
Notes
*We prefer to prepare and bake ahead of time and reheat for 30 mins at 350 F just before service. This allows the cottage cheese to really set (think lasagna) AND crisps up the top and sides of the pancake giving it a unique texture.
It can be refrigerated for 3 – 4 days in the pan or cut into squares and frozen with parchment paper separating. From frozen, thaw overnight in refrigerator or defrost in microwave for 1 – 2 minutes prior to reheating.
Serves 10
Variations:
- Blueberry sauce topped w/orange zest
- Cherries topped w/almond yogurt & slivered almonds
- Peaches and Cream Sauce or Cinnamon Sugar Peaches (see photo below)
- Cranberry orange sauce with walnuts and orange zest
- Apples as in this recipes