This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This Apple Dutch Baby for one is a puffy oven pancake that bakes up around sweet cinnamon apples, with crisp golden edges and a custardy center. Make it in a small cast iron skillet or baking dish.
Featured Comment
“Just a perfect, simple, easy recipe that tastes so gourmet…”
– Jen K
Quick Look
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Equipment: 6.5-inch cast iron skillet or 5-inch square baking dish
- Cook Method: Baked
- Servings: 1
- Difficulty: Easy
- Flavor Profile: Sweet and cinnamon-spiced, with tender baked apples against a soft, custardy center.
Made with one egg and one small apple, it bakes in a single skillet with the apples right in the batter, so there’s no extra pan to wash.
Why You’ll Love This Single Serving Apple Dutch Baby
This apple Dutch baby puffs up tall and golden in the oven, with sliced cinnamon apples baked into a soft center. It’s one small skillet, a single egg, and one apple, and it looks far fancier than the work it takes.
The batter is a quick whisk of pantry basics: egg, milk, flour, sugar, and a little vanilla and cinnamon. I lay the sliced apples in the hot buttered pan and pour the batter right over them, so they soften and bake into the pancake as it puffs, with no separate pan of stovetop apples to cook first.
The one step I don’t skip is heating the pan first. I put the butter in the skillet and let it melt in the oven while it preheats, because a hot, buttered pan gives the Dutch baby its big rise and lets it slide right out when it’s done.
When I have more apples to use up, I turn them into a single serving apple crisp or a mini Dutch apple pie. You’ll find the rest in my full collection of apple recipes for one.
Table of Contents
- Quick Look
- Why You’ll Love This Single Serving Apple Dutch Baby
- Ingredients
- Recipe Variations
- How To Make An Apple Dutch Baby
- Expert Tips
- Troubleshooting
- What To Serve With An Apple Dutch Baby
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More Single Serving Breakfast Recipes
- Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients
- Apple Dutch Baby For One Recipe
Ingredients
Here’s everything you need for a Dutch baby with apples, made for one, and what each ingredient does. See the recipe card below for exact amounts, and use our Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder for anything left over.
Butter: Butter greases the pan so the pancake browns at the edges. Salted or unsalted both work.
Egg: One large egg does the heavy lifting. It gives the Dutch baby its rise and its custardy center.
Milk: Milk thins the batter so it spreads across the pan and puffs at the edges. Any cow’s milk works, and almond or oat milk keeps it dairy-free.
Flour: All-purpose flour gives the pancake its structure. For a gluten-free Dutch baby, a 1:1 gluten-free blend works in its place.
Sugar and cinnamon: A little of each goes into the batter, and a pinch more gets sprinkled on top, where it bakes into a light cinnamon-sugar crust.
Vanilla: Vanilla rounds out the batter.
Apple: Use one small apple, thinly sliced, which comes to about ½ cup. Gala and Honeycrisp bake up sweet and tender, while Granny Smith holds its shape and adds tartness. Extra apples go into a mini apple galette or mini apple cake.
Recipe Variations
This easy apple Dutch baby is simple to change up. One swap changes the flavor, the other changes how many it feeds.
Apple Pie Dutch Baby
For an apple pie Dutch baby, cook the sliced apples into a soft, spiced filling first. Melt the butter in the skillet on the stovetop, add the sliced apple with 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar and ⅛ teaspoon of ground cinnamon (or ¼ teaspoon of apple pie spice), and cook over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes until the apple softens. Pour the batter over the top, skip the cinnamon-sugar topping, and bake as usual. Dust the baked Dutch baby with confectioners’ sugar before serving.
Apple Dutch Baby For Two
To make an apple Dutch baby for two, double every ingredient and bake it in a 9-inch cast iron skillet or an 6×8-inch baking dish. Bake until the edges are golden and the center is puffed.
For a different flavor, try our peach Dutch baby for one, blueberry Dutch baby for one, or savory ham and cheese Dutch baby for one.
How To Make An Apple Dutch Baby
Here’s how to make a single serve apple Dutch baby, step by step. See the recipe card below for exact measurements.
- Heat the oven and pan. Set the oven to 400°F. Put the butter in a 6.5-inch cast iron skillet or a 5-inch square baking dish, and set the pan in the oven so the butter melts while the oven heats.
- Whisk the wet ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg, milk, vanilla, and sugar until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients. Whisk in the flour, salt, and cinnamon until the batter is smooth with no lumps. For an even smoother batter, run it through a blender.
- Add the apples. Take the hot pan out of the oven. Swirl the melted butter to coat the bottom, then spread the sliced apples on the bottom of the pan.
- Pour in the batter. Pour the batter slowly over the apples, tilting the pan so it reaches the edges.
- Add the topping. Stir together the topping sugar and cinnamon, then sprinkle it over the batter.
- Bake. Bake at 400°F for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges are tall and golden and the center is puffed and set. It will deflate a little as it cools. Serve it warm from the pan.
Expert Tips
Preheat the skillet with the butter in it. This is the tip that matters most. Heat the pan and butter in the oven before the batter goes in, so the batter meets a hot, greased surface and climbs the sides as it bakes. A cold pan won’t give you that rise, and it’s the main reason a Dutch baby sticks.
Serve it right away. A Dutch baby is tallest straight out of the oven and settles as it cools. That settling is expected, so have your plate and any toppings ready and serve it while it’s still puffed.
Whisk or blend the batter until it’s smooth. Lumps of flour weigh the batter down and keep it from rising evenly. Whisk until no dry flour remains, or run it through a blender for a few seconds for the highest, most even rise.
Use the right pan and check that it’s oven-safe. Stick with a 6.5-inch cast iron skillet or a 5×5-inch baking dish. A larger pan spreads the batter too thin to puff. If you use a baking dish, make sure it’s rated safe to 400°F.
Troubleshooting
A few small things make the difference between a Dutch baby that rises tall and one that comes out flat, and they’re easy to get right. Here’s what to know so yours puffs up every time.
Why didn’t my Dutch baby puff up?
A pan that wasn’t hot enough is the usual cause, with lumpy batter close behind. Give the skillet time to heat in the oven with the butter in it, so the batter starts to climb the moment it goes in. Blend or whisk the batter until it’s completely smooth first, since dry flour lumps hold it down.
Why did my Dutch baby stick to the pan?
The pan hadn’t fully heated before the batter went in. A skillet that sits in the oven until the butter is sizzling releases the Dutch baby cleanly once it’s baked. No cast iron skillet? A buttered baking dish works the same way.
Why did my Dutch baby deflate?
A Dutch baby is meant to settle a little, so a deflated pancake isn’t a sign you did anything wrong. It’s at its tallest the second it leaves the oven and falls as it cools. Serve it right away to catch it while it’s still puffed.
What To Serve With An Apple Dutch Baby
This apple Dutch baby is good on its own, and these finish it a few different ways:
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. An apple Dutch baby, a Dutch apple pancake, and a German apple pancake are all the same dish, a puffy oven pancake baked with sliced apples. Some cooks call it an apple puff pancake. The batter climbs the sides of a hot skillet and settles into a soft, custardy center.
An apple Dutch baby is a single pancake baked in the oven with sliced apples, made from a thin batter of egg, milk, flour, and sugar. It puffs up with crisp golden edges and a soft, set middle, then falls slightly as it cools. It bakes in a small skillet or dish and serves one.
An apple Dutch baby is best baked and eaten right away. It’s tallest straight from the oven and settles as it cools, so it loses height if it sits. You can slice the apple and measure your ingredients ahead, then whisk and bake when you’re ready to eat.
No, you don’t need to peel the apple. Thin slices soften as they bake and the skin holds its shape, so it’s fine to leave on. Peel it if you prefer a softer bite with no skin.
Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 days, and reheat in a 300°F oven until warm. It won’t be as puffy as it was fresh, since a Dutch baby settles once it cools, but the flavor holds.
More Single Serving Breakfast Recipes
If you love this small apple Dutch baby, you might also like these other single serving breakfast recipes:
Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients
If you have any ingredients leftover from this recipe, check out our Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder or you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:
If you’ve tried this single serve apple Dutch baby recipe please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.
Apple Dutch Baby For One
Equipment
- 5-inch baking dish or a 6.5-inch cast iron mini skillet
Ingredients
- ½ tablespoon salted butter
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 small apple – thinly sliced (about ½ cup of sliced apples)
For the topping
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 400°F. Put the butter in a 6.5-inch cast iron skillet or 5-inch square baking dish and set it in the oven to melt while the oven heats.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the egg, milk, vanilla, and 1 teaspoon sugar until smooth.
- Whisk in the flour, salt, and ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon until the batter is smooth with no lumps.
- Carefully remove the hot pan from the oven and swirl the melted butter to coat the bottom.
- Arrange the sliced apple in an even layer in the pan.
- Slowly pour the batter over the apple, tilting the pan so it spreads to the edges.
- Stir together the 1 teaspoon sugar and ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon for the topping, then sprinkle it evenly over the batter.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges are tall and golden and the center is puffed and set. Serve warm, straight from the pan.
Notes
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
I made this, but doubled the recipe so my husband and I could share. It was fantastic and I will be making it again! For us, putting any more sugar on or in it would make it too sweet, so instead of syrup or other sweeteners, we put a nice dollop of sour cream on top after we plated it. Yummy!
Sounds wonderful! I’m so happy you both enjoyed it.
This looks like a great recipe. I see that it can be doubled. If I do double it, to serve for 2 people, what size skillet or baking dish should I use?
Thanks!
If doubling the recipe, I suggest using an 8 inch skillet.
Hubby & I tried the Apple Dutch Baby this morning; quick & easy, recipe was prepped & ready before the oven was even up to temp.
But the best part… it fits into our Weight Watchers plan topped with a little low fat yogurt & sugar free syrup – delicious! This will be on our regular rotation.
Oh, so good!
I just made the Apple Dutch Baby. It was so easy and delicious!!!! I had some heavy cream so I made fresh whipped topping. Loved it!!!
Wonderful! I’m so happy you enjoyed it.
Just a perfect, simple easy recipe that tastes so gourmet. It was delicious with so little sugar added. Had it with an afternoon tea. *Chef’s kiss*
I’m so glad you enjoyed it – thank you!
I make this a little differently. I add the sugar and cinnamon to the melted butter before adding the apples, no sugar in the pancake batter. The apples taste like baked apples this way and the batter gets it’s sweetness from the sugar on the apples.
I made this twice in a cast iron pan.It was yummy tasting but stuck to my pan both times and was a mess.Any suggestions?
Did you preheat the skillet in the oven? This step is necessary to ensure the “pancake” does not stick. Is your cast iron well seasoned? If it is, the pancake should release easily.
This recipe is scrumptious!! Mine didn’t puff up as much but I think that was user error. I’m definitely making this again. It is a perfect breakfast for a lazy Sunday morning.
Can I bake this in my air fryer rather than heating up my big oven for my small cast iron fry pan?
This recipe has not been tested in an air fryer but an air fryer is just a small convection oven so anything that can be made in a regular oven can be made in an air fryer. You’ll just need to reduce the cooking time as convection ovens cook faster due to how they circulate heat using a fan. I also have not used cast iron in an air fryer. I would refer back to the manufacturer to make sure a cast iron skillet can be used in one.
Yes you can use a cast iron skillet in an air fryer. I do so all the time.
I use your recipes as cooking for 2. Your website is fantastic!
Thank you!
Just made this all for myself and it is Delicious! Thanks so much for the recipe!
Woke up to snow this morning. This was the perfect way to warm up the kitchen and have a fabulous breakfast! So delicious.
Cinnamon is listed twice in the ingredient list, but only mentioned once in the instructions. Are you meant to put cinnamon in the batter as well as the topping?
Yes. Cinnamon is added to the batter and cinnamon-sugar is sprinkled on top before baking.
Have made this twice so far and it’s so easy to make. Gets a five stars from me! 🙂
I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe. Thank you so much for your feedback!
I can’t believe I forgot to post I tried this and delicious. Easy too. It came out perfect.