This German Pancake recipe is a pretty famous one in our family.

My family always called this creation “Jackson Souffle.” Then when I married Dave, low and behold, his family made them too. But they called them “Ocean Pancakes.” Whatever you want to call these, I’m pretty sure everyone and their dog just may have the recipe.  But I want to write it here because it’s part of our family culture.

Claire with fresh Jackson Souffle

If they had a cooking contest, I’m pretty sure this one may win in the category for “breakfast foods that make kids’ eyes sparkle the very most.” It’s easy, but it takes 20 minutes to cook so you have to take that into consideration.  If you have a big eater like Max, you need to take into consideration that you need to double the recipe (make two pans), because that kid will eat one of them all by himself.

Every time cousins sleep over, or there is a special occasion, or our kids chose a favorite breakfast for their birthdays, this is the go-to recipe.

Here you go:

ocean pancakes

Ocean Pancakes/Jackson Souffle

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Course Breakfast

Ingredients
  

  • 6 large eggs
  • 1 c. flour
  • 1 c. milk
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 c. butter (1/2 cube)...this doesn't get mixed with the rest...see instructions below.

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  • Cut up 1/2 cube (1/4 cup) of butter in a 9x13 casserole dish. (The recipe I have calls for 3/4 cube but seriously, I want to slow down artery clogging as much as possible and it still tastes great.)
  • Put it in the oven and let it melt while you mix up the rest.
  • Beat 6 large eggs in a bowl.
  • Gradually add 1 c. flour. It's important to add this before the milk so it will mix in smooth.
  • Add 1 c. milk and the salt...whisk it all together.
  • When the butter is melted and bubbly (I like it best when it's a tad bit browned), remove it from the oven and add the egg mixture. (Be careful with that hot pan!)
  • Stick that pan back in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
  • Enjoy with powdered sugar, syrup, strawberries, bananas, whatever sounds delicious.
  • Enjoy!

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50 Comments

  1. Well we have never had that so I will just have to try it tomorrow morning!

    One question…what is a cube of butter? A stick? A cup? Just want to clarify 🙂

  2. Your name sounds much fancier than the one I grew up with, Hootenanny pancakes. And yours are much puffier on the edges too! We eat these delicious things for Christmas breakfast and whenever else (like conference) that we want a quick, fun breakfast. They really are quick! We mix our batter all at once in a blender and then pour into the warm buttered dish. By the time the table is set and maybe some fruit or sides ready, bam they are done! We yell Hootenanny! As they are set on the table. Our favorite way to eat them is with a squeeze of lemon (any kind, but especially fresh) and powder sugar shaken on top. Mmm!

  3. Oh you're so right about the kids' eyes sparkling! My kids absolutely love when we have German Pancakes! Like Ashley, we like them with lemon and powdered sugar, but we've also done berries, bananas, peaches, syrup, peanut butter, and even yogurt (which is in competition with lemon/powdered sugar for my personal favorite).

  4. We always called them Dutch Babies because of the peaked corners are kind of like the old Dutch hats. It is funny how we all claim this dish with a different name!

  5. Oh I forgot, add some very thinly sliced apples to the pan once the butter has just melted. Add a bit of cinnamon and sugar to the batter and then pour it on top of the butter/apples once they are sizzling. This is a nice variation if you don't have any other fruit on hand.

  6. I make these all the time and its one thing all of my 6 kids will eat. I like to add cinnamon, nutmeg, and 1 tsp. vanilla to mine. It makes an already good recipe even tastier.

  7. Funny that these are called german pancakes. I'm from Germany and I never heard of them and also do not recognize them…
    🙂

    They look delicious anyway!

  8. I am with Janelle, though – a cube of butter?

    My mother-in-law used to order these at a pancake house all the time and eat them with lemon. I have never made them, and I am glad you shared the recipe since I saw them pictured in one of your posts. I may try them this weekend!

  9. This was our favorite growing up. We called them "puffed pancakes". My Mom mostly made them at conference time. They were always a huge hit. Thanks for sharing! 🙂

  10. We love oven pancakes at our house! My husband loves it with apple pie filling on top. I think that might make it more of a dessert but it is so good. Thanks for sharing! I love your blog!

  11. This is a favorite for our kids, too. We are from NC and call it Dutch Baby, german pancake or puff pancake. We cook ours in a cast-iron skillet and add a little sugar to the mixture (Joy of Cooking recipe) and the kids eat it plain. My husband and I like to top ours with apple slices cooked with brown sugar and cinnamon. Yum!

  12. We call these Yorkshire puddings. We usually make smaller individual round tins and they get eaten with a roast dinner. Never had them with sweet stuff.

  13. We make individual pancakes using 3 eggs ans a round cake pan. the kids always choose them for their birthday dinner. 🙂 I have also cut the butter waaaay down and they ate wonderful!

  14. I call them hootenanny pancakes as well (I thought I was the only one)! My favorite way to top them is with sour cream and homemade strawberry jam. Yum!

  15. I make these all the time, except I just throw everything in the vitamix and blend it up for a minute or so while I put all the ingredients away, and it makes it just as puffy and takes a whole lot less time/dishes to mix.

    We eat them as "yorkshire pudding" with roast and gravy or top it with kielbasa/apple/onion stir fry or as "german pancakes" with powdered sugar and lemon juice on top. Everyone in my family loves them no matter what we eat them with!

  16. Every recipe i've ever tried from your blog is delicious! I've never made this one, but i did have it when i went to visit my sister in law in mesa.Can't wait to make it myself!

  17. We like to add the butter to the batter that we mix in our blender then we put them in muffin tins for mini German pancakes. The kids love them.

  18. These are yorkshire puddings:) They're very much like pancakes.

    Even tho most people have them with a roast dinner they're nice with something sweet too, such as golden syrup. (similar to maple syrup)

    Whichever way you have them tho, sweet or savoury, they're lovely:)

  19. As all your other UK commenters have said we'd call this a "Yorkshire pudding". Never heard of it eaten for breakfast though. Usually it goes with Roast Beef and roast potatoes and veg for Sunday lunch over here.

    Mmmm.. just thinking about that is making me hungry! LOL.

    xMx

  20. Probably I'm your only German reader here, but I have never heard of this recipe and they are definitely nothing like german pancakes are. 😉
    But probably worth a try…

  21. We love German pancakes too! They are especially great because you can use any type of flour with them. I really like oat flour.

  22. We called these German pancakes until we met some friends from Germany and they told us they are NOT german pancakes. They call these silly pancakes. We also make this peach sauce to go with ours and top it with a little whip cream. I double this for our family of six.

    1/4 c. orange juice
    1 T. cornstarch
    1/4 t. cinnamon
    15 oz. can sliced peaches with juice

    In a saucepan mix the orange juice, cornstarch, and cinnamon. Add peaches with juice. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

    Enjoy!

  23. Another one here who calls these Yorkshire puddings. DH cooks them every Sunday in the winter, to eat as a side dish with our roast. I never thought of eating them sweet, love the apple and cinnamon idea that someone posted above, will have to try this! I must admit that I can't quite imagine eating Yorkshire Pud for my breakfast 🙂 but I'm sure my teenage son would totally be up for it! BTW, for people who are asking re the amount of butter above, I don't think you need to worry too much about the quantity you use, all you need to do is make sure that the pudding doesn't stick to the pan and that it crisps up nicely at the edges.

  24. Try them in a muffin pan! We love it. They turn into little cups that can hold fruit or syrup or whip cream. They cook faster & everyone gets an edge piece!

  25. It's funny that the German's say they have never seen/tasted or heard of such a recipe. We live in Munich and my children eat Kaiserscharrm at school on Fridays. Presentation is different, but it is essentially the same…eggs and flour. It is an absolute favorite. At our school they serve it with apple sauce and/or cinnamon sugar.

  26. Everyone loves it when we have German pancakes for dinner! Thank you so much for your recipes. I have tried every one and my family really enjoyed them.

  27. I'd never made this before, so I made it today and added some green food coloring in honor of St. Patrick's Day! Those along with our green buttermilk syrup and green milk, made for the perfect holiday breakfast! Thanks for the idea!! 🙂

  28. You would be interested to know that we have always called these David Eyre Pancakes at my house! Maybe a relative? But yours look like they've really puffed up nice. Ours seem to vary from time to time (how much they puff, how light the centers are, etc.). But they're always delicious no matter what. Thanks for sharing your way. I was wondering after you posted that picture of the girls eyeballing them from a distance. Dawn

  29. Everyone keeps asking about how much butter. My recipe is the exact same as Shawni's so I'll let you know that the recipe calls for 6 tablespoons of butter but I use 4 tablespoons (4 TB= 1/2 of a stick of butter). Love this breakfast!

  30. Hi Shawni!
    I’ve got this in the oven this morning as I type this. Perfect breakfast for my kiddos who are enjoying their summer vacation still. My oldest and I made “Jonah’s Granola” a couple weeks ago and loved it.
    I would love to see some new recipe posts!
    All the best,
    JennG

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