Vegan GF Salted Caramel Apple Dutch Baby

(vegan, gluten-free)

The gauntlet had been thrown down. My friend had all but challenged me to create my own personal vegan gluten-free salted caramel apple Dutch baby pancake recipe. I picked up the gauntlet and slapped him back. “Honor shall be mine,” I stated plainly.

OK, in reality, my friend had tried to redux his own vegan gluten-free Dutch baby recipe, and, according to him, “It didn’t work. GF baking is impossible.” Nonsense, I thought. You just have to tap into the rhythms, vibes, and alchemy of gluten-free baking. I took up the challenge for him, starting by researching what exactly was a Dutch baby anyway. I am embarrassed to admit it, but I had never actually had a Dutch baby in my life. What else am I missing in the big great world?

According to Wikipedia, a Dutch baby, sometimes called a German pancake, is a sweet or savory pancake baked in an a hot cast iron pan in the oven (rather than fried) and containing no chemical leavening ingredients, such as baking powder. It is typically made with eggs, flour, sugar, and milk, and typically seasoned with vanilla and cinnamon. It is essentially a collapsed popover.

My recipe uses silken tofu and a small amount of kala namak (black salt), which provides the thickness, leavening, and slight egginess of the eggs, without actually using eggs. The salted caramel sauce uses coconut milk, but this only added a very slight hint of coconut flavor.

There may be other vegan GF Dutch baby recipes out there on the interwebs, but this one is mine, and I am very proud of it. After all, my honor was on the line.

INGREDIENTS

• Dutch Baby
  • ½ cup silken tofu
  • ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum
  • ¾ cup gluten-free all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup plant milk (recommend almond, soy, or oat)
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon kala namak
  • 1-2 tablespoons unsalted vegan butter
• Cinnamon Apple Topping
  • 2 medium apples, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1-2 tablespoons water
• Salted Caramel Sauce
  • ¼ cup unsalted vegan butter
  • ¾ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
  • ½ cup coconut milk
  • 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

INSTRUCTIONS

Dutch Baby

1. Place tofu and xanthan gum in blender and blend on medium-high speed for 20-30 seconds until smooth. Add flour, plant milk, lemon zest, sugar, salt, and vanilla, and blend until combined. Set batter aside and allow to rest for 15 minutes at room temperature.
2. Preheat oven to 400F. Place butter on 10-inch oven safe skillet (or any 3-quart baking dish), and place in the oven for no more than five minutes to melt the butter. Remove the pan from the oven, and use a pastry brush to spread the melted butter up the sides of the pan.
3. Pour the batter into the center of the hot pan. Use the pastry brush to carefully spread the batter all the way to the edge of the pan. Place it in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Keeping the Dutch baby in the oven, reduce the temperature to 350F and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until the edges and center are slightly browned.
4. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Spread cooked apples (see below) over Dutch baby base , and drizzle with caramel sauce (see below). Serve immediately.

Cooked Apples

1. In a Dutch oven or other large pot, add water and sliced apples.
2. Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon, and simmer over low to medium heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring gently, until apples soften and most of the water has evaporated.

Salted Caramel Sauce

1. In a separate pot, melt butter and stir in brown sugar. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly until mixture thickens.
2. Remove from heat and carefully pour in coconut milk, vanilla, and salt. Stir into mixture. Place back on heat and continue stirring for another five minutes until mixture thickens slightly.
3. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.