Dutch Baby with Tea Poached Plums

When you read as many food blogs as I do, certain recipes start to loop around and around in your mind. It can consume a person. 
This recipe has been on permanent replay in my head for a good year now and when something is on replay in your head it is time to address it. 
I can't believe I didn't address the issue of this Dutch Baby sooner!
My American readers are probably smiling and nodding as they read this because from what I have seen around the webs; this is a pretty popular dish in the U.S. of A. The recipe originated in Seattle in Manca's cafe and is derived from a German pancake recipe that had apples baked into the batter. The "Dutch" part of the name comes from German immigrants who were known as the "Pennsylvania Dutch". 

History and origins aside - what we have here is essentially a great, giant pancake. This giant pancake does not require flipping and it puts on a show by puffing up and then deflating to form a wonderful, gaping crater to hold whatever you please. It's both light and chewy and has a crispy edge that will melt your heart.

Plums poached in black tea was the filling for me. I used a smoky Russian Caravan tea because I was curious to see what it would be like. To be honest with you, I wasn't overly confident with this choice as the smokiness worried me a little. Happily, it ended up creating a wonderful and complex depth of flavour when combined with the brown sugar and vanilla bean.

Have I planted the seed in your mind? Are you thinking about nothing else other than what else could you could place in the centre? Or are you thinking you might like to try the tea-poached plum option? 

Now I want you to think about globbing a big scoop of vanilla bean ice-cream right in there. 

Time to address it. 

Dutch Baby with Tea Poached Plums
You will need a 25cm oven proof pan (cast iron works well) or cake tin

For the Dutch Baby
1/2 cup sugar
3 large room temperature eggs
2/3 cup milk at room temperature
2/3 plain flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
55g butter - cubed

For the Tea Poached Plums
3 teaspoons loose-leaf black tea of your choice - I used Russian Caravan for it's smokiness and it was beautiful.
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 vanilla pod
5 medium plums - skins intact and chopped into wedges
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 220C - and put in your pan to heat. 
Bring 250ml of water to the boil and add the tea leaves. Leave to infuse for 5 minutes then strain into a medium saucepan.
Split the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds with the back of a knife. Add them to the tea along with the vanilla pod. 
Add the sugar and stir over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved.
Add the plumbs and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and add the vanilla extract. Simmer for around 10 minutes or until the plums are tender. You can check this by carefully sliding the tip of a sharp knife into a slice of plum. Turn off the heat and set aside to cool. 

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla and sugar until light and pale. Whisk in the milk and then gradually mix in the flour and salt. Mix until no lumps remain.
Carefully remove the pan from the oven using oven mitts and add the butter to the pan to melt. Swirl the butter around to coat the bottom of the pan and then tip the remaining butter into the pancake batter and whisk to combine. 
Pour the pancake batter into the pan and immediately put it back in the oven. Reduce the temperature to 200C and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

The pancake will be golden and puffed-up but after removing from the oven, it will sink quickly. Spoon the plums into the centre of the pancake and serve with vanilla bean ice-cream.