Dutch Baby with Caramelised Bananas

Preparation

Why stand and flip pancakes one at a time when you can make one large, impressively tall Dutch Baby pancake in the oven? The batter is similar to a crepe recipe, but the shape comes from pouring the batter into a screaming hot pan bubbling with butter. The gorgeous cup shape invites the center to be filled, and for this recipe, it is filled with buttery, caramelized bananas. Don’t use bananas that are too ripe or they will fall apart while cooking. A dusting of icing sugar is a simple final touch, but a dollop of whipped cream or even a scoop of ice cream is not a bad idea.

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C. Whisk the eggs and caster sugar in a large bowl until the sugar is dissolved and the eggs are frothy. Whisk in the milk and vanilla. Sift the flour, salt, and allspice into the bowl and whisk until very smooth. A few small lumps are fine. Set the batter aside while heating the fry pan.
2. Put a HexClad 25CM Hybrid Fry Pan on the center rack of the oven and heat for 15 minutes. Whisk the rested batter a few times to make sure it’s completely smooth. Carefully remove the pan from the oven and add the butter, swirling the pan to melt quickly. Immediately pour the batter into the pan and return to the oven. Bake until the edges of the Dutch baby are very well risen and deeply browned, taking care not to open the oven while it’s cooking, 18 to 20 minutes.
3. When the Dutch baby is almost ready, make the bananas. Slice the bananas on a long bias, about 1 1/2-cm-thick. Melt the butter in a 30cm HexClad Hybrid Fry Pan over medium heat and then sprinkle with the golden caster sugar. Top with the bananas in a single layer, leaving room between slices. Cook, without turning, until the sugar starts to darken, 1 to 2 minutes. Shake the pan a few times and then flip the bananas. Cook until the bananas are soft and browned, but not falling apart, about 1 minute more. Remove from the heat.
4. Pour the bananas and any sauce from the pan into the center of the hot Dutch baby and dust with icing sugar. Cut into large wedges for serving.