Apple Custard Pancake

I'm always on the lookout for brunch recipes since it's my favorite meal to host. Back in college, we would call it epic brunch. After Sunday mass, we would gather any friends that showed up and have what we called epic brunch. Brunch would last until the late afternoon and we would put off our studies to eat and spend more time together. It is a tradition that has carried on even after graduation. Even though we're all miles away, we still have brunch during our reunions. Since Sunday is a day for sleeping in and general relaxation, I like simple recipes that can be thrown together quickly. This apple pancake is one of them. I made it with the anticipation that it would be more like a German pancake. It wasn't. It was really more of a custard- at least, to me! It reminded me of Laura's apple cinnamon bread pudding minus the bread. The recipe is from the Kitchn.

Apple Custard 

3 medium Granny Smith apples

4 tablespoons sugar, divided

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/3 cup unsalted butter

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

3/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

5 eggs

You can make this in a cast iron skillet (!) or an 8x8 inch square pan. I went with the latter.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cube butter and place into pan or skillet. Place into oven to melt (or the microwave) for a couple minutes. Then sprinkle the dark brown sugar over the melted butter. 

Peel and cube the apples. Then spread out apples on top of brown sugar mixture. 

Mix together 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, cinnamon, and ginger and sprinkle over the chopped apples. I added cloves and cardamom to this mixture for fun. Feel free to just follow the recipe instead. Place pan/skillet back in oven until butter mixture is bubbling and the apples are lightly golden brown on the edges, about 5-10 minutes.

Meanwhile add the milk, eggs, salt, nutmeg, vanilla, and remaining tablespoon of sugar into a blender. Blend on low for a couple seconds. Measure out the flour and add in parts to the liquid mixture while blender is running. This way, there aren't any lumps! Let batter rest for 5 minutes.

Then pour batter over apple mixture. Bake for 20 minutes until center is just set. Then cover with powdered sugar and homemade whipped cream and devour.