Chef Joost
Appelpannenkoek
The apple pannenkoek is supper pretending to be breakfast: a plate-wide Dutch pancake, tart apple softened into the batter, and cinnamon sugar doing honest work.
Culinary Explorer
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Drie-in-de-pan
Created by
The name means exactly what the pan can hold: three small yeasted pancakes, fat with raisins, born from thrift and made for a table that expects seconds.
Breakfast & Brunch
Dutch
Comfort Food
Budget Friendly
Make Ahead
15 min
Active Time
25 min cook•1 hr 40 min total
Yield12 small pancakes
In my grandmother's second notebook, the recipe sits in the handwriting she used for things everyone was supposed to know already. Drie-in-de-pan. Three in the pan. No poetry pretending to be mysterious, no Latin hiding in the cupboard. The name already tells you the method, which is sometimes the most Dutch kind of etymology: look at the pan, count to three, eat while warm.
But let me tell you a secret. These are not ordinary pancakes made smaller. They belong to the older family of yeasted batter cakes, thicker and more patient, the sort of breakfast that could make a little flour, milk, and a handful of raisins feel generous. A country that learned thrift from damp fields and hard winters became very good at this trick. The raisins swell in the batter, the yeast gives a soft chew, and the edges brown in butter until they taste faintly nutty.
The method asks for one virtue: waiting. Let the batter rise until it looks alive and pocked with bubbles, then stir it down gently and fry small rounds, three at a time, because that is the size of the promise. Hou het altijd simpel, always keep it simple. Butter, batter, patience, and a little sugar at the table.
Drie-in-de-pan appears in Dutch household cookery as a thrifty pan-baked batter dish, related to older yeasted pancakes and raisin cakes made before chemical baking powder became common in home kitchens. Its name is literal rather than ornamental: three small pancakes were cooked together in one frying pan, a practical size for even browning and quick serving. The dish belongs especially to domestic breakfast and midday tables, where enriched batter turned modest staples into something festive without asking the household purse for much.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
all-purpose flour
Quantity
250g
instant yeast
Quantity
7g
sugar
Quantity
25g
fine salt
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
lukewarm milk
Quantity
300ml
egg
Quantity
1 large
raisins
Quantity
75g
butter
Quantity
25g
melted, plus more for frying
powdered sugar (optional)
Quantity
to serve
Dutch stroop or maple syrup (optional)
Quantity
to serve
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| all-purpose flour | 250g |
| instant yeast | 7g |
| sugar | 25g |
| fine salt | 1/2 teaspoon |
| lukewarm milk | 300ml |
| egg | 1 large |
| raisins | 75g |
| buttermelted, plus more for frying | 25g |
| powdered sugar (optional) | to serve |
| Dutch stroop or maple syrup (optional) | to serve |
Equipment Needed
- •Wide frying pan, 28cm if possible
- •Large mixing bowl
- •Soup spoon or small ladle
Instructions
- 1
Make the batter
Whisk the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt together in a large bowl. Beat the lukewarm milk with the egg, then stir it into the flour until you have a thick, smooth batter. Stir in the melted butter and raisins. The batter should drop slowly from the spoon, not pour like ordinary pancake batter.
- 2
Let it rise
Cover the bowl and leave it in a warm place for about one hour, until the batter looks swollen and pocked with small bubbles. This is where the old character of the dish comes from; the yeast makes the pancakes thick and tender, while the raisins plump quietly inside.
- 3
Heat the pan
Set a wide frying pan over medium heat and melt in a small knob of butter. The butter should foam and settle, then smell nutty, not dark. Stir the risen batter once or twice to even it out without beating all the life from it.
- 4
Fry three rounds
Spoon three small mounds of batter into the pan, each about eight centimetres wide. Cook for two to three minutes, until the edges are set, the bottoms are deep golden, and small bubbles show on top. Turn them carefully and cook the second side for another two minutes.
Keep the heat moderate. Too hot, and the outside browns before the yeasted middle cooks through; too low, and the pancakes drink the butter instead of frying in it. - 5
Serve at once
Move the pancakes to a warm plate and repeat with the remaining batter, adding a little butter as needed. Serve with powdered sugar and, if the table asks for it, a thin thread of stroop. Three in the pan, many on the plate. That is the arithmetic.
Chef Tips
- •Use raisins that are soft and fresh. If they feel dry, soak them in warm water for ten minutes, then drain well; a hard raisin in a tender pancake is poor housekeeping.
- •Lukewarm milk means warm to the touch, not hot. If it feels hot enough to make you pull your finger back, it will make the yeast sulk.
- •A cast-iron or heavy steel pan gives the best browned edges. Nonstick works, but you lose a little of the butter-browned character that makes these worth making.
Advance Preparation
- •The batter can rise slowly in the refrigerator overnight; bring it to room temperature for thirty minutes before frying.
- •Cooked pancakes keep one day refrigerated. Rewarm in a buttered pan over low heat until the edges regain a little crispness.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 60g)
Calories
165 calories
Total Fat
5 g
Saturated Fat
3 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
2 g
Cholesterol
25 mg
Sodium
125 mg
Total Carbohydrates
27 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
10 g
Protein
4 g
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