We love German pancakes at our house. As I was making Brazilian Cheese Rolls one day, which had a similar, although savory, batter, I realized little mini German pancakes would be a super fun breakfast. The best part is that you don’t need a special pancake pan; a mini muffin tin works great! This is something we make often at my house (sometimes even for dinner!) because it’s made with super basic ingredients. Just milk, flour, eggs, and a bit of butter. I make mine with the least amount of eggs possible, so it’s not so…eggy. They’re just soft and pillowy and perfect for dipping in just about anything.
Ingredients and Equipment Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
Pancakes
- All-purpose flour – Making these over the years, I actually realized I like the texture of these better when I reduce the flour a little bit. I left the recipe below the same as originally posted because I know so many people make and love these, but I put a note on there that I usually reduce the flour now, from 3/4 cup to 1/2 cup.
- Milk – Whatever milk you have will work!
- Eggs
- Salt
- Butter – Always use real butter if you can!
- Powdered sugar – For dusting.
Berry Sauce
- Fresh or frozen strawberries – You just need a little handful. You could use frozen mixed berries, too.
- Berry jam – Any variety.
- Sugar – Optional/if needed depending on how sweet your berries are.
Equipment
- Mini muffin tin – Any mini muffin tin will do. I love mine in a cast iron muffin tin because the edges get nice and crispy!
How to Make Mini Puffed Pancakes with Berry Sauce
- These are so easy! You just need to pop your pan in the oven and preheat it.
- While that’s heating up, pop some flour, eggs, milk, and a dash of salt in a blender and blend it all up.
- When your pan is hot, you’ll take it out and coat each well with butter, then pour in your batter and return the pan to the hot oven.
- While those are baking, whip up your quick berry sauce. Just mix up a few frozen berries and a few tablespoons of whatever berry jam you have in the fridge. Heat it in the microwave for a bit and then mash it all together with a fork, adding sugar if needed. The jam sweetens and gives body to the sauce and the berries make it taste like it’s fresh. It’s so easy; I use this for ice cream, pancakes, waffles, and all kinds of stuff like that.
- After 15-20 minutes, your little pancakes will be puffed up and beginning to brown. Pull them out, dust with powdered sugar, berry sauce, and a little dollop of whipped cream or cool whip if desired. Enjoy!
Storing and Other Tips
- These little pancakes are best eaten fresh out of the oven. If you do have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the fridge and enjoy within 2-3 days.
- Part of what makes these puff so beautifully is the batter hitting that hot pan. Be sure to move quickly when buttering the wells and adding the batter!
Frequently Asked Questions
These are really best enjoyed fresh! That said, you could certainly make them and reheat as needed if you enjoy them that way.
These are best enjoyed fresh! If you want to try freezing, place finished pancakes on a lined baking sheet and freeze until solid, then transfer to a freezer-safe container. Reheat as needed, just know the texture may not be the same as when they are freshly cooked.
This is normal! they will slowly deflate as they cool.
Yep! They may just need to bake a couple extra minutes!
Mini Puffed Oven Pancakes with Berry Sauce
Ingredients
Pancakes
- ¾ cup flour *or reduce to ½ cup, see note below
- ¾ cup milk
- 2 eggs
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2-3 tablespoons butter melted
- powdered sugar
Berry Sauce
- 6 large frozen or fresh strawberries
- 3 tablespoons berry jam
- optional: sugar if needed to taste
Optional Toppings
- maple syrup
- whipped cream
- cool whip
Instructions
Pancakes
- Place mini muffin pan (or cast iron skillet) in oven and heat to 400℉. While oven is heating, place flour, milk, eggs, and salt in a blender and blend until smooth.
- Carefully remove the pan from the oven (don’t forget it’s hot!) and quickly spray the wells with non-stick spray, or brush with melted butter. (If using cast iron pan, coat entire pan surface with butter). Fill muffin wells ¾ full with batter. Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, until puffed and slightly golden on top.
- Remove puffs and place on plate or platter. Drizzle with melted butter and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Drizzle with berry sauce and top with cool whip or whipped cream, or serve with sauce and/or maple syrup for dipping.
Quick and Easy Berry Sauce
- If using frozen berries, place berries and jam in a microwave-safe bowl and heat for about 1 minute. Use a fork to stir and mash everything together (cut strawberries if necessary), or place everything in a blender and pulse a few times until desired consistency is reached. Add sugar to taste for sweetness and a few teaspoons of water or juice only if needed for consistency.
- Yields about 24 mini muffin pancake puffs.
Questions & Reviews
These mini puffed oven pancakes with berry sauce sound great. I think they could make a great breakfast treat.
So fun and mini. My grandma does an entire mini dinner with mini plates and mini loaves of bread and mini servings our soup, salad, mini meatloaves, with tiny glasses and little pies for dessert. And she makes mini invitations that are delivered with a magnifying glass and mini m&m’s are the table party favors. 🙂 Have fun with mini.
Had planned to make breakfast for dinner tonight – eggs, pancakes, bacon – something I do a few times a month – and then I remembered this post! I just happened to have fresh strawberries on hand and the rest of the ingredients were pantry staples!!! They were amazing! My husband loved the “treat!” Thank you for your amazing ideas…keep up the good work!
I have to do a food for Thinking Day (girl scout event). We have the Netherlands this year and this is Perfect!!!! Thank you for making it so easy with your tips and pictures. Yum-o!
made these today and used 1/2 cup whole wheat flour and 1/4 cup white flour. dusted with splenda and cinnamon and my girls gobbled them up.
I found a cast iron pan from Etsy, but it was $45 plus shipping of $15, but I bought it anyway! Amazon said they were unavailable. It’s so cute!
Made these for Saturday morning breakfast and they were a hit. I dipped some in cinnamon and sugar after buttering them, and my kids loved those the most. It felt like we were eating donuts for breakfast! Thanks!
I love oven pancakes- but I had never thought of making them in anything other than one large pan. thanks for the great idea!!!
Question…I made these for dinner tonight and they were DELICIOUS! But, something wonky happened when they rose in the oven. I used a square muffin pan, each square being 2.5″. I preheated it in the oven and used Pam instead of butter. The outer edges of the squares rose first causing the center to look sunken but then the centers started to rise as well. So from the top they looked square but sunken and from the bottom they have this kinda wonky part that looks like a pedestal. Didn’t stop us from eating them up. Was this from my pan maybe????
I’ve never made the smaller size ones but with the larger it is normal to have the sides rise the most with some or few bubbles forming in the middle.
How cute are those little heart cakes??? I’m not a big pancake fan, but I do like german pancakes and these look similar to the ones I make, but it never occurred to me to make mini ones! My kids are going to love me so much when I make this! Thanks!