Pumpkin Dutch Baby Pancakes with Cream Cheese Drizzle

I know that I should wait until Labor Day before I begin my shift to autumn but being one week early isn't too bad right?  Denver mornings have been deliciously chilly enough to need a fleece and I've seen autumn type flowers at the market.  I needed pumpkin too.

Since my mini cast iron skillets were sitting on the stove, it was a pretty obvious thing to me that I needed to make a pumpkin version of dutch babies.

I turned to my favorite dutch baby recipe and ran it through a couple of trials.  I feared just straight pumpkin would make the batter too heavy to rise, even with less flour, and I was right.  For the second trial I beat the egg whites into stiff peaks and folded it into the rest of the batter that had been blended together.   This allowed the pancakes to rise perfectly in the oven and deflate when pulled out. 

Pumpkin pancakes of course call for a cream cheese drizzle....cream cheese, vanilla, sugar and milk.  Not too shabby.

This is definitely a make again and again type recipe for the fall season.  Extra cream cheese drizzles make it all the better. 

Pumpkin Dutch Babies

4 tsps butter, cut into one tsp slices

2/3 cup flour

3 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/4 cup milk

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 tsp pumpin pie spice

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 large egg whites

4 oz cream cheese (1/2 block)

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Place the flour, sugar, salt, 1 cup of the milk, vanilla, pumpkin, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice and 2 whole eggs into a blender and process for 30 seconds. Let rest for 1 hour at room temp or overnight in refrigerator. (If refrigerating, allow batter to come to room temp prior to baking)
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place 4 individual sized cast iron pans in oven to preheat. (or one 10 inch cast iron skillet)
3. Beat 2 egg whites with a beater until they form stiff peaks.  Gently fold batter into egg whites until fully combined
4. Carefully remove hot pans from oven and place 1 tsp of  butter into each.  Swirl to melt.
5. Carefully pour the batter into the preheated skillet. Sprinkle with half of the fresh raspberries
6. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 15-20 minutes or until the edges are puffed and brown.
7. While dutch babies are baking make cream cheese drizzle by combining cream cheese, powdered sugar, remaining 1/4 cup milk and vanilla in a small saucepan over med-low heat.  Whisk over heat until smooth and serve drizzled over dutch babies.