Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free German Pancakes (Also Called Dutch Babies)

When I was a kid, the German pancake (Dutch baby) at Elmer's Pancake House was the yummiest breakfast in my breakfasting repertoire. But that was before I had to go DF and GF.

Now I can make it whenever I like! And the recipe is surprisingly simple to follow.

If you're new to GF/DF cooking, let me share a word about xanthan gum. When I first started cooking GF, I thought, "What the heck is xanthan gum and where do I buy it?" It's what holds things together in GF baked foods, and it's an essential ingredient for people who eat gluten-free. You'll see it in a lot of baking recipes, from breads to cakes to pastries. So it's well-worth buying. If your grocery store offers Bob's Redmill products, they probably carry xanthan gum. If not, check your local health food store. You don't have to buy very much because it lasts a long time.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. dairy-free shortening (I use Earth Balance, which works like margarine)
6 extra-large eggs
1 and 1/4 cups soy milk (I use Pacific brand)
1/2 cup rice flour
1/4 cup potato starch flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/4 tsp. xanthan gum
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar)
1 Tbsp. lemon juice (or more--if you like it more lemony)

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). As the oven preheats, place the shortening in a 13x9 inch casserole dish, and stick it in the oven just until the shortening is melted. Then take it out. Spread the shortening around a bit with a spatula.
2. Put the eggs, soy milk, salt, and xanthan gum in a blender and mix it until frothy (30 seconds or so). Add all three kinds of flour and mix again. Stop the blender after 30 seconds and scrape the sides with a spatula. (Flour often gets stuck to the sides.) Mix a while longer (maybe another 10 seconds or 15). You want the mix to be frothy and wet, but not lumpy at all.
3. Pour the mixture into the very center of your melted shortening, in the casserole dish. Do not redistribute it at all. You'll see some shortening settle on top of the batter, and that's okay.
4. Bake 18 to 20 minutes. I live at a high altitude, so I bake mine for 20 minutes, but I'm told people at sea level can get by with less time. Just make sure the eggs in the center of it are cooked all the way through. When it first comes out of the oven, it puffs up like a deformed balloon. But it will shrink down to the size of bar cookies in just a few minutes. Let it shrink down a little before you do the next step.

5. Use a sifter to dust the rectangular pancake with powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar). Then evenly sprinkle lemon juice over the top of the powdered sugar (see picture). If you like yours really lemony, you can squeeze more lemon juice than the recommended tablespoon. In my opinion, the lemon juice is what makes it super-yummy!
6. Cut it into about eight rectangles and serve warm. No need to use syrup, as the powdered sugar makes it plenty sweet (although my brother used to add syrup to his).