Prep. time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 1h10

If a pancake and a crepe had a love child, it would be a Dutch baby, though this pan-sized, puffed-up, baked eggy delight has about it something of the souffle, too. The name stems, apparently, from early 1900s Seattle, where German (or “Deutsch”) pancakes were made by the proprietor of a family-owned restaurant. The child eating it couldn’t pronounce the word “Deutsch”, so “Dutch” they became. This is great for brunch or an easy supper. Kids love it, too.

Step 1 - Roasted tomatoes

• Heat the oven to 220°C / 425°F.
• Put all the ingredients for the tomatoes, apart from the basil, in a 20cm x 30cm roasting tin, add three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper, and toss to combine.
• Roast for 30 minutes, stirring a couple of times, until the sauce has turned a little syrupy and the tomatoes have softened but not collapsed. Take out of the oven (leave it turned on), set aside to cool, then stir in the basil.

Step 2 - The batter

• Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the flour, parmesan, thyme leaves, mustard powder, a half teaspoon of salt and some pepper.
• In a second bowl, whisk the eggs and milk, then pour them over the dry ingredients and whisk again to combine.

Step 3

• Put the bacon in a large ovenproof frying pan about 28cm wide x 5cm deep, then cook slowly on a medium heat for about a minute on each side: you don’t want it to cook completely.
• Transfer the bacon to a plate, leaving any fat behind in the pan.

Step 4

• Add the olive oil to the hot pan, heat for a minute, swirling the pan so the base is covered. Quickly but carefully pour all the batter (Step 2) into the pan. Turn off the heat, drape the bacon on top and sprinkle with the cheddar.
• Transfer to the hot oven and bake for 25 minutes, until the sides of the Dutch baby are golden and puffed up, and the middle is soft and custardy. Resist the urge to open the oven to see what’s going on for at least the first 15 minutes, because that will cause the baby to deflate!

Step 5

• Remove the Dutch baby from the oven and slide it out of the pan and on to a large plate (if need be, slide a spatula underneath to help release it).
• Cut into quarters and serve with the roast tomatoes (Step 1) on the side.