The days are beginning to thaw and I love the very first signs that the earth is waking again from a long winter nap. While the sunlight warms us up and the nights stay cold, buckets and sap bags begin to hang off the sides of maples- catching thin drips of sap. Small campfires dot the landscape and everyone seems to be boiling their clear liquid in large vats outside, coaxing the amber liquid to golden, maple syrup perfection.

It's a long process, but a satisfying one too. It is remarkable to savor your slowly thickened, maple syrup boiled down from gallons of clear sap.

So, around the beginning of March, I start dreaming of all of the things that I can drizzle a little maple syrup on.

Dutch Baby pancakes are so sumptuous, a kind of heavenly cross between a pancake and an eggy popover. They can be savory or sweet and are super easy to make. Four simple ingredients whip up easily into this divine creation, and topping it with a golden amber maple syrup infused with cherries, is enough to make my taste buds jitter!

I noticed that my german Dutch Baby pancake is very yellow. That's because I use the freshest farm eggs, laid by free range healthy chickens that eat organic non-GMO feed.

This recipe is so simple, anyone can make it. The beautiful organic farm fresh eggs will tint your pancake a healthy sunshine yellow. The taste and assures that you are a pro in the kitchen. You can impress anyone with this quick and simple to follow recipe. And, you don't have to make a Toasted Almond Dutch Baby. Or drizzle it with fresh Michigan Maple syrup. You can add your own ingredients to make yours a signature Dutch Baby. Go ahead. Experiment!

But, this recipe has Traverse City written all over it. Fresh Michigan maple syrup infused with frozen tart cherries (yes, you can use sweet!) ladled over an eggy yellow Dutch Baby. Sweet!

Making a German inspired Dutch Baby pancake is so easy. Just put the ingredients in a blender, give it a whirl, then pour it into your skillet with the melted butter and pop it into the oven. That's it! Though this is a breakfast inspired Dutch Baby, you can eat these beautiful pancakes for lunch and even dinner too. Add your own ingredients to make the pancake savory or sweet. Enjoy!!

Toasted Almond Dutch Baby with Cherry Infused Maple Syrup

Pancake Ingredients

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3 eggs
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½ cup flour
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½ cup milk
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1/4 teaspoon of almond extract
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2 tablespoons toasted almonds
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4 tablespoons butter
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Syrup Ingredients

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1/4 cup maple syrup
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1/2 cup frozen or fresh tart cherries
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1/2 split vanilla bean 
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Preparation

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Put the ingredients for the maple syrup in a small saucepan and heat until very warm. Remove from heat and set aside.
Combine eggs, flour, milk, sugar, almond extract in a blender jar and blend until smooth. Batter may also be mixed by hand.
Add the toasted almonds.
Place butter in a heavy 10-inch skillet or baking dish and place in the oven. As soon as the butter has melted (watch it so it does not burn) add the batter to the pan, return pan to the oven and bake for 20 minutes, until the pancake is puffed and golden. Lower oven temperature to 300 degrees and bake five minutes longer.
Remove pancake from oven, cut into wedges and serve at once topped with syrup and cherries. Dust with confectioners' sugar.