Cinnamon Swirl Oven Pancake

September 25, 2021

I love pancakes, but I find the process of cooking them a little tedious and frustrating. I can only cook a few at a time in a skillet which leaves me stuck between serving everyone at different times, or serving all at once with some pancakes being a little less than fresh. So I just started cooking them as one big sliceable pancake! It’s so much easier and a lot more hands-off. With this method, the entire batch of pancake batter is cooked at one time in the oven and then it’s sliced and served like a cake. I guess you could say that it’s a literal pan-cake!

Looking for a puffy oven pancake, German pancake, or Dutch Baby Pancake? Check out my recipe for an Almond Dutch Baby with Ricotta and Jam.

A sliced cinnamon swirl oven pancake with brown sugar and maple syrup on the side

Other Pancake Topping Ideas

You don’t have to make your oven pancake “cinnamon swirl” flavor, you can add any of your usual favorite pancake add-ins. Here are some other pancake topping ideas:

Bananas
Walnuts or Pecans
Chocolate Chips
Coconut
Peanut Butter
Blueberries
Strawberries
Bacon
Lemon zest

Use Your Favorite Pancake Batter

The recipe below uses a very basic pancake batter, but you can use this oven method with just about any pancake batter. So feel free to try it out with your favorite recipe or even your favorite pancake mix!

Use an Oven Safe Skillet

The most important part of this recipe is that you use an oven-safe skillet. This means no plastic handles and no Teflon coating. Stainless steel or cast iron will both work. You can also do a similar oven-baking method using a sheet pan (see sheet pan pancakes).

Cinnamon Swirl Oven Pancake

Cook all of your pancakes at once as one large oven pancake to make sure everyone gets a hot and fresh slice at the same time.

Total Cost $1.72 recipe / $0.43 serving

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 18 minutes

Total Time 28 minutes

Servings 4 2 slices each

Calories 305kcal

Author Beth – Budget Bytes

Equipment

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour $0.10
1.5 tsp baking powder $0.04
2 Tbsp sugar $0.02
1 cup milk $0.40
1 large egg $0.24
4 Tbsp butter*, divided $0.44
1 tsp vanilla extract $0.28
1/4 tsp salt $0.01
1 tsp cinnamon $0.10
2 tsp brown sugar $0.08

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425ºF.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, vanilla, and 2 Tbsp melted butter.
Pour the bowl of wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and stir just until everything is combined (avoid over stirring). Let the batter sit for five minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the cinnamon swirl mixture.
Combine 1 tablespoon of melted butter with the cinnamon and brown sugar. Set the cinnamon mixture aside. This will be the cinnamon swirl in the pancake batter.
Add 1 tablespoon of butter to a 10" oven-safe skillet. Preheat the skillet on the stove top over medium theat until he butter starts to sizzle and foam. Use a brush to spread the melted butter all over the surface and up the sides of the skillet.
Pour the pancake batter into the preheated skillet. Drizzle the cinnamon mixture over the pancake batter and then drag a spoon through the surface to sort of swirl the cinnamon into the pancake batter.
Transfer the skillet to the fully preheated 425ºF oven and bake for about 18 minutes, or until puffed in the center and slightly golden brown on the outer edges. If you prefer a more browned top to the pancake, you can switch the oven to the broil setting and broil until the desired color has been achieved (watch closely!).
Slice the pancake into eight pieces and serve.

Notes

*If using unsalted butter, you may want to increase the salt in the recipe to ½ tsp.

Nutrition

close up of one slice of oven pancake on a spatula

How to Make an Oven Pancake – Step by Step Photos

Begin by preheating the oven to 425ºF. In a large bowl, stir together 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1.5 tsp baking powder, 2 Tbsp sugar, and 1/4 tsp salt.

whisked wet ingredients in a bowl with a whisk

In a separate bowl, whisk together 1 cup milk, 1 large egg, 2 Tbsp melted butter, and 1 tsp vanilla extract. Let the batter sit while you prepare the cinnamon swirl.

metled butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl with a spoon

Combine 1 Tbsp melted butter, 1 tsp cinnamon, and 2 tsp brown sugar in a bowl. This will be the cinnamon swirl.

melted butter being brushed over the inside of a skillet

Add 1 Tbsp butter to a 10-inch oven-safe skillet. Heat on the stove top over medium until the butter is sizzling and foaming, then spread the butter all over the surface and up the sides of the skillet.

Pour the pancake batter into the skillet, then drizzle the cinnamon swirl over top. Gently drag a spoon through the surface to swirl the cinnamon into the batter. Transfer the skillet to the preheated 425ºF oven.

Baked cinnamon swirl oven pancake with a spatula and maple syrup on the side

Bake the pancake for about 18 minutes, or until it’s puffed in the center and slightly golden brown around the edges. If you prefer the top more browned, you can switch the oven to the broil setting for a couple of minutes (watch it closely!).