Oven Baked Apple Pancake

Here is a recipe for an oven baked apple pancake:

-  1/2 cup butter, divided

-  2 apples (preferably tart like Granny Smith) peeled, cored, and sliced

-  3 eggs

-  1/2 cup milk

-  1/2 cup all-purpose flour

-  1 teaspoon orange zest

-  2 tablespoons granulated sugar

-  1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Mix sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl and set aside.  Whisk together eggs, milk, and orange zest.  Add in flour, stir until well combined, and set aside.  Melt 1/4 cup butter in a 10-inch oven proof skillet (preferably cast iron), and add in apple slices.  Cook for approximately 5 minutes or until apples are tender.  Pour in batter, over the apples, in the skillet and place in the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes.  While the pancake is baking, melt the remaining 1/4 cup butter in the microwave.

Remove skillet/pancake from the oven (don't worry....the pancake will have puffed up at this point and that is what it is suppose to do) and pour the remaining 1/4 cup melted butter over the pancake and sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar mixture.  Return to the oven and bake for 5 more minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool slightly.  Serve with syrup or sprinkle with powdered sugar. Enjoy!