German pancake
- noun
- US
:
pancake alemán
- A German pancake puffs up beautifully in the oven and deflates once removed, creating a light and tender texture.
Examples
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For a special treat, I like to drizzle lemon juice over my German pancake and add a dollop of berry jam.
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She served a delicious German pancake topped with fresh strawberries and powdered sugar for brunch.
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I love a German pancake for breakfast.
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Have you ever tried a German pancake?
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For a special treat, I like to drizzle lemon juice over my German pancake and add a dollop of berry jam.
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She served a delicious German pancake topped with fresh strawberries and powdered sugar for brunch.
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A German pancake puffs up beautifully in the oven and deflates once removed, creating a light and tender texture.
Synonyms
316
1.0
A thin, flat fried cake made from batter often eaten for breakfast
1
9.9
A light, fluffy German pancake often served with sugar and jam
How Thick
Surface Forms
Morphology
German + pancake
The compound simply combines 'German' (of or from Germany) with 'pancake' so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer this refers to a type or style of pancake associated with Germany. While the precise recipe details (thick, oven-baked, lemon-flavored) are not fully predictable, the core meaning as a German-style pancake is compositionally transparent and matches a common cross-linguistic pattern of nationality + food.
Etymology
German pancake likely comes from German-speaking cooks who baked a thin batter in a hot oven so it 'puffed up' into a big, bowl-like shape. That clear image — a pancake that rises in the oven and then falls — explains why the name means the thick, puffy oven-baked pancake served right away.