Poffertjes
Tiny yeasted buckwheat pancakes cooked in a dimpled pan, served in a heap with a lump of butter melting over them and a snowfall of icing sugar.
Photograph credit: Brouwer van de poffertjeskraam deelt ter gelegenheid van zijn 76ste verjaardag… by Olaf Kraak (UP de Boer) · CC BY 3.0 nl · Wikimedia Commons
Don't Make These Mistakes
Buckwheat is not optional if you want them to taste like poffertjes.
Medium-low heat. They should puff rather than sear.
Cold butter on hot pancakes, then the sugar. In that order.
Cooking Poffertjes
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Whisk both flours with the yeast, sugar and salt.
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Beat in the warm milk, egg yolks and melted butter to a smooth batter the consistency of double cream.
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Cover and leave in a warm place for 1 hour, until bubbled and risen.
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Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks and fold them gently through the batter.
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Heat a poffertjes pan over medium-low heat and brush each dimple with butter. A blini pan or a well-seasoned small frying pan works if you cook them one at a time.
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Fill each dimple three-quarters full. Cook 90 seconds until the tops are set at the edges and bubbling in the middle.
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Turn each one with a skewer or two forks and cook 60 seconds more until golden on both sides.
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Pile them onto warm plates, sit a lump of cold butter on top, and dust heavily with icing sugar.
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Eat immediately, while the butter is still melting into them.
Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.
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Why It Works
Buckwheat flour is what makes a poffertje taste different from a small pancake — it brings a nutty, slightly bitter note that stands up to all the butter and sugar. The yeast rise gives a spongy, open crumb that a batter raised with baking powder cannot match.
Leftovers, Reheating and Keeping
Best immediately. The batter keeps 24 hours refrigerated; let it come back to room temperature.
Serving Poffertjes
- A lump of cold butter and icing sugar
- A shot of advocaat
- Strong coffee
Questions and Answers
How long does Poffertjes take to make?
1 hour of preparation and 15 minutes of cooking, plus 1 hour of proving, so allow 2 hours 15 minutes from start to finish. The recipe serves 6.
Poffertjes Nutrition Facts
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. Garnishes, greasing and other items with no amount are not counted. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .