Tiny, cloud-light yeasted pancakes the size of a coin, cooked in a dimpled cast-iron pan and served in a heap under a melting knob of butter and a snowfall of powdered sugar.
A beloved Dutch fair and market sweet whose backstory is largely legend: it is said that in the late 18th century monks making communion wafers, short of wheat flour, mixed in buckwheat and discovered the puffy little cakes — a tale usually traced to France rather than the Netherlands. The earliest known recipe appears in the 1746 Dutch cookbook De volmaakte Hollandsche keuken-meid. From around 1815 the name 'poffertjes' (for the way they puff up) and the stall-sold custom took hold, and they became a fixture of fairgrounds, markets and festivals, made and eaten warm on the spot.
Impossibly fluffy and tender inside with a faintly crisp shell, gently sweet and yeasty. The butter soaks in while the powdered sugar dissolves into each warm, poppable bite.
Yeast fermentation produces carbon dioxide that, trapped in the thin batter and set fast by the hot dimpled iron, gives poffertjes their signature airy, spherical puff.
Variations
with advocaat, with Grand Marnier or rum, with fruit and whipped cream, savory versions with cheese
On the Palate
Where Poffertjes Dutch sits in the Dutch flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
8 steps · 15 min
- 13 min
Whisk buckwheat and wheat flours with a pinch of salt and the yeast.
- 25 min
Stir in warm milk and an egg to make a smooth, thin batter.
- 360 min
Cover and let the batter rest until bubbly and risen, about one hour.
Watch outLet the batter rest until it's visibly bubbly and risen — that's the yeast working, and it's what makes the poffertjes puff into airy spheres.
- 45 min
Heat the poffertjes pan and brush each dimple with melted butter.
- 55 min
Pour or pipe a little batter into each hollow until just filled.
- 65 min
When the edges set and bubbles appear, flip each one with a fork or skewer.
Watch outFlip only once the edges are set and the tops look dry-bubbled — too soon and the soft center smears; a fork or skewer gives the cleanest turn.
- 73 min
Cook briefly on the second side until golden and puffed.
- 82 min
Pile onto a plate, top with a pat of butter, and dust heavily with powdered sugar.
