Poffertjes – The Mini Dutch Pancakes Recipe With Yeast
Poffertjes are mini Dutch pancakes that have a fluffy and light texture. They’re such little delights that melt in your mouth, and with the sprinkle of icing sugar that gives the right sweetness.
The Poffertjes We Know In Indonesia
Poffertjes are mini Dutch pancakes that have a fluffy and light texture. They’re such little delights that melt in your mouth, and with the sprinkle of icing sugar that gives the right sweetness.
And this cute little pancake is one of the Dutch influences in Indonesian cuisine.
A long time ago there were not many people who knew about these delicious sweets. Only those who lived in big cities seemed to know about them. Now, decades later, these Dutch mini pancakes have become popular among the Indonesian culinary community.
The poffertjes that I used to enjoy (when I was living in Indonesia) had a similar flavour as American pancakes with a soft and spongy texture. They’re like little gems that melt in your mouth.
And you enjoy them warm with butter and a generous sprinkle of icing sugar. A perfect choice to brighten your morning breakfast or to accompany your afternoon tea (or coffee??).
Easy Ingredients
This poffertjes recipe uses the easiest items from your pantry. Plain flour (all-purpose flour), eggs, instant dried yeast, milk, butter, granulated sugar and salt are what you need. And some extra butter and icing sugar at the serving.
So they’re pretty basic ingredients, right?
Simple Methods
Everything is so simple and straightforward. All you do is just put the dry ingredients i.e. flour, sugar, dried yeast, and salt in a mixing bowl. Then whisk the eggs and milk in a jug until both are emulsified.
Next, you pour the egg mixture into the flour bowl and mix everything as quickly and carefully as you can. Try not to stir or whisk too long.
Once the batter is smooth, you let it rest for at least 20 minutes before you start cooking.
Preheat your poffertjes mould at medium-high heat.
Note here, I use takoyaki pan as I didn’t know how and what poffertjes mould pan I can get there in the UK. But I find the takoyaki pan is sufficient and does a very good job to make poffertjes.
Back to the cooking.
When your pan is hot and ready, turn the heat down. Then add the melted butter to the pancake batter. Stir well..
Brush each cavity of the mould pan with melted butter. And carefully fill the pan with the batter and leave it to cook for about 1-2 minutes until the bottom forms a firm skin. Using a toothpick or a skewer, pick and move the poffertjes around then leave it for a minute to firm up. Keep moving all the pancakes until they are fully cooked and have a roundish shape.
But don’t worry if you can’t get them to fully round shape. It’s their taste that is more important.
How You Store And Reheat
Just like any pancakes, the best to enjoy these poffertjes is when they’re still warm. Serve them with a knob of butter and a generous sprinkle of icing sugar.
When they go cold, you can always warm them up in a microwave for about 10 seconds.
If you want, you can make them in bulk and store them in a good quality ziplock bag then freeze them. Take some out whenever you fancy having them, and reheat them in the microwave.
They keep well for about 2 months in the freezer.
When To Enjoy The Little Fluffy Pancakes
Though I used to have these poffertjes as an afternoon snack along with my cup of coffee (or tea), many people enjoy them as desserts. You can see it on the menu of restaurants in Indonesia. They include poffertjes in their dessert section.
However, now I sometimes make the batter at night and keep it in the fridge overnight. On the following morning, I then cook them into those mouthwatering little pancakes for our breakfast. And I often serve them with a drizzle of honey or maple syrup instead. Though my sons prefer having them with their favourite chocolate spread.
Related Recipes
Thank you for reading the post. Hope you’re now wanting to try this Poffertjes recipe. When you do, it will be great if you could share what you think about it in the comments below.
And please follow me on Facebook, Instagram and/or Pinterest to sneak a peek at what’s cooking in my kitchen.
Before you go, don’t forget to check out my other Indonesian snacks and sweets recipes.
- Klepon – Indonesian glutinous rice balls with palm sugar and coconut.
- Martabak Manis – the Indonesian sweet thick pancake.
- Gemblong – Indonesian sweet treat made with glutinous rice.
- Bubur Kacang Hijau – the Indonesian sweet mung bean dessert.
Thank you and all the best.
Poffertjes – The Mini Dutch Pancakes Recipe With Yeast
Equipment
- Mixing bowls.
- Hand whisk
- Spatula
- Poffertjes pan
- Pastry brush
Ingredients
- 1 ⅓ cups plain flour/ all-purpose flour.
- 2 eggs at room temperature,
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar.
- 1 teaspoon instant dried yeast.
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
- ½ teaspoon salt.
- 1 ⅕ cups whole milk.
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted. And more for brushing the pan.
- 50 Icing sugar.
- Butter for serving optional.
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, place the flour, sugar, dried yeast, and salt.
- Heat the milk until it’s lukewarm (around 98°-105° F/ 36.5°-40.5° C). You can warm the milk in a saucepan or a microwave.
- In another bowl, lightly beat the eggs and pour in the milk as you keep mixing.
- Pour the egg mixture into the flour bowl. Using a hand whisk, quickly and carefully whisk it until you get a smooth batter. But take care not to overmix it. Once it’s all mixed and smooth, set aside to rest for at least 20 minutes.
- Once the batter has rested and it becomes bubbly, get the pancake mould ready and preheat it at medium-high heat.
- Add the melted butter to the pancake mixture and stir well.
- Brush each pancake mould cavity with melted butter. Pour the batter into the cavities. Turn the heat down and let the poffertjes cook at low heat.
- After about 1-2 minutes when the bottom of the poffertjes gets firm, turn the pancakes around. You can use a toothpick or a skewer. Keep turning every 2 minutes until the pancakes are fully cooked. It takes me about 6-7 minutes to cook them. Repeat until you finish the rest of the batter.
Notes
- I use a takoyaki pan to make the poffertjes.
Nutrition
Disclaimer
Nutritional info in this recipe is only estimate using online calculator. You should refer to it as a guide only. Please verify with your own data if you seek an accurate info.
In southern India, in the state of tamilnadu we have a similar traditional dish named ‘paniyaaram’.. it’s made in similar way with rice and urid dhall batter without eggs.. it’s very yummy and delicious food or snack..
Aww, thank you for sharing this. I’m sure your paniyaaram is tasty. Sounds like it has the texture of vada of dahi vada, nahi?