Skip to content
FriendsPantry

Dutch

Poffertjes

Contains egg (no meat or fish)

Tiny, puffy yeasted pancakes made with buckwheat and wheat flour, served by the dozen with butter and a snowfall of powdered sugar.

Poffertjes is a Dutch sweet from Netherlands, ready in about 1 hour 35 minutes and made with all-purpose flour and buckwheat flour. It serves 4 and is rated intermediate to cook.

Start cooking

No licensed photograph of this dish yet.

Prep
10 min
Cook
25 min
Rest
1 h
Total
1 h 35 min
Serves
4
Level
Intermediate
Calories
489

Ingredients

4 servings

For the pan

To serve

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Whisk (opens in a new tab) the flours, yeast, sugar (opens in a new tab) and salt. Whisk in the lukewarm milk (opens in a new tab) and egg (opens in a new tab) to a smooth, pourable batter.

    Eggs being whisked in a bowl
    How it looks · Photo: Kampus Production on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Cover and leave in a warm place until bubbly and risen.

    • Step 3

      Heat a poffertjes pan (opens in a new tab) (or a heavy griddle) over medium heat and brush each hollow with melted butter (opens in a new tab). Pipe or spoon in batter to just fill each hollow.

      A flatbread cooking on a hot griddle
      How it looks · Photo: Muhammad Khawar Nazir on Pexels

    • Step 4

      When the tops start to look dry at the edges, flip each one with a skewer or fork and cook until puffed and golden, about 1 minute more. Repeat with the rest of the batter.

      • 22 min
      • medium heat

    • Step 5

      Pile onto plates, top with a knob of butter (opens in a new tab) and dust generously with powdered sugar (opens in a new tab).

      • 1 min

    About this dish

    Origin
    Netherlands · Well documentedAlso popular in BelgiumMore food from Netherlands
    Dish
    Snack · Breakfast · Dessert · Sweets & confectionery · Street food
    Cooking method
    Pan-fried
    Taste
    sweet, buttery, nutty
    Diet
    Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredients
    All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free
    Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
    Good for
    Child-friendly · Street food · Festive & celebration
    Cook more with
    All-purpose flour · Buckwheat flour · Dried yeast · Sugar · Milk · Egg
    Techniques
    Pan-frying

    Allergens

    • Contains: Milkfrom milk, butter
    • Contains: Eggsfrom egg
    • Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour
    • Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour

    Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

    Nutrition

    489 kcal per serving

    Calculated

    1 serving ≈ 224 g · recipe makes 4

    Where the energy comes from

    • Protein 11%
    • Carbohydrate 52%
    • Fat 37%
    Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
    NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
    Energy489 kcal218 kcal
    Protein13.2 g5.9 g
    Carbohydrate65.4 g29.2 g
    Net carbohydrate61 g27.2 g
    Sugars19.7 g8.8 g
    Added sugars12.9 g5.8 g
    Fibre4.4 g2 g
    Fat20.6 g9.2 g
    Saturated fat11.8 g5.3 g
    Trans fat——
    Cholesterol96 mg43 mg
    Sodium477 mg213 mg
    Salt equivalent1.2 g0.5 g
    Vitamins & minerals per serving
    Potassium
    405 mg
    Calcium
    160 mg
    Iron
    3 mg
    Magnesium
    100 mg
    Vitamin A (RAE)
    193 µg
    Vitamin C
    0 mg
    Vitamin D
    1.8 µg
    Vitamin B12
    0.7 µg
    Folate (DFE)
    161 µg

    How these numbers were made

    • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
    • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
    • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
    • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

    Good to know

    Tips

    • A squeeze bottle or piping bag makes filling the hollows quick and tidy.

    Serve with

    • Serve straight from the pan; strawberries or syrup are popular extras.

    Storage

    • Best fresh; cooked poffertjes freeze well.

    Reheating

    • Warm briefly in a hot pan or microwave.

    Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

    Recipe DNA

    How this dish is built

    Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

    What the dish is built around

    Main ingredient

    Used in step 1

    Baker’s notes

    Customise in Bread & Bakery

    Timeline and readiness cues

    1. Mix and knead · about 10 min

      Weigh everything. Knead until smooth and elastic: a small piece stretches thin enough to see light through (the windowpane test).

    2. First rise (bulk) · about 1 h

      About doubled, domed, jiggly, with bubbles on the sides. A floured finger poked in leaves a dent that fills slowly.

    3. Bake · about 22 min

      Deep golden; bread sounds hollow when tapped underneath, or reads 93–96 °C inside (enriched breads 88–90 °C).

    4. Start to finish: about 1 h 32 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.

    If something goes wrong

    • Gummy or wet crumb

      Likely causes

      • Under-baked
      • Sliced while hot
      • Hydration too high for the flour

      What to do

      • Bake to 93–96 °C inside (cakes: clean skewer)
      • Cool completely on a rack before slicing
      • Reduce water by 3–5% or use a stronger flour
    • Collapsed or sunken middle

      Likely causes

      • Oven door opened too early
      • Too much leavening or sugar
      • Under-baked centre
      • Over-proofed yeast dough

      What to do

      • Don't open the oven for the first two-thirds of baking
      • Measure leaveners exactly with spoons, levelled
      • Test the centre before removing
      • Proof less
    • Pale crust

      Likely causes

      • Oven too cool
      • Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
      • Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)

      What to do

      • Check the oven with a thermometer
      • Brush with egg wash or milk
      • Shorten the fermentation
    • Burnt bottom

      Likely causes

      • Tray too close to the heat
      • Dark tray absorbs more heat
      • Too much sugar in the dough

      What to do

      • Bake on the middle shelf
      • Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
      • Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
    • Cracked or domed top

      Likely causes

      • Oven too hot (crust sets before the centre rises)
      • Too much leavening
      • Overmixed batter

      What to do

      • Lower the oven 10–15 °C
      • Use the exact leavening amount
      • Fold just until combined
    • Big holes or tunnels

      Likely causes

      • Overmixed batter (cakes, muffins)
      • Air trapped while shaping bread
      • Uneven proof

      What to do

      • Mix quick breads only until no dry flour shows
      • Degas gently and shape tightly
      • Proof covered in an even, warm place
    • Dry or crumbly

      Likely causes

      • Too much flour (scooped, not weighed)
      • Over-baked
      • Too little fat or sugar

      What to do

      • Weigh flour, or spoon it into the cup and level
      • Check 5 minutes early
      • Don't cut fat or sugar by more than a quarter without another moisture source

    Reviews & corrections

    Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

    You might also like