Haven’t tried poffertjes? Well, you'll wish you had after reading this. Poffertjes are essentially mini-pancakes. A cousin to the Danish aebleskiver, poffertjes are cooked in a pan with circular divots and served piping-hot with a generous dusting of powdered sugar and a heart-stopping pat of butter. Mini-pancakes with sugar and butter may not seem like anything special, but a serving of poffertjes fresh from the pan, with the butter melting and mixing with the powdered sugar, creating a warm icing that coats the golden little cakes - there's nothing like it.

You can get poffertjes in Holland at a pannenkoekenhuis, a poffertjes salon or a walk-up stand. Or, you could make them at home. I recently bought a cast- iron poffertjes pan and attempted to make some of these disks of goodness one Sunday afternoon. Hilarity ensued.

The key to successful poffertjes-making, which I didn't learn until the fifth batch, is heat and timing. The pan must be hot enough to give the poffertjes their gold hue, but not so hot that the batter burns. Once you've got the right temperature, you must figure out or guess the amount of time it will take to cook the one side. When you've guessed that one side is done, you have to flip the poffertjes. The professional poffertjes makers do this with ease, but don't be fooled! If you're lucky, the half-cooked batter will flip effortlessly, but if you're me, they'll stick, be undercooked and look unappetising.

You may think I'm over-exaggerating my first attempt at making poffertjes, but I documented the process. Here is a peek at a few of my botched batches of poffertjes.

Batch #1: Too much heat and too much time blackened one side of the little pancakes. No one will mistake this for poffertjes. Will not let the next batch sit for such a long time.

Batch #2: I left the poffertjes on for less time, but the batter still burned and stuck to the pan. Will reduce heat.

Batch #4: I deduce from the poffertjes’ pale color and unwillingness to set that I turned the heat down too low.

 
Batch #6: After five batches I think I’ve found the right combination. Edibility achieved!

My husband and I did have butter and powdered sugar with our poffertjes, but we also used some Mississippi Belle "American Style" maple syrup imported from Piscataway, New Jersey.

Will I make poffertjes again? You can bet on it. Will I buy poffertjes from the walk-up stand in one of Rotterdam’s pedestrian shopping areas? That’s a safe bet, too. Whether you make them yourself or pay someone else to make them, poffertjes are a Dutch delight not to be missed.


Pannenkoekenhuis and Pofferjessalon in Rotterdam:

• Pannenkoekenhuis Seth - Meent 20, 3011JJ Rotterdam, (010) 4334210

• Pannenkoekenhuis De Plas - Terletweg 4, 3045LR Rotterdam, (010) 4651486

• Pannenkoekenhuis Boshut de Big - Kralingseweg 20, 3062CG Rotterdam, (010) 4526874

• Poffertjessalon Seth - Hoogstraat 177, 3035CV Rotterdam, (010) 4334210

Poffertjes' pans of all shapes, sizes and composition are available at stores such as Xenos, Blokker, MediaMarkt.

[Copyright text and photos: Nan Frient & Expatica]

[This article was  written by a community member of Expatica.]