Poffertjes are often eaten at carnivals and fairs, where they are sometimes prepared and served in ornate, but mobile pop-up restaurants, called ‘poffertjeskraam’. The town of Laren has a permanent – although seasonal – poffertjeskraam. In Breukelen a beautiful kraam dating back to 1847 has been set up every year since 1915 for three weeks in late-September and early-October.
NOTE: The traditional recipe calls for a ‘poffertjespan’: a (cast iron) pan with small dimples for frying the little pancakes. Should you not own one, you can still make poffertjes on a griddle.
For more fairground recipes, read Issue 12 of Dutch the magazine.
Ingredients:
- ¾ teaspoon active dry yeast
- 1 cup warm milk
- 2 cups all-purpose fl our
- 2 eggs
- Pinch of salt
- Powdered sugar
- Butter
Preparation:
- Sprinkle the yeast on top of the warm milk and set aside to proof.
- When ready, mix the flour with the eggs and slowly add the milk, beating well and making sure there are no lumps.
- Add in the pinch of salt.
- Cover and set aside to rise for about 45 minutes to one hour.
- Heat the pan and lightly butter each hole.
- Pour a small amount of batter into each dimple. You can put the batter in a squeeze bottle with part of the tip removed: it allows better control of the amount of batter for each poffertje.
- When the edges dry up a bit and bubbles appear on the surface, use a fork to flip the poffertjes. This takes a bit of practice, but not to worry, even the failures will taste good!
- If using a griddle, just place tablespoons of the batter on the slightly greased surface and turn them with a fork when the edges have dried up a bit and bubbles come to the surface.
Serve hot, with icing sugar and a knob of butter.
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