Puffed Dutch pancakes (poffertjes) are delightfully fluffy mini pancakes made in a special poffertjes pan. The pan gives them their signature puffy UFO shape! Serve them hot with a sprinkling of powdered sugar and some butter, and you might even prefer them to traditional pancakes!
Best Poffertjes Pancake Recipe
Poffertjes are a traditional Dutch treat popular in the Netherlands and other parts of the world. They are made with a batter that contains yeast, which gives them a delightfully light and airy texture!
You can enjoy these puffed Dutch pancakes for breakfast, as a sweet snack, or even for dessert. They're usually topped with butter and powdered sugar, but they would be just as delicious with your favorite pancake toppings!
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If you're looking for ways to improve your pancakes or want to try some different flavors, I have a full collection of pancake recipes to choose from!
🥘 Puffed Dutch Pancake Ingredients
If you are a frequent baker like me, you probably keep all these ingredients on hand. If not, everything should be easy to find at your local grocery store!
- Active Dry Yeast - 2½ teaspoons of active dry yeast. The packages hold about 2¼ teaspoons each which will work just fine! See my page on how to activate yeast if you have any questions!
- Milk - 1½ cups of lukewarm milk or a milk substitute.
- All-Purpose Flour - 1¾ cups of all-purpose flour, buckwheat flour, or a 50/50 combination of the two. (*See notes below).
- Sugar - 1 tablespoon of granulated white sugar.
- Salt - ½ teaspoon salt to cut the sweetness and add flavor.
- Egg - 1 large egg at room temperature.
- Butter - 1 tablespoon of softened butter or a butter substitute for greasing the pan.
*Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!*
🍴 Equipment Needed To Make Poffertjes
Traditionally, poffertjes are cooked in a special cast-iron pan called a poffertjes pan, which has small, shallow wells in which the batter is poured. The pancakes are then flipped over using a special fork with long, thin prongs and cooked until both sides are golden brown.
The poffertjes pan is what gives these pancakes their signature puffy shape! An aebleskiver pan can also be used, but you will need one or the other.
Instead of a long 'poffertjes fork,' a skewer or chopstick works perfectly for flipping the pancakes (Dutch cooks reportedly used knitting needles)! You will also need a mixing bowl, silicone spatula, and measuring utensils.
🔪 How To Make Puffed Dutch Pancakes (Poffertjes)
Despite needing a certain pan, making poffertjes is pretty simple. It does take some time because you have to wait for the batter to rise, but the results are more than worth it!
This recipe yields about 40 small pancakes. It won't be enough, trust me! 🙂
Make The Batter
- Activate the yeast. Sprinkle 2½ teaspoons of active dry yeast into 1½ cups of warm milk and stir to combine. Let sit for 5-10 minutes or until the milk becomes frothy.
- Make the batter. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 1¾ cups of flour, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and ½ teaspoon of salt until combined. Then, add 1 large egg and the milk with the yeast and mix until just barely combined. *Do not overwork the batter or it can become dense.
- Rise. Let the batter rise for at least 1 hour (up to 3) before cooking your pancakes.
Cook The Poffertjes
- Grease the pan. Once the batter has risen, brush the cavities of a poffertjes pan or aebleskiver pan generously with 1 tablespoon of softened butter and place it over medium-low heat.
- Add. Add 1-1½ tablespoons of the batter to each pancake round with a piping bag, squirt bottle, or sandwich bag with the corner snipped off. It should fill the pancake divets in the pan about halfway.
- Cook. Leave the batter for 1-2 minutes or until bubbles start to form on the surface and the edges have turned golden brown.
- Flip. Quickly flip each pancake using a skewer, chopstick, or thin dowel. Cook the opposite side for 1-2 minutes until done.
- Enjoy. Remove from heat and flip the pancakes out of the pan using the same method you used to flip them over. Serve while warm with butter and powdered sugar or maple syrup.
While butter and powdered sugar are typical toppings, you could also try roasted berries, blueberry syrup, or whipped cream! Take a look at my page about what to serve with pancakes for side dish ideas. Enjoy!
💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
- You want the milk to be lukewarm between 100°F-110°F (38-43°C), so it will dissolve the yeast. Pour the milk into a microwave-safe dish and microwave for 60-90 seconds.
- Allowing the yeast batter to rise for at least 1 hour makes these mini Dutch pancakes so fluffy! If you have a particularly cold kitchen, the batter may take up to 2 hours to rise fully.
- Transfer the batter into a piping bag to easily fill the pan with your risen batter. You could also use a plastic storage bag with one corner snipped off, a small 1-tablespoon (15-mm) cookie scoop, or a squeeze bottle. The batter gets thicker once it has risen and won't pour as easily as regular pancakes.
- Traditional poffertjes are made with buckwheat flour. Some people use all-purpose flour, and pastry flour also works well. Or, you can use a 50/50 blend of buckwheat and all-purpose flour. *Keep in mind buckwheat flour in the US is typically darker and stronger than it is in Europe.
- This recipe should make roughly 10 servings of 4-5 puffed pancakes per person.
🥡 Storing & Reheating
The poffertjes batter can be kept refrigerated for up to 24 hours. Cooked and cooled poffertjes can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Freezing Puffed Dutch Pancakes
You can freeze these pancakes to make them last even longer! Let them cool, then flash freeze them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Once they are frozen, you can easily transfer them to a freezer bag. Frozen poffertjes should be eaten within 3 months.
Reheating Puffed Dutch Pancakes
Poffertjes reheat very well in the microwave, even if they're frozen! Microwave them on high in short 20-second bursts until warmed to your satisfaction.
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❓ Recipe FAQs
Puffed Dutch pancakes, or poffertjes, are small, fluffy pancakes originating from the Netherlands. They are made from a batter of flour, eggs, milk, and yeast and are typically topped off with butter and powdered sugar.
Puffed Dutch pancakes are smaller and fluffier than regular pancakes and are made with a yeast-based batter that gives them a slightly tangy flavor. They are also traditionally served with butter and powdered sugar, whereas regular pancakes are often served with syrup or other toppings.
The most traditional toppings for these puffed Dutch pancakes are powdered sugar and butter, but they can also be served with various other toppings! Some popular options include fresh berries, whipped cream, Nutella, syrup, or caramel sauce.
🍩 More Sweet Breakfast Recipes
- Pizza Dough Cinnamon Rolls - Turn store-bought or homemade pizza dough into soft, delicious cinnamon rolls!
- French Toast Sticks - Homemade French toast sticks taste so much better than the boxed version, and they freeze just as well!
- Sweet Potato Coffee Cake - This super moist sweet potato coffee cake always makes a morning feel special!
- Overnight French Toast Bake - Let the French toast soak up all that eggy goodness overnight, then just pop them in the oven in the morning!
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Baked Donuts - Homemade cake donuts filled with the classic flavor combination of chocolate and peanut butter.
- Apple Oatmeal Muffins - These muffins are easy to eat on the go, and they aren't overly sweet!
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📖 Recipe Card
Puffed Dutch Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 ½ teaspoon active dry yeast
- 1 ½ cups milk (lukewarm)
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (or buckwheat flour, or a 50/50 combination of the two)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg (at room temperature)
- 1 Tbsp butter (softened for greasing the pan)
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
- Sprinkle the active dry yeast into the warm milk and stir to combine. Let sit for 5-10 minutes or until the milk becomes frothy.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt until combined. Then, add the large egg and the milk with the yeast and mix until just barely combined. *Do not overwork the batter or it can become dense.
- Let the batter rise for at least 1 hour before cooking your pancakes.
- Once the batter has risen, brush the cavities of a poffertjes pan or aebleskiver pan generously with butter and place it over medium-low heat.
- Add 1-1½ tablespoons of the batter to each pancake round with a piping bag, squirt bottle, or sandwich bag with the corner snipped off. It should fill the pancake divets in the pan about halfway.
- Use a skewer or chopstick to quickly flip each of the pancakes. Cook the opposite side for 1-2 minutes until done.
- Remove from heat and flip the pancakes out of the pan using the same method you used to flip them. Serve while warm with butter and powdered sugar or maple syrup.
Notes
- You want the milk to be lukewarm between 100°F-110°F (38-43°C), so it will dissolve the yeast. Pour the milk into a microwave-safe dish and microwave for 60-90 seconds.
- Allowing the yeast batter to rise for at least 1 hour makes these Dutch pancakes so fluffy! If you have a particularly cold kitchen, the batter may take up to 2 hours to rise fully.
- To more easily fill the pan with risen batter, I used a piping bag. You could also use a Ziploc bag with one corner snipped off, a small 1-tablespoon (15-mm) cookie scoop, or a squeeze bottle. The batter gets thicker once it has risen and won't pour as easily as regular pancakes.
- Traditional poffertjes are made with buckwheat flour. Some people choose to use all-purpose flour. Instead, pastry flour also works well, or you can use a 50/50 blend of buckwheat and all-purpose flour. *Keep in mind, buckwheat flour in the US is typically darker and stronger than it is in Europe.
- This recipe should make roughly 10 servings of 4-5 puffed pancakes per person.
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