Poffertjeskraam Albert Cuyp ★ 4.2
Albert Cuyp's poffertjes stall flips Amsterdam mini-pancakes in a cast-iron griddle, served with butter and powdered sugar, the snack the market eats walking.
Try: Poffertjes with butter and powdered sugar
History
Poffertjes originated as a 19th-century street-fair snack across the Netherlands. The cast-iron griddle with rounded indentations and the buckwheat-and-wheat batter are the defining technique. Amsterdam's market stands, especially the Poffertjeskraam at Albert Cuyp, keep the format unchanged: order a portion of twenty, eat on the curb with a wooden fork. Berry Maatjes' rum-and-raisin variants are the only acceptable embellishment.
Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Egg
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 150g plain flour
- 100g buckwheat flour
- 7g instant yeast
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 500ml whole milk, warmed to 37 degrees Celsius
- 2 large eggs
- 30g unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for the iron
- 60g cold unsalted butter to serve
- 100g icing sugar to serve
Method
- Whisk both flours, yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl.
- Whisk the warm milk into the eggs, then beat the wet mix gradually into the dry until smooth, finish with the melted butter.
- Cover and leave to ferment 90 minutes at warm room temperature until bubbled and slightly foamy.
- Heat a poffertjes iron over medium heat until a drop of water dances; brush each well lightly with butter.
- Pour or pipe batter into each well, filling about three-quarters; cook 60 to 90 seconds until the rim is set and bubbling.
- Turn each poffertje with a wooden skewer or fork in a quick flip motion; cook 60 more seconds until both sides are deep gold and the centre is just set.
- Transfer to a warm plate, top with shavings of cold butter so it melts down, dust heavily with icing sugar, and serve immediately with small forks.
Tip from the editors. A cast-iron Dutch poffertjes pan is the only authentic tool; a Danish aebleskiver pan is the closest substitute. The batter must rest the full 90 minutes or the poffertjes will not puff.
Where to eat poffertjes
Poffertjes in Amsterdam
Pannenkoekenhuis Upstairs ★ 4.2
Upstairs Pancakes on Grimburgwal occupies an Amsterdam canal house dating to 1539, four tables of pancakes, teapots on the ceiling, since 1961.
Signature: Sweet pancakes, Savoury bacon-and-cheese pancake
Order: The bacon and cheese pancake with apple, drowned in stroop.
Tip: Cash-only; reservations by phone a week ahead. The stairs are steep, the room is tiny.
Poffertjes in Utrecht
Biologische Boerenmarkt Vredenburg ★ 4.6
Utrecht's organic farmers market on Vredenburgplein every Friday. Local farmers sell cheese, organic produce, bread, juices, meat and sustainable fish.
Boerenmarkt Snack Stalls ★ 4.8
The Saturday boerenmarkt on Vredenburgplein is the cheapest eating in Utrecht. Fresh haring, warm bitterballen and stroopwafel baked on the iron cost €2-5.
Try: Haring with raw onion, bitterballen and fresh stroopwafel
More cities are in research. Want poffertjes covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.