Artisanal Traditional Dutch Poffertjes with Salted Caramel

Authentic Dutch poffertjes with an artisanal twist: airy inside, golden-brown outside and finished with a homemade salted caramel. This recipe brings a piece of Dutch tradition to the table.

📝 Ingredients

• 150 g all-purpose flour
• 50 g buckwheat flour
• 7 g dry yeast (1 sachet)
• 300 ml whole milk, lukewarm
• 1 egg
• 30 g butter, melted
• 0.5 tsp salt
• Extra butter for greasing
• For the salted caramel:
• 150 g granulated sugar
• 3 tbsp water
• 80 ml heavy cream, at room temperature
• 40 g butter, in cubes
• 0.75 tsp coarse sea salt (plus extra to serve)

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1Make the poffertjes batter: dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm milk and let sit for 5 minutes. In a large bowl, mix the buckwheat flour, all-purpose flour and salt. Add the yeast-milk mixture, the egg and the melted butter and stir until you have a smooth, fairly thin batter. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes in a warm place.Meanwhile make the salted caramel: put the sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Do not stir; instead carefully swirl the pan from time to time. Let the sugar caramelize to a deep amber liquid. Remove from the heat and add the butter, stirring quickly. Then add the heavy cream (careful of splattering) and stir until smooth. Add the sea salt, taste and adjust if needed. Set aside.Preheat the cast-iron poffertjes pan over medium heat. Grease the wells with a piece of butter on a paper towel or use a brush. The pan is at the right temperature when a drop of batter immediately starts to sizzle.Fill the wells three-quarters full with batter using a piping bag or a spoon. Cook the poffertjes over medium heat until the edges start to set and the top shows small bubbles, about 1.5 to 2 minutes. Then turn them over with a pick or fork and cook another minute until golden brown.Repeat steps 3 and 4 until all the batter is used. Re-grease the pan before each new batch.Serve the poffertjes immediately: place them on a plate, add a knob of butter on top and drizzle the salted caramel generously over them. Optionally sprinkle with a pinch of coarse sea salt for extra depth. Enjoy.