If you live in the US, I’m sure you’ve made pancakes before. Probably numerous times—am I right or am I right?

But, the question is, have you been faithful to only one recipe? Or are you jumping from one recipe to the next?

As for me, I’ve been using the same recipe since 1996. Back then I was an M.A student and I shared a tiny apartment with a roommate, a sweet guy named Guy. He never cooked or was too interested in food so I don’t know how we got to talk about pancakes in the first place. The recipe was given to me by his mother whom I’ve never met in person. Her “recipe” came in the form of a list of ingredients—like all the recipes I was given back then—the rest I had to figure out: the order of adding them, what to do with them, the technique, etc.

I’ve been using this recipe since then but in the past couple of years I’ve become a bit bored with our long-term relationship and started looking around for some excitement in other places. I had a taste of other pancakes like Ina Garten’s banana sour cream pancakes—if you have to be unfaithful to your pancakes, this is the recipe to go for. There is also a recipe for some “old fashioned” ones but I have no memories of our encounter besides an incriminating evidence that was found in my recipe binder in the form of a printed recipe… So… With a lack of alibi, I’ll confess that I probably made them. Possibly even ate them. Who knows…

However, overall, I’ve been loyal to that same old recipe 95% of the times. It’s my one and only true love. I’m sure there are better, sweeter, richer, more sophisticated pancakes out there but at this point in my life I stopped looking—I stick to this one pancake recipe.

The recipe and I go together a long way. Now there are lil’ kids in our lives.

The lil’ kids want to make pancakes.

The lil’ kids fight over who does what, they whine, and argue, and… Then I’ll raise my voice, “if you are not nice, then get out of the kitchen.” And the kids will settle down.

Then I figured it out, a division of labor is needed! (Taking turns didn’t work.) THANK GOD for inventing the separation between dry and wet ingredients. That helped my enthusiastic children behave and we had fun preparing the pancakes.

Up until yesterday I’ve made the batter in the order of ingredients as the “recipe” that was handed down to me specified. However, from now on, especially when the kids are around and wanting to pancake (I really think it should be a verb), we’ll apply the wet-dry method.

I noticed my recipe has less flour (about 1/2 to 1 cup less) compared to other pancake recipes I found online. Maybe this is why they very much reminded me of the Blintzes I made a while ago. After comparing the two, what do you know, the recipes are very similar only the blintzes have 1/2 more milk—ha! And, therefore, make thinner ‘cakes. So maybe my pancakes are somewhere between a classic American ones and European blintzes/crepes… but I love them just the same.

Now, do you remember Simone from Jungle Frog cooking blog? She made pancakes too and I am curious to see what she came up with.

Simone and I cooked a few types of pancake-like recipes in the past year:

It started with Dutch Poffertjes (Simone is Dutch and lives in the Netherlands)

Jewish Blintzes

Swedish Aebleskiver

Also, you must try—I insist, these Zucchini Pancakes

So, what is your favorite pancake batter?

My first and only pancakes

Makes 10 pancakes

2 eggs
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
Butter for frying
Maple, butter, jam for serving

Mix the wet ingredients in one bowl. Mix the dry ingredients in another bowl.

Gradually add the dry mix into the wet one and whisk vigorously until the batter is lumpless.

Melt a small piece of butter in a small non-stick skillet over medium heat. Pour 1/4 cup of batter and cook until bubbles show up on the surface. Flip to the other side and cook until it is golden brown. Remove to a plate.

Repeat this process with the rest of the batter, adjusting the heat as needed.

A confession:  I like my pancakes best served with butter; more than maple syrup (too sweet).

I really got into the mood of pancake making, and of course eating, after my Poffertjes travel back in time experience. So, naturally, I was extremely happy when Simone has suggested we make more pancakes together, this time Danish ones called Ebelskiver, and this time Trissa from the beautiful blog Trissalicious joins too. I’m in the US, Simone in Holland, and Trissa in Australia! How cool is that? I think, that’s one of the the fun-nest aspects of blogging.

I have already made those Danish pancakes twice and I can easily predict the future and tell you I will be making them a zillion more times. According to Wikipedia, Æbleskiver (Danish meaning apple slices) are traditional Danish pancakes in a distinctive shape of a sphere. Somewhat similar in texture to American pancakes crossed with a popover, Æbleskiver are solid like a pancake but light and fluffy like a popover.

This brought up the need to buy yet another pan. An ebelskiver pan. After much debate on which pan to buy, I’ve decided to go with William-Sonoma after watching their video tutorial on how to make Aebleskiver. then I headed to the store to see the pan with my own eyes and all doubts were gone. I used the pan twice and I love it.

I found that making ebelskiver was much easier than making poffertjes. I think this was mainly because I only had to handle and flip 7 pancakes at a time instead of the 14 little poffertjes. (Some poffertjes pans have even 20 or more indentations which I can only imagine takes a high level of skill to make.) They also take a bit longer to cook compared to the poffertjes which allows you some time to breathe in between flipping and batches. With the poffertjes, by the time I poured the last teaspoon of batter in the pan I had to immediately turn them to the other side. So, bottom line, ebelskiver is much easier to make.

Flavor wise, they turned out just-right sweet and light as air. They reminded me of little doughnuts, but of the good kind, like those made with yeast and left to rise and then fried in oil. (Yu-um.) Only with ebelskiver what makes them have a light and fluffy texture is whipping egg whites. (Don’t let that scare you or stop you, in case whipping whites is something you think you don’t know how to do. 2 minutes in a mixer and it’s done!) I made them with different fillings: sliced banana, a bit of chocolate, strawberry jam, and plain. Sprinkled with powdered sugar and a drizzle of maple syrup or melted butter – optional, but recommended. My favorite was to eat them plain or filled with jam which reminded me of these Hanukah doughnuts,

Actually, when I served them plain with butter and sugar they reminded me more of the Dutch poffertjes I had 21 years ago on my trip to Holland than the poffertjes I made at home. Hmmm, could it be? Could it be some conspiracy going on in The Netherlands where Danish ebelskiver are being served in the disguise of Dutch poffertjes? I wonder…

You can watch the William-Sonoma tutorial video is here, more recipes here, or in photos and steps here. I used the recipe that came with the pan only I cut it in half since 20 mini pancakes are enough for the four of us. Each time we had leftovers to nibble on later throughout the day. Ah, don’t you love Saturday mornings?

Now, if I hadn’t told you about the little drama we had here on Thursday, could you have guessed? Or the mostly sleepless night we had last night? Ebelskiver are a major distraction from all of that, but this is what’s going on behind the scenes of our presumably perfect lives. The happy face we put on when we interact with the world outside.

My girl had to be weaned off the pacifier overnight after her injury. She likes to have it when she goes to sleep but we had to do it cold turkey. She cried during the night and asked for it so we haven’t slept much. We went in and out of her room a couple of times, taking turns, my husband and me. Then at around 3 am, when all we have tried to do did not work, we brought her to our bed. I only got kicked 2 or 3 times, got punched in the eye once, and got smacked on my head with her little fists 4 or 5 times. On the other hand, it’s just so funny to see her little face within 3/8-inch distance from mine, her soft curly hair in my face and tickling my nose. These are sweet moments.

Ebleskiver

Makes about 20 pancakes (or 4 batches)

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, separated
1 (250 ml) cup of milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted, plus more for cooking
For filings: jam, bananas, chocolate chips, apple sauce
Maple syrup, for serving
Powdered sugar, for serving

In a big bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
In a small bowl, lightly whisk the egg yolks, then add the milk and the melted butter.

Whisk the yolk mixture into the flour mixture until the batter is well combined.
In a third bowl, using an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites on high speed until stiff but not dry peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the batter in 2-3 additions.
Put 1/4 teaspoon butter in each well of the pancake pan. Place over medium heat and heat until the butter begins to sizzles. Using a pastry/silicon brush, coat surface of wells entirely with the butter. Pour 1 tablespoon batter into each well, then add some of the filling (if using) in the center of each pancake and top with another 1 tablespoon of batter. Cook until the bottoms are golden brown, crispy, and slightly pulls away around the edges, 3 to 5 minutes. Using 2 wooden skewers, flip the pancakes over and cook until golden and crispy on the other side, about 3 minutes more. Transfer to a plate.

Repeat with the remaining batter and fillings.
Dust the pancakes with confectioners’ sugar and serve warm with maple syrup.

*** Let’s check out what Simone and Trissa made…

The pan

My best props

There was hardly any time to take photos as my husband and kids came back home and got all curious about what I was making in the kitchen.

Poffertjes.

The first time I ate poffertjes was back in 1989. I’ll help you out, that’s 21 years ago! Gosh, I sure grew up since. But in the past twenty-one years I could not forget those tiny sort-of-like pancake puffs, very generously dusted with powdered sugar and bathed in melted butter, that I have seen only in Holland. If you must, they also sell them with a “side” of whipped cream and strawberries. Need I say more? I was much skinnier back then, and 21 years younger, and I burnt a lot of calories walking in those pre-car years, so I could eat them with no limits, which is exactly what I did.

I was during a trip to Holland with my father to visit his sister and her family who still live there. It was one of the best trips of my life. We got there in the summer – already a good start since it’s pretty cold in Holland right now, see below? (These are photos my aunt took from the plane on her way to sunny Thailand) – everything was beautiful, new, different, and exciting.

We visited a few towns, Amsterdam (Fries drenched in mayonnaise was the most common street food and I loved it. Forget about ketchup. Mayo is the best!), Den Hagg, Rotterdam (Where we went to a night club and I received a lot of attention form the Dutch boys, who tried to guess whether I am Italian, French, or Spanish and approached me speaking those languages), Delft (Where we had poffertjes again, this time with whipped cream and strawberries. There were lots of bees fighting to have some too. Luckily, we didn’t get stung), and Bergen op zoom (Beautiful train ride, visiting relatives, then a bike ride, and a lovely market. Oh, and the first time I had mashed potatoes with bacon bits in it! It was love at first bite! I can’t forget that either.)

I’ve never seen such a flat land before, and so green, with so much water! Lots and lots of water, bikes, cows, grass, cheese, gorgeous brick houses, red brick paved streets, beautiful people. Here are a few photos I scanned from that trip, taken a long long time ago:

Me and my father on a touristic boat tour

Me in a mini-Holland

I used lipstick back then…

and my aunt Rachel wanted to put more makeup on me… but then she got busy… She loves to shop, dress up, and tan!

Pigeons. (Blech. They’re like rats with wings. I really didn’t want to stand there.) But see the building in the background!

Bike ride near Bergen op zoom. I’m not very good on a bike. Thank goodness this land is flat!

You know what these are

Cows, cows everywhere

A beautiful fishermen village

That trip was so wonderful that since then I automatically love anything Dutch and poffertjes (pronounced: poh-fer-tchuhs) will be forever in my mind. I did have poffertjes a few times in the past years but they were from a boxed mix and my husband was the one who burnt them, eeehh, made them, so it didn’t feel like the real thing. Fortunately, recently I got to virtually know Simone and her lovely blog Junglefrog cooking, and it turned out she is Dutch. (She also had a guest post about food photography and cameras, here). We exchanged a few comments and e-mails that turned into sharing recipes for poffertjes. Simone sent me a recipe that was titled “Oud Hollandse Poffertjes” and it immediately made me smile at the sound of the unfamiliar words and accent.

So finally today was my first time ever of making Poffertjes! It’s a historic day! A dream come true!

A little research on the internet revealed a few versions and we decided to try a recipe with eggs because it sounded richer than those without any. Simone said that buckwheat flour is traditional so we kept that and here’s a little photo she sent me showing her poffertjes pan:

I found that it takes some practice to make them right and you need to work fairly quickly. By the 4th batch I got better.

Of course, after the first batch I could no longer wait (the husb and kids were not at home yet) so I stopped the process and took a little taste break.

It wasn’t quite the taste that I remembered. It was good, I liked it, but the flavor was a bit sour, I think this might have been because of too much yeast (I’ll try to make it next time with smaller amount). I don’t know how buckwheat flour tastes. This was the first time I’ve had anything made with this flour so I think that maybe it added some of the sourness to the flavor as well. I believe the ones I had in Holland a million light years ago were made with regular/all-purpose flour so next time I’ll try to have more of that and less of the buckwheat. By the 4th batch though, the poffertjes tasted better, mellower, maybe because it had more time to sit and develop the flavors. I wonder what it would have tasted like if the batter was left to rise slowly in the fridge overnight.

For frying and portioning, first I used my smallest cookie scoop I have, then I tried pouring the batter from a cup, but I found that it worked best with a small teaspoon. This helped not overfilling the pan cavities which results in overflowing poffertjes.

I know there’s a special fork for turning the poffertjes in order to fry them on both sides but I don’t have one, so I used two heat-proof (silicon) spatulas. I also used a silicon brush to grease the hot pan with melted butter as well as the cooked poffertjes (instead of pouring a stream of melted butter on top. I know, it sounds better.)

If you don’t have a poffertjes pan, try adding teaspoonfuls of the batter to create the mini pancakes in a regular non-stick pan.

OK, ‘nough with technicalities, here’s the recipe:

Poffertjes

Makes 80-100 tiny pancakes

3dl (1 1/4 cups) milk
10g (2.5 teaspoons) dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
100 grams (3/4 cup; 3.5 oz.) all-purpose flour
150g (1 cup; 5.25 oz.) buckwheat flour
2 eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons melted butter, plus 4-5 tablespoons for frying
Powdered sugar
Whipped cream – optional
Fresh fruit – optional

Warm the milk in the microwave for about 40 seconds to 35 C (90-100 F) degrees.

In a small bowl, mix the yeast, sugar, and milk until dissolved.
Sift the flours together in a big mixing bowl. Make a little hole in the middle and pour the yeast mixture in it. Do not stir. Cover the hole with flour and let it rest for 15 minutes in a warm place.

Mix the yeast mixture and flour, then add the eggs, vanilla, salt, and 2 tablespoons of melted butter and mix until smooth. Let the dough rise, covered, for 1 hour in a warm place.

Put the poffertjes pan on the stovetop over medium-low to low heat and lightly grease the cavities with melted butter using a heat-proof (like silicon) brush. Fill the cavities only half-way with batter.
Cook over medium-low to low heat (adjust as needed) until the poffertjes are golden brown, then flip to the other side and cook to golden brown (They are ready to be flipped when tiny air bubbles appear on top and the bottom has set).

If the pan gets too hot, take it off the heat, grease with melted butter for the second batch and fill with more batter. Return to heat and continue the same way with the next batches.

Arrange the cooked poffertjes on a (warmed) plate, dust with powdered sugar and pour/brush melted butter on them before serving. Extras: Serve with whipped cream and fresh fruit.