Poffertjes: Cheese Pancakes

Here we are at last, we've finally made it to Amsterdam.  It's been a long journey through the continent (and you even got to sit out our time in Austria and the long drive across Germany!) and The Netherlands is our country of exit.  After our time in Venice, boyfriend and I headed through Innsbruck and on to Munich.  The Munich airport had a plethora of automatic transmission cars and we were on our way, on the autobahn!

Through Germany we travelled, stopping at castles and small towns, and into Holland, with its speed limit, boo.  We drove our tiny little rental car into the heart of Amsterdam and checked into our super cool hotel.  The front desk held a dish of stroopwafels, delicious little caramel-filled wafers, which we stole many of during our short stay there.

Boyfriend and I weren't really sure what to expect in Amsterdam, but we were both pleasantly surprised.  It's a beautiful city, cross-hatched by canals and green with parks.  We passed by more museums than we could possibly visit with a whole week in town.  We enjoyed a fragrant walk through the flower market and bought my mom some "blue" tulips (they turned out to be pink when they came up in the spring).  We finished up our evening with a table full of Indian food and a late-night stroll through the red-light district.  The very next morning we headed off to Schipol airport and back to the United States, with my new cookbooks in tow.

Mmmm, so gouda...

One Year Ago: Orange Chiffon Cupcakes

Poffertjes: Cheese Pancakes

These little guys were packed full of flavor.  The recipe suggested I cook them in a poffertjes pan, which I strangely do not have in my American kitchen.  Instead, we cooked them like pancakes, on a griddle.  Be sure to buy some aged gouda, it's expensive, but it will give you the most flavor.  I got some 5-year aged gouda from Wegmans.

400mL (14 oz) milk
1 package dried yeast
200g (7 oz) flour
100g (3.5 oz) buckwheat flour
pinch of salt
1 egg
100 g (3.5 oz) aged gouda, grated

Warm milk until lukewarm.  In a small bowl, combine yeast and a small amount of milk.  Allow to sit for 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, buckwheat flour and salt.  Add yeasty milk, remaining milk and egg.  Whisk together until the batter is smooth.  Cover loosely in plastic wrap and allow to sit for 1 hour.

Heat a frying pan or griddle over medium heat.  Spoon out 1 tbsp batter into small pancakes.  Allow to cook until little bubble appear on the tops of the pancakes.  Flip and cook for 1 minute more.