Poffins

My recipe for Poffins, the fictional pastries from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl (and Platinum and BD+SP). These are a modified version of the recipe from Pixelated Provisions, and they were a huge hit for a birthday party I hosted! The recipe makes 16-20 individual pastries, and the dough is based on a milk bread recipe.

Ingredients

  • Dough
    • 1 1/4 cup lukewarm milk
    • 1/4 cup sugar
    • 1/4 cup melted butter
    • 2 tsp yeast (2x 7g packets)
    • 1 egg
    • 1 tsp salt
    • 4 cups flour
    • Flavorings (see flavoring ideas)
    • Food dye (or natural food coloring)
    • an egg wash (1 egg yolk and 2 tbsp water)
    • Toppings (see flavoring ideas)
  • Flavoring ideas
    • Sweet: Pink dye, vanilla extract dough, berry jam filling, sprinkles topping
    • Dry: Blue dye, no flavoring, peanut butter filling, sesame seed topping
    • Sour: Yellow dye, lemon zest dough, marmalade filling, sesame seed/lemon zest topping
    • Bitter: Green dye, matcha dough (no dye needed), dark chocolate ganache filling, poppy seed topping
    • Spicy: Red dye, Nutmeg cayenne and cinnamon dough, sweet chilli sauce/jam filling, chili flake topping
    • Multiflavor: Mix and match above!
    • Mild: No dye, vanilla extract in dough, Custard filling (at end of recipe), sesame seed topping

Method

  • In a bowl or stand mixer, mix milk, butter, sugar and yeast.
  • Let rest for 15 minutes, or until the yeast activates. Add egg and salt and mix until incorperated.
  • Add flour one cup at a time until the dough comes together. You can add more small amounts of flour if the dough is too sticky.
  • Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover. Let rest for at least an hour or until it doubles in size.
  • Preheat your oven to 350F (180C). Assemble coloring, flavoring, fillings and toppings.
  • Portion the dough into seperate pieces to prepare it for dying and flavoring (if making multiple flavors). Add 10-15 drop of desired food coloring and 1 tbsp of desired flavoring and work into the dough until the dye and flavoring are equally distributed.
  • To assemble the poffin, split dough into 50 gram portions - about a small handful. Flatten the portion in your hand, taking care not to make it too thin, and add a teaspoon of filling. Pinch the poffin closed and place on a baking sheet.
  • Once all poffinsd have been assembled, mix egg yolk and water to create egg wash, and brush poffins. Finish by sprinkling your toppings on top.
  • Bake for 12-15 minutes or until they start to brown. Allow to cool slightly before serving .

Tips

  • For a custard filling, follow this additional recipe!
    • Ingredients
      • 1 3/4 cup of milk
      • 4 tbsp butter
      • 4 egg yolks
      • 1/2 cup sugar
      • 5 tablespoons flour
      • 2 tbsp cornstarch
      • 1/2 tsp salt
      • Flavorings (spices, vanilla extract, etc)
      • Food dye (or natural food coloring)
      • an egg wash (1 egg yolk and 2 tbsp water
    • Method
      • In a saucepan over high heat, heat butter, milk and sugar til butter has melted. Stir constantly so the milk doesnt curdle
      • In a small mixing bowl, combine egg yolk, flour, cornstarch and salt.
      • Once milk mixture is heated, slowly pour half of it into the egg mixture and mix continuously to temper the eggs.
      • Strain the milk-and-egg mix back into the rest of the milk mixture and stir until thick.
      • Pour custard mix into a bowl and allow to cool. You can choose to flavor the custard. Then place in the fridge to set.
  • For a hypothetical Super Mild poffin (like the ones in BDSP), try mixing together different elements of all the different flavors!
  • As of right now, I haven't tried out alternative milks or egg substitutes for any part of the recipe, but margerine can be used in place of butter! My guess is that oat milk would make for the best kind of milk substitute, due to its creaminess.
  • In the Pokémon games, Poffins are made of all kinds of berries, with different flavor profiles. Feel free to experiment!