Belgian Waffles

Man v. Food has to be one of the shows that I like and hate all at the same time.  The hubby on the other hand absolutely loves it and drools with envy for every bite that Adam Richman takes.  In one of the episodes of  Man v. Food Nation (Season 1, Episode 17 for those of you playing at home), Adam visited a food truck in New York by the name of Wafles and Dinges where they serve traditional Belgian waffles topped with everything under the sun including a pulled pork combination which immediately won the hubby’s heart.

Hence we borrowed my mother-in-law’s waffle maker and for the first time used the mancake recipe for the batter.  They were delicious, but a little heavy so the hunt was on for not only a waffle maker for us, but for a traditional Belgian waffles recipe.

Because I love KitchenAid I wanted to see if they had anything on offer which of course they do, but unfortunately not sold in Australia.  So my search of the interweb for a red waffle maker to add to my set of red appliances took me to Ireland.  After a week or so of impatiently waiting, the new toy had arrived!

The first recipe we tried was again the mancake recipe and then a couple of others that we had found on the interweb whilst we were waiting for it to arrive.  However, the one that we use is the one from the manual funnily enough for a traditional Belgian waffle.

Mr Google and the guy from the food truck inform me that a traditional Belgian waffle is made with a yeast batter and has egg whites folded in to keep it nice and light.  The recipe from the manual is this method and the result is a delicious, light and crunchy waffle that isn’t too sweet so can easily adapted if you want to use more savoury toppings.

Given it is a yeast batter, it does take a little time to make as you have to allow it to rise so this is definitely a recipe for those Sunday’s when you are not in a rush.  You will need double cream, flour, sugar, butter, milk, pinch of salt, yeast and four eggs.

The milk and double cream are heated in a saucepan until they are just below boiling point, as you do not want it too hot otherwise it will kill the yeast.  The same goes for the butter which needs to be melted, but allow to cool slightly so it isn’t too hot either.

Place the flour, sugar and yeast into your mixer and stir to combine.  Add the four egg yolks and beat until you have a mixture that resembles damp sand.

Pour in the warm milk/cream mixture as well as the butter and beat on a medium speed until thick and smooth.  Cover the bowl and let it sit at room temperature for an hour until is rises.

In another bowl, you will need to whisk the egg whites with the pinch of salt and add the sugar once you have soft peaks.  Continue whisking until there are stiff peaks.  The egg whites need to be folded into the batter gently so as not deflate the batter or egg whites too much.

Cook according to your waffle maker directions, but for me I preheat the waffle maker and set the timer to 3 minutes and 45 seconds.  Pour the mixture into the waffle maker, turn over and fill the other side.  Turn it over again and let it cook.

For mother’s day this year we had all of our family around for breakfast and served waffles.  There was a spread of toppings on offer including fruit, whipped vanilla cream, lemon curd, jam, homemade caramelised almonds and pistachios (the same that were used in the filling for the Bûche de Noël) and of course maple syrup.

Top the waffles with whatever your heart desires and taste the deliciousness!

These Belgian waffles have become a regular occurrence in our house and have replaced the mancakes as the special Sunday morning breakfast.

Print Recipe

Belgian Waffles

Adapted from the KitchenAid manual for the Waffle Baker.

Course

Breakfast

Servings

waffles

Ingredients

• 250 g plain/all-purpose flour
• 300 ml milk
• 200 ml double cream
• 70 g caster sugar split into 50g and 20g
• 1 tbsp dried yeast
• 4 egg(s) separated
• 150 g butter melted and cooled
• Pinch of salt

Course Breakfast Servings waffles Ingredients 250 g plain/all-purpose flour 300 ml milk 200 ml double cream 70 g caster sugar split into 50g and 20g 1 tbsp dried yeast 4 egg(s) separated 150 g butter melted and cooled Pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Heat the milk and cream in a saucepan over medium heat until just below the boiling point. Set aside to cool slightly.
2. Place the flour, caster sugar (50g) and yeast into a mixing bowl and stir until evenly distributed. Add the egg yolks and mix for 2-3 minutes until the mixture resembles damp sand.
3. Pour in the milk/cream mixture and the melted butter and whisk on medium-high speed until the batter is thick and smooth.
4. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and leave at room temperature for an hour.
5. After the batter has risen, whisk the egg white with the salt until soft peaks. Add the remaining caster sugar (20g) and continue to whisk until stiff peaks.
6. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter, taking care not to deflate the mixture.
7. Preheat your waffle maker, add the mixture (1 cup for the KitchenAid waffle baker) and cook until golden brown, 3-4 minutes.
8. Serve with fruit, cream, maple syrup or something savoury.