Basic Waffles

The Chorus Line of Waddles

When you make these you need to declare to your whole family..."It's Sunday morning and I'm makin' wafflessss!"  In your best donkey voice from Shrek.  I was first inspired to make waffles, not by watching Shrek, but by reading the Posie Gets Cozy blog, back in 2007.  I love her blog and the minute I read this post I was on the search for a heart shaped waffle iron.

Anyway, back story complete here is how I make waffles.  This made 3 large hearts and 5 'Waddles.'  I would double the amounts if you have children sleeping over, teenagers or a greedy family.  Left-overs freeze well and make a fabulous dessert with some icecream and Nutella.

1 egg separeted

45g softened butter
160g self raising flour
80g milk
50g water
1 egg yolk

Blitz in the Thermie for 20 seconds on speed 5.

Then:

1 egg white
1 Tbsp castor sugar (superfine)

In a separate bowl whisk up the egg white until it is forming stiff peaks.  Then hold the bowl over your head to show off to your children.  Add 1 tablespoon of castor sugar and whisk, whisk, whisk until the sugar has dissolved.  I do this by hand - it is the work of mere minutes.  If I were making a HUGE amount of meringue mix I would use my Kitchen Aide.  I don't like the Thermie for egg whites - you need a huge amount of egg white to have any success.

Waffles with berry maple syrup...mmmmm!

Then add a tablespoon of the whites to the batter in Thermie and gently fold around using the spatula.  This step helps the mixtures amalgamate without killing the air in the meringue.  Then add the batter to the whites and fold in with a metal spoon.  The batter is heavy and elastic.

I butter my waffle irons with paper towel and softened butter or marge.  I have two waffle irons...not quite sure how that happened...  I am a ho' for a kitchen gadget.  Anyway, thought I would do a wee product review on them.

Firstly, I have the 'Waddles' electric waffle iron by Sunbeam, that produces gorgeous little penguins.  Naturally, this is extremely popular with all the small people I know.  Actually, the big people love them too.  His little bowl-shaped belly is perfect for a variety of fillings; jam, maple syrup, whipped cream, honey, icecream, Nutella, chocolate mousse...  You just plug in and when it is hot it's light goes off.  I add a good tablespoon of batter.  If you are particular about his feet and wing tips add a little extra in those spots because sometimes the batter doesn't spread into them. I think I have had this for about 3 and half years and it is going strong.  The plates are easy to clean and haven't become at all tacky. I give it 5 out of 5 Minxy points.

The second waffle iron I have is the Breville Waffle Creations.  James bought me this for Christmas 2008.  I was determined to use it for Chrissy Breakfast!  This is also electric and came with a great little recipe guide in the instructions, I wish I cold find where I put it!   This iron has a setting dial on the top that you can adjust for light or dark waffles and has a red and green light on the top that goes on/off when the iron is hot and the waffles are done.  Like the Waddles the plates have retained their non-stick surface with no tackiness.  This one needs about a tablespoon and a third for the mixture to spread out to the edges.  These are nice thin waffles and they freeze well too.  I think this is worthy of 5 out of 5 Minxy points.

Now, an important aspect of 'Waffling' is the topping.  I base our waffle syrup on Nigella's Blueberry Maple syrup.  I don't usually measure my ingredients but for you...anything.  I added 110g of frozen berries (all that was left in the bag) and 70g of maple syrup.  I cooked these together for 4 and half minutes on reverse speed soft 100c.  This syrup is sensational!  I have made it with every type of summer berry and have never been disappointed.

So there you have it.  The waffle review.

Happy breakfasting,
ThermoMINX