Saturday, March 27, 2010

Classic Belgian Waffles

I got an awesome Belgian Waffle maker for Christmas, but I had a hard time finding a recipe that would rise to the top and still be light and fluffy. After a bit of investigation this is the one I settled on as being the best. It's a little involved (you have to separate the eggs and beat the egg whites), but it makes light crispy waffles. Don't use this in a regular waffle maker -only a Belgian one.

  • 2 cups cake flour - OK this is 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour and 1/4 c. corn starch - give or take a few
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 4 large eggs, separated
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 cups milk
Preheat the waffle iron. In a large bowl, beat together the egg yolks and sugar until sugar is completely dissolved and eggs have turned a pale yellow. Add the vanilla extract, melted butter, and milk to the eggs and whisk to combine. Add the dry ingredients and whisk just until blended. Do not over mix. In smaller bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until soft peaks form, about 1 minute. Using the rubber spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the waffle batter. Do not overmix! (It's easier if you add 1/4 of the egg whites and mix it in really well. This will lighten the batter and so folding in the other 3/4 of egg whites works pretty well) Coat the waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray and pour enough batter in iron to just cover waffle grid (I can fit about 1/2 c batter in each waffle without overflowing and still having enough to rise to the top). Close and cook about 4 minutes until golden brown. Serve immediately.

No comments: