Waffles for Breakfast

My mother gave me her waffle iron about ten years ago that she had been given by her good friend Diane. It came from America in the late seventies I think, and it is still the most dependable piece of kitchen equipment I have (with the exception of course of my Kitchenaid!) It is not electric, you have to sit it on the hob and turn it over from time to time. It has a thermometer, but as I am sure you can see by the picture above, it is illegible, so I have to guess when the heat is right. Often the first batch stick a little, but they cook fine and the kids always step in to do a taste test on the basis that they are not pretty enough to be served to guests!

Indeed we had guests last night, hence the big breakfast. The kids always use the opportunity to request pancakes or waffles, often together. Not the best for the waistline!

I use the mixer for this recipe, and go by american cup measures as it is much, much quicker.

The recipe says 6 teaspoons of baking powder, this is not a mistake! It needs a fair bit of raising agent to be spongy and bouncy.

Into the mixer put:

4 eggs

2 1/2 cups of milk

3/4 cup melted butter

3 1/2 cups of flour

6 t baking powder

1 t salt

Beat them together until smooth and there are no lumps. You can leave to stand for hours, actually it it supposed to improve the mixture, but I always make it just before cooking them. 

If you don't have a mixer, use an electric hand held mixer or just a balloon whisk. The mixture comes together fairly quickly, so it is not too labour intensive.

Heat up the waffle iron on a high heat, I butter mine a little first, and then use a heaped ice-cream scoop for each waffle mould. Then I tilt it around a little so the batter spreads and cook on a high heat for a few minutes before turning it over. You can check by opening the iron and lifting the waffles with a knife to check if they are golden brown.

As there is no sugar in the recipe, the waffles can be savoury or sweet. They go really well with scrambled egg and bacon or bacon and maple syrup. 

My favourite is what you are looking at above; berries and maple syrup. A close second is a good dessert option; strawberries and banana with a little ice cream.

But you can let your imagination go wild on something like this. The kids have come up with some interesting combos in the past!

I know waffle irons are not a common household appliance that most kitchens have, but if you have one lurking somewhere, get it out and try it.

You can buy electric ones, but I have no idea what they are like.