Brown Butter Waffles & Belgium Waffles

Hot golden waffles, crisp on the outside and tender on the inside, are a spectacular way to kick off a weekend morning. Don't you agree? Whether you're at home in your pajamas or away on holiday in a nice hotel, I am sure waffles is one of shear pleasures to start your day with. And the shape of a waffle is genius! It's indentation are perfect for catching melted butter, maple syrup, or juices from fresh fruits! Yum yum! I used to make waffles every other weekend when I was in States. But when I was in Asia, due to the voltage difference, I had to archive my waffle maker in the store room. Lucky me, I found a decent waffle maker a month back and everything else is history. :D

Doesn't these just look inviting? I was restraining myself from chowing down a piece while taking these pictures, lol! As expected, these were crisp on the outside and tender inside, a generous spread of butter and some maple syrup or honey, and I'm golden! I believe you have also read the recent post from Grace of Kitchen Corner with her new toy. :)) Oh yes, a scoop of ice cream over these hot waffles is really a match made in yummy heaven.

I got this recipe from William Sonoma's "Comfort Food":

Ingredients for Brown Butter Waffles (makes about 16):
4 tbsp unsalted butter
2 cups whole milk
2 whole eggs, separated
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
3 tbsp sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt butter or cooking oil if needed for greasing

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 135C. Have ready a rimmed baking sheet. Preheat the waffle maker.
• In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium low heat and bring to a boil. Cook and stirring constantly for 3 minutes until the milk solids in the bottom of the pan turn a toasty brown. Transfer to a bowl and let cool. Add milk, egg yolks, and vanilla, and whisk until combines
• In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add in the milk mixture and whisk till combined (a few small lumps are ok). In another bowl, using a clean whisk or a handheld mixer, whip the egg whites until soft peak form. Scoop the whites into the batter and gently whisk in till even.
• If you waffle iron is not nonstick, lightly and evenly oil the grid. Scoop the batter over the grip and close. Cook until the waffle is golden brown, usually 4 to 5 minutes.
• Transfer the waffles on to the baking sheet and keep warm in the preheated oven. Repeat until all batter are used.
• Serve the waffles while they are still hot and crisp with butter and sweetened syrup. Enjoy!

The other waffle that I made was Belgium waffles! I have always wondered how these were made whenever I saw them selling at Sun Moulin bakery. My kids loved them so much, so that makes it all the more I need to learn it!

You've seen these right?! It's much more doughy then the usual waffles but still really delicious! There is actually yeast in the dough, so it is more or less like a bread to me. :) However I find it still taste not as good as those selling in Sun Moulin, so there;s still room for improvement. But it is amazingly easy to make them, so if you have a waffle maker, don't think twice! The recipe I have is adapted from Carol 自在生活, but I made some slight changes to it. So here is my version:

Recipe for Belgium Waffle (Bread):
120g bread flour
100g cake flour
1/2 tsp yeast
60g caster sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 egg
60 ml warm milk (~35C)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
50g unsalted butter, cut small

Method:

• In a large mixing bowl, mix all ingredients together except for the butter. Knead to for a soft dough.
• Continue to knead the dough for about 5 to 6 minutes till smooth. Then add in the butter and continue to knead till all the butter is mixed in well. Dough might be a little sticky, but it's ok. Cover and let rest to proof for 1-1.5hr till it doubles.
• After proving, punch out the air and divide the dough into 8 portions. Roll round and let rest for 10 minutes. Heat up the waffle maker at the meantime.
• After 10 minutes, place one dough piece in the middle of each waffle grid and press down the waffle iron cover. Let cook for 3 to 4 minutes till golden brown. Remember DO NOT over cook these, it will become hard and not too tasty.
• You can either let it cool or place in a preheated oven at 135C before serving. You can also freeze them up to a month and bring them back to room temperature, toast it and good to enjoy again.

I kicked mine up a notch by glazing them with dark chocolate....who doesn't like chocolate?! Just melt about 100g of milk or dark chocolate of your choice and dunk those waffles fact down into it. Let cool or chill in fridge to harden the glaze....so when you bite down, you can still hear the crackle of the chocolate but yet the next moment the nice waffle inside! :P

I like the glazed ones so much better that I decided to coat all of them with chocolate, lol! My younger child loved these....even after we have long finished them, she would still be asking for it. :P Overall a "mission" accomplished, an over due mission. :P Hope you all will give this a try too and let me know how it turns out. :))

Signing off now and wishing all a super duper relaxing yet fun weekend! Cheerio!