Wednesday, November 10, 2010

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!



27 comments:

ReeseKitchen said...

You are making me hungry...the waffles look so yummy!! Can see but cannot taste..."sigh"..;p

ann low said...

Those waffles makes me hungry too! Especially the Belgium waffles with melted chocolate coated ;D

busygran said...

I love the belgium waffles with all that chocolate!

pigpigscorner said...

I need to invest in a waffle maker!

Meldylocks and Her Three Bears said...

Ooooh, those with choc coating are so sinfully attractive!!!

tigerfish said...

I seem to like the Belgium waffles better? I don't know. Maybe they look too cute.

Small Small Baker said...

Aiyo, you are really making me drool, esp the belgium waffles with chocolate. Gotta buy some to fix my cravings. :)

Angie's Recipes said...

Nice waffles! Anything with chocolate tastes better!

DG said...

All waffles look absolutely delicious, made me drooling ;P

lena said...

looks delicious, bee. you made me feel like getting one at the mall later.

Honey Bee Sweets said...

@Reese: hahaha, you know I am thinking of making this for Grace when she & her family is coming to visit next month. You can ask her nice or not. :)

@Ann: you know I get so tempted every time we go Sun Moulin or Four Leave bakery. But now I am happy, lol!

Thanks busygran

@Ann, yuu should!

@Meldylocks: I know! I can't help munch on it too!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

@tigerish: I don't blame you, I love the Belgium waffles more too, lol!

@smallsmallbaker: Hahahaa, hope you have already got your fix!

@Angie: you said it!

@DG: Hope you will get a chance to try it out. :)

@Lena: Hope you will find the waffle maker! Looking forward to seeing a waffle post from you. :)

Passionate About Baking said...

Yummy! Now I'm more determined to get a waffle maker!

My Little Space said...

Ooo... I love this kind of waffles a lot! Especially the bottom ones! They're so expensive at the forzen department. Can I ask you a quiestion? Normally, they called the yeasted waffle like the bottom ones as Leige Waffle. Are those considered as Belgium waffle as well? Thanks. Hope you're having a wonderful evening.
Cheers, Kristy

ICook4Fun said...

I got a waffles machine for Christmas last year and so far just used it once ha ha.. I have to utilize it more. I like how you coat it with chocolate.

Pei-Lin said...

Oh, my! My American mom made them solely for me just because of my requests on several occasions!! LOL! I still remember vividly one of the last breakfasts I had and spent with my dearest American family featured WAFFLES! But hers are always whole-wheat and are equally good.

The flower-shaped ones look cute! Yours and Grace's are too good to resist! Been ages since I had waffles ... T_T

Kitchen Corner said...

Hey Bee,
Your waffles look very yummy and crisp at the outside. The little Belgium waffles look good too! I agree with you, Belgium waffles is much doughy. I've tried American waffles too and find both is nice! Good to have different recipes so that we won't bored with the only one.

Honey Bee Sweets said...

@Jane: you should! Actually the one I bought wasn't very expensive, it's only a two waffle slot machine and it think it's only $30++.

@Kristy: Actually I saw the name from the bakery store that I frequent, so I thought it's it! Lol! Frankly speaking, I am not too sure myself, but Leign waffles is definitely something I've not seen....Perhaps it's all the same thing, just that different countries give them different name. :)

@Gert: you should really, I mean really make some fresh waffles in the morning, it's soooooo good!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Pei-Lin, I promise I will make some chocolate coated waffles for you if You come visiting again ok?

Thanks Grace! Hope to try out the recipe you share on your blog too!

Swee San said...

ok i have to try the belgian waffle recipe..!!

Anonymous said...

hi, may i know what brand is your waffle maker and how much? i live in a small town in Msia, it seem so hard to find a decent one.

regards,
CC

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Hi CC, I got mine in Spore in a major shopping mall's home appliance section for $34.99...I think. Brand is Cornell. Hope you can find it. :)

Cuisine Paradise said...

Yeah!!! So this is where the recipe is :p bookmarked and going to try next week during school holiday!!!!

Yvonne said...

Can I used a mixer for this? I don't know how to knead by hand and punch out the air

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Should be ok to use mixer Yovnne

Unknown said...

May i know what waffle maker are u using?

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Currently I am using a HappyCall waffle pan