Waffles with Greek Honey & Blackberries

After watching my sister enjoy scrumptious looking waffles while we were holidaying in Greece together, I returned home craving waffles. Thankfully I am one of those people who can’t resist buying kitchen gadgets and so own a waffle machine, meaning it wasn’t long before I could satisfy my craving.

This is a very quick waffle recipe that makes just two waffles, which is perfect for one person. I gave a slight nod to my holiday by using some Greek runny honey I’d bought back with me, both in the batter itself and drizzled on top. This gave it a subtle sweetness and a lovely faint floral flavour that honey can add.

As blackberries are in bountiful supply at the moment, I topped my waffles with some honey sweetened cream cheese and a handful of lightly cooked blackberries that I’d foraged from nearby hedgerows. I love their dark glossy purple colour and they went so well with the cream cheese and honey.

Even though I made two waffles, there is only one in the photos as I decided to eat them separately as the blackberries released quite a lot of juice and I didn’t want the second waffle to go soggy. I simply left it on the waffle grill (switched off) which kept it lovely and toasty warm for me.

These were so quick and easy to make but really satisfied my waffle craving. I love how the dips and grooves of the waffle captured the glossy juices of the berries. Each bite formed into its own little square.

Waffles with Greek Honey & Blackberries

Ingredients

60g gluten free self raising flour

1 egg

60ml milk

2 tsp sunflower oil

1 tsp Greek honey

¼ tsp almond extract

¼ tsp baking powder

To Serve

Blackberries

2 tbsp cream cheese

Greek runny honey

Method

Preheat your waffle machine and spray or brush the plates with a little oil. Meanwhile, mix the flour and baking powder together in a bowl.

In a jug, measure out the milk and then beat in the egg, oil, almond extract and honey.

Pour the milk mixture into the flour mix while whisking gently until you get a smooth batter. Allow to stand for 2-3 minutes to thicken slightly.

Pour the batter into the waffles machine and cook according to the machines instruction, until crisp and golden.

While the waffles are cooking, heat a large handful of blackberries until they are warm and just beginning to release their juice, but are not fully broken down.

Mix the cream cheese with a little runny honey and whisk until creamy (a spoon works fine).

Place one cooked waffle onto a plate, spread with half the cream cheese mixture and top with the warmed blackberries.

Drizzle with a little extra honey and enjoy. Repeat with the remaining waffle (I like to eat them separately so the second one doesn’t go soggy).

Makes 2 waffles

Gluten Free Waffles

Hello! I finally have the internet and can get back to baking and blogging once more. I haven’t been able to check anyone’s blogs for weeks and so goodness knows what tasty treats I’ve missed out on. Thank you to everyone for all your good luck wishes regarding my new job and moving to Sheffield. I’m pleased to say it’s all going well and I feel very settled. Here’s a quick snap shot of my ‘new’ kitchen.

Back in April I was given a Belgian waffle maker for my birthday. I love playing around with kitchen gadgets and adore waffles so it was the perfect gift. I hadn’t had a waffle for several years and certainly not since going GF, so I was very excited to try it out. I greased the machine, mixed up a batter (without a recipe – opps!) and spooned it onto the waffle iron. When it smelt ready I went to open the lid only to discover that the batter had welded itself to both the top and bottom plates, meaning I had to forcibly pull the iron open, breaking the waffle in half. Not only that, but the batter refused to come away from the plates and I spent the next 40 minutes trying to scrape the crispy burnt on mess off the machine. Feeling disheartened I put the machine away, where it stayed untouched for several months. I’m sure we’ve all had similar experiences with various kitchen gadgets!

However, my desire for waffles never went away and when Annie submitted her gluten free waffle recipe for my Go Gluten Free event a few weeks back, I was determined to give them another go. I followed Annie’s recipe, only making a slight adjustment by using oil instead of melted butter, as I had read this would give a crispier finish to the waffles. With my fingers crossed I tried again and …success! Delicious, light and fluffy waffles that didn’t stick to the iron. Hurrah!

The first weekend after I started my new job I decided to celebrate with some waffles for lunch. The great thing about waffles is that they are so versatile. The flavour of the batter itself or the toppings you pile on top can be sweet or savoury. I decided to go the whole hog and have one of each.

First up was the savoury waffle. Sliced sautéed mushrooms with a little thyme and garlic, topped with some grated smoked Applewood cheese and a pinch or two of smoked paprika. I love this combination, as the smoky sweetness from the cheese and paprika goes really well with the earthy mushrooms. Definitely some savoury umami flavours going on. It also tastes fab on toast if you don’t want to bother making waffles.

For the sweet dessert waffle I spread some cream cheese over the waffle itself and then topped it with some hot, lightly cooked plums and a drizzle of honey. This was very tasty too, although on this occasion I preferred the savoury mushroom waffle. I know that’s almost unheard of for me, but the combination of smoky, woodsy flavours are just perfect together.

I love how the square indents in the waffle result in both thin and crispy and thick and fluffy waffle in each bite. The little squares are also perfect for capturing the juices and toppings you choose to pile on top. However you choose to top or flavour your waffles, you have to agree they’re Waffly Versatile! Hehe.

Gluten Free Waffles

Ingredients

200g gluten free plain flour (I used Doves Farm)

2 eggs

40ml sunflower or rapeseed oil

150ml milk

1 tsp gluten free baking powder

Pinch salt

Method

Spray or lightly brush your waffles iron with a light coating of oil and heat to your usual setting.

Place the flour, salt and baking powder into a bowl.

Measure the oil and milk into a jug. Add the eggs to the milk and whisk together to combine.

Pour the egg/milk mixture over the dry ingredients and mix together using a spatula or fork to create a batter, about the consistency of double cream. A few little lumps are fine.

Place a ladleful of batter into your waffle iron and cook until lightly golden brown.

Eat and enjoy with the sweet or savoury toppings of your choice.

Makes approximately 6 waffles

Notes:

Recipe can be halved, doubled etc if required. Just go by how many eggs you’re using.

If only making sweet waffles, you could add 1tbsp caster sugar to the batter, but I don’t feel it needs it.

Go Gluten Free! The Roundup

Today is the second day of Coeliac Awareness Week which this year runs 14th–20th May 2012. For the past few days I have run an event, challenging people to bake/cook and blog about a recipe they adapted in some way to make it gluten free. The entry deadline was last night and so here is the roundup of the tasty submissions.

I kicked off the event with some Gluten Free Sour Cream Scones. Perfect for afternoon tea.

Quick off the mark was Chef Annie from Annie’s Supper Club. A fellow coeliac who I had the pleasure of meeting a few months back. She’s provided us with a delicious recipe for Gluten Free Waffles – perfect for sweet or savoury toppings. Here Annie has topped hers with three cheeses, crispy spicy chorizo and some sautéed cherry tomatoes – wow!

Next up was Choclette from Chocolate Log Blog with her Brown Butter & Choc Chip Friands. These tasty little cakes are made using ground almonds instead of flour for a moist and tender cake, you’d never know they were gluten free. Love the idea of using browned butter too – must try!

Another recipe from me, a GF version of Minni’s Chocolate Pie. The infamous pie from the book/film ‘The Help’ Chocolaty, sticky and decedent, everything you’d want in a pie. Made with crisp gluten free pastry.

Nipping in at the last minute we have this gorgeous looking Banana and Coffee Cake from Nic of Cherrapeno. I love the idea of pairing coffee and banana together (and some chocolate chips!) Nic shows that subsisting wheat flour with gluten free flours can produce delicious cakes. Looks wonderful moist – save me a slice!

As Coeliac Awareness Week is going on all week, why not try eating one day completely gluten free and seeing how you could adapt your diet or try ordering a gluten free meal off a restaurant menu or simply looking at the everyday foods you take for granted and seeing where gluten can sneak in.

Thank you to everyone who took part or gave support in some way. I hope you’ll try out a few of the recipes and see that missing gluten doesn’t mean missing out!

Basil and Sun Dried Tomato Waffles

I have been having a lot of fun making experimenting with different sweet varieties of waffles recently, but it suddenly occurred to me yesterday that there was no reason why I couldn’t make savoury waffles as well. My first thought was to add some grated cheese to the batter mixture, but I wasn’t sure if this would ooze out of the waffles during cooking and make a greasy mess and so I decided instead to use the classic combination of tomato and basil. I have used sun dried tomato paste which you can buy from most supermarkets in jars, usually besides the pesto. However, it is not pesto, nor tomato puree, but simply pureed sun dried tomatoes. It gives a wonderful intense flavour to whatever you add it to.

These waffles worked really well and the fresh basil flavour really came through. They were very light with a slightly speckled red-ish tinge to them. I am longing to try out some more variations.

Basil and Sun Dried Tomato Waffles
Ingredients
60g self raising flour
45g butter
1 egg
1 tbsp milk
1 heaped tsp sun dried tomato paste
6 basil leaves

Method
Heat your waffle iron whilst preparing the batter.
Melt the butter in bowl. Add the flour and egg and beat until smooth and thick.
Beat in the sun dried tomato paste and milk.
Tear the basil into shreds and stir into the batter.
Pour into the waffle iron and cook until pale golden.
Serve with any topping of your choice.
Makes 4 waffles

I actually turned my waffles into a sandwich, using the waffles in place of the bread. I spread a waffle with some spicy roasted red pepper houmous and topped it with some crispy lettuce. It made for a really delicious sandwich as the waffles were a lot lighter than normal bread. The tomato, basil and spicy red pepper combination also worked really well together. I think they would also make great toasted cheese ‘sandwiches’ too or even topped like a pizza and then grilled.

They’re Waffley-Versatile

Last week I bought a Belgian waffle maker, something I have had my eye on for many months. This one was in a closing down sale and so naturally I couldn’t resist it. I brought it home with excitement and being my over-confidant self I didn’t bother reading the recipe provided, feeling sure I could easily make up a suitable batter. Once I found out the basis of how it worked, I made up a batter mixture, including a mashed banana, (perhaps a little over adventurous for a first attempt), but I was sure it would work. I heated the machine up, poured in my batter and shut the lid. It started to sizzle and give off the most gorgeous banana smell. I licked my lips in anticipation and opened the lid. I was greeted with a sticky gooey mess. The outside of the batter had browned and stuck like glue to both metal plates and the middle was still uncooked. I tried to pries the batter off the pates but it stuck fast and set like glue. I ended up having to pour hot water over the plates and leaving it to soak before I could pries the batter off. Hmmm, lesson learned, I should have read the recipe.

I tried again the following morning, this time using the recipe provided in the instructions booklet to great success! The process involved separating an egg and beating the egg white to soft peak stage before stirring it in (I wouldn’t have thought of doing that.) The waffles were wonderfully light, crispy on the outside and soft in the centre. They didn’t stick to the plates or tear in half. I felt a great sense of achievement after my original disaster and happily tucked into the waffles. I chose to play it safe and make vanilla ones this time but the huge variety of toppings you could add to them is endless. I think I will try adding a few chocolate chips to the batter next time. Whatever your chosen flavour, they’re certainly waffley-versatile!

Waffles
Ingredients
1 egg
60g self raising flour
55g butter/margarine
50g caster sugar
½ tsp vanilla

Method
Set the waffle maker to heat up while you make the batter.
Melt the butter and then stir in the sugar. Separate the egg and beat the egg yolk and vanilla into the butter/sugar mixture.
Whip the egg white until fluffy and starting to form soft peaks.
Gently fold the flour into the butter mixture before folding in the egg white.
Carefully pour some of the batter in the waffle maker, allowing room for spreading.
Close the lid and leave to cook until golden brown.
Remove from the waffle machine straight away and serve with the topping of your choice.

Makes 4 waffles