Finally, the waffle recipe that I have been looking for! I tried several recipes previously, but none gives the same lightness and crispiness. I thought maybe you need to add some secret ingredients or perhaps only an expensive iron cast waffle maker can do the job. So today, I am really delightful to say: This simple-looking, home made waffle is delicious, light and crispy to the last bite! Yes, the waffle stays crispy even with added sauce and ice cream.
What makes the waffle light and crispy?
1) The addition of corn flour to the waffle batter.
2) Whisking the egg whites separately and gently folding into the batter.
3) After making, keep the waffles in a warm oven. What I did is to make all the waffles first and when I am ready to serve the waffles, I just warm them up in the oven. It will crisp up within a few minutes. So everyone can enjoy hot and crispy waffles at the same time.
I served the waffle with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a light drizzle of caramel sauce, fresh berries and blueberry sauce. Perfect!
Recipe
[Adapted mainly from Fine Cooking]
- yields about 9 to 10 small waffles - one waffle per serving
(A) Combine together:
3/4 cup plain flour
1/4 cup corn flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
(B) Combine together:
1 cup milk
6 tbsp vegetable oil (I used corn oil)
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp orange extract
1 tbsp grated orange zest
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
(C) Whisk together:
1 tbsp fine sugar + 1.5 egg whites
Method:
1) After getting the dry and wet ingredients i.e. (A) and (B) ready, mix them together till you get a smooth batter.
2) Whisk the egg whites till firm and fold into the batter.
3) Pour a suitable amount of batter into a preheated waffle maker and cook till the waffle turns golden brown (amount of batter to use and the cooking timing will vary with different waffle makers). Mine took about 5 to 6 minutes for each batch.
4) Just before serving, arrange the waffles in a single layer on a baking tray and warm up in an oven at 120C till waffles turn crispy (takes about a few minutes). Turn the waffles half way through, so that both sides will be crispy.
5) Serve hot with a scoop of ice cream and fresh berries.
Notes:
1) Original recipe calls for 3/4 cup buttermilk and 1/4 cup milk. I do not have any buttermilk at home, so replaced with 1 cup milk. Waffle with buttermilk will have better flavour and fuller bite.
2) I have added orange extract, orange zest and cinnamon to the batter. These really add great flavour to the waffle.
3) Grease the waffle maker thoroughly even if it has a non-stick plate.
4) My waffle maker is a light-weight home use type - Cornell CWM-2308