Apr212014

Best Ever Belgian Waffles in the World!

“Best Ever Belgian Waffles in the World” yeah I know that’s a big statement there for a simple waffle. But you don’t understand, coming from me – that woman who really doesn’t care for waffles, pancakes, french toast or crepes, THESE THINGS ROCK! It’s not that I don’t care for them as I love the taste of the first or second bite but after that I’m done. They just ‘get to me’ and well it’s not bacon or a dippy egg. Sure I’ve added bacon to waffles or topped it with a dippy egg but it’s just too much for me.

However that has since changed when I created this recipe. See a long story short I had ordered some food porn props from an online store and literally all 5 times I ordered something it came shattered in a BILLION pieces. So I’d call, shake the glass, tell them to come pick up their stuff. They tell me to toss it and credit me back and give me more credit on top of that. So why continue 2 more times? If I don’t order glass stuff it comes perfectly. However their shipping department apparently feels the need to NOT pack glass stuff in bubble wrap or the like. Anyway I had a buttload of credit built up with them that was due to expire. Well they had this Belgian waffle maker on sale SUPER cheap. It got amazing reviews so I opted to give it a shot. It arrived in 1 piece, thankfully, and I set out to make waffles.

Traditional Belgian waffles are yeasted and the batter rests in the fridge overnight. So I went with those initially. The next morning I got out my brand new waffle iron and got to cooking them. I gave Mr. Fantabulous one and after one bite he looked at me and said “Um, can I have eggs instead as these are terrible.” I took a bite and yep, he was right. The batter was a loose dough consistency which I found odd but figured that’s how yeast batter would be. I couldn’t stand the taste so needless to say I pitched the entire batter.

So I went back to the drawing board and looked at some of my other waffle recipes. Then it dawned on me my Mom used to make these waffles when I was really little. After digging through my old recipes book I found hers. After studying the ingredients I knew I had to tweak it to get it to a Belgian waffle taste, appearance and thickness.

These waffles are more like Brussels waffles so they have baking powder instead of yeast for the leavening agent. That being the case, just like any pancake batter or waffle batter once you whisk it together (but not over whisk it) you allow it to set out for a good 30 minutes to allow the leavening agents work their magic. Now me being me I am a batter girl. 99% of the time I can tell you how a dish is going to turn out just by how the batter tastes. Therefore batter went on a spatula and finger swiped that. Mmmm! A perfect balance of vanilla and sweetness. I knew these babies were going to rock.

Since this was a new machine for me, my waffle maker, I had to figure out the settings. See this one went from 0-8 on the temperature gauge however I had no clue what the baking temp was. Needless to say the first one was waaaaaaaaaaaay too dark and raw in the middle and the 2nd one was too light (and I didn’t put enough batter on the maker). I WISH this machine would have come with instructions of “Pour X amount on the hot iron so ensure an even bake AND to not have it overflow out the sides, onto your counter and everywhere in between!”.

Yeah… she overflowed.

… A LOT but live and learn.

By the third waffle I had it down to a science – almost a cup of batter with the machine on #7. But when you make these you’ll have to go with what your manufacturers instructions say. As you can tell by these pics, these came out to about 1″ thick with deep crevices to house all of that maple syrup or toppings.

What do you top yours with? Mr. Fantabulous loves pure maple syrup (must be warmed). Yes, he’s that spoiled but then again I blame his mother for that. I just continue it. LOL

Initially I only made a half batch I only had enough batter to make 4. Since the first 2 didn’t turn out right and Mr. Fantabulous was nomming on #3 I had only one left. So I got to making the last one when I hear “Wow baby, these are amazing! Are there any more???” Now folks these things are pretty big. Like I said an inch thick by 10″ round. I honestly was surprised he wanted a second one (okay not really but it still amazes me on just how much he can eat!) so I gave up my waffle.

Now one awesome thing about him when he eats pancakes or waffles is he is not one to ever, EVER, pour syrup over top. He pours it in front of the waffle and cuts off a piece and dips it in. Trust me it drives me nuts as I keep telling him “Honey, God put those crevices in waffles on purpose so they could act like a little cup to hold your syrup. Jesus is doing you a favor.” Yeah.. doesn’t work. However this works in my favor. See almost half way through this massive thing I could see him slowing down and putting his fork down. Budda was full.

What this means is that remaining half of a waffle that would normally be soaked in syrup if they being eating by most of the population, was bone dry and perfect; perfect for me that is. Since his had cooled down, I threw the remaining half in the toaster to heat it back up and when it came out topped it with some soft butter and warm syrup. I’ll be honest I was kind of weary of eating this whole half because again, I have great intentions of finishing one (but never do) and second – that half was still massive. With me, being me, I have to scrutinize the texture, smell it, taste it plain and then taste it with the toppings. I kind of go into a zone when I’m taste testing my recipes. See if I need to tweak it for more of this or less of that. I’m a perfectionist at most things I do but in the kitchen I’m flat-out anal! I mean I have to be. If I think something sucks, why in God’s name would I ever serve it or expect anyone to make one of my recipes? Right?

But this recipe, I nailed it first time out of the gate with my tweaks off of my Mom’s original recipe. It was light and airy, the texture was perfect. It wasn’t heavy but it was filling.

Now like any food blogger, cook, you test, test and re-test a recipe for consistency. You want the same results every single time with minimal variance in outcome. So later that afternoon I set out and made 2 more batches. Perfect every single time. Now I will tell you that I have enough Belgian Waffles in my freezer for quite a while but I have plans for those babies in future recipes. You know me, I can’t just stick to the norm. I have to venture outside of the box and push the limits. I already have another adaption of this recipe coming up (just waiting on me to edit the photos) and 3 more uses of these. Oh yeah, I got plans baby!

Needless to say I went through many iterations of this recipe and finally figured out the secret (or secrets to the perfect belgian waffle).

Separate your eggs. You want your egg whites whipped to a stiff peak. By folding the egg whites in, you’re ensuring you have a light and airy waffle instead of one that weighs as much as a brick.
Cornstarch – yep, cornstarch. The cornstarch binds the waffle together and helps it create that crispy exterior (once you cook it fully per your machine’s instructions).
Resting the batter – you need to let the batter to set to allow the leavening agents work their mojo.

You know, I think I already know what I’m having tomorrow for lunch. One of my Belgian Waffle makeover recipes I’m working on. I’m thinking it’s going to be all kinds of awesome! Until then you NEED to have these in your life, your freezer and most importantly, in your belly!

***10/28/17 UPDATE***

I’ve been getting asked a lot what Belgian Waffle Iron I use. I have 2 that I absolutely love.

♥What I love about the Oster CKSTWFBF21 1-1/2-Inch Thick Belgian Flip Waffle Maker is that it makes super thick waffles. The only negative is that the plates don’t come out to wash so cleanup, while easy, is still a pain.

♥The KRUPS, 4-Slice Belgian Waffle Maker With Removable Plates is great for thick, square Belgian waffles. Plus it has removable plates. The negative, they aren’t as thick as the round one above. Both are awesome and work amazingly well!