The weather was so nice on this weekend
that we decided to have breakfast on the patio. We were just going to have the traditional tea/hot chocolate with the "tartines" of bread, butter and jam, but I felt such a great weather deserved something a little bit fancier, so I prepared some waffles.
Over the years I've tested many waffle recipes, and settled for this one because it's as close as it gets from the real Belgian waffle yet so much faster to make than the original recipe. It won't be more than 8 minutes between the time you start collecting all the ingredients to the moment you'll have the first waffles ready to serve.
For about 12 waffles, you'll need:
- 2 large eggs (yolks and whites separated)
- 6 tbsp (85g) butter
- 2 cups (250g) flour
- 1 1/4 cup (400 ml) milk (ideally whole milk but I used 2% and it worked great)
Melt the butter in the microwave abd reserve.
In a large bowl, roughly mix the egg yolks, flour and about half of the milk. You'll get lumps, which you can either try to fight by beating as long as you can, or - definitely my preferred way - just use an immersion mixer to mix it all, it takes a minute and gives you a perfect lump-free dough. Add the remaining milk and the melted butter, mix well.
Beat the egg whites, then add to the mix with a wooden spatula. The egg whites will break, but that's ok, just try your best to keep the whole dough fluffy enough.
Bake the waffles with the waffle maker, pouring just enough dough to fill in the mold - don't worry about filling the extreme sides, they will fill automatically when you close the lid.
Serve them warm, with any toppings you'd like. My favorite is the plain confectioner's sugar, as it enhances the flavor of the waffle without totally hiding it. Other widely appreciated toppings include fresh strawberries, blueberries and whipped cream.
This has to be one of the best French/American breakfast in our family!
