On a cold December morning, the little boy woke up to a deliciously enticing scent leading straight into the kitchen. Slowly, on tiptoe, going downstairs so as not to wake up the others with the creak of the floorboards of the old house, he went to the kitchen door and looked into the crack from which a bright light was shining and the magical aroma came. Grandmother deftly poured the dough into cast-iron moulds with a thin stream, and after a few minutes she took out waffles, golden like autumn leaves. The boy’s name is Pierre Hermé, and he is a worthy heir to four generations of Alsatian bakers and pastry chefs, a talented student of the French desserts king – Gaston Lenôtre. Here is my variation of his classic recipe.
On a cold December morning, the little boy woke up to a deliciously enticing scent leading straight into the kitchen. Slowly, on tiptoe, going downstairs so as not to wake up the others with the creak of the floorboards of the old house, he went to the kitchen door and looked into the crack from which a bright light was shining and the magical aroma came. Grandmother deftly poured the dough into cast-iron moulds with a thin stream, and after a few minutes she took out waffles, golden like autumn leaves. The boy’s name is Pierre Hermé, and he is a worthy heir to four generations of Alsatian bakers and pastry chefs, a talented student of the French desserts king – Gaston Lenôtre. Here is my variation of his classic recipe.- Prep time: 15 minutes
- Cook time: 15 minutes
- Serves: 4-8
- Difficulty: easy
- Course: pastry
- Cookware: waffle maker, cooling rack
- Cuisine: Belgian
Ingredients
- 110 g flour
- 125 ml whole milk
- 125 g butter, room temperature
- 25 g sugar
- 2 g salt
- seeds of 2 vanilla beans or 2 tsp vanilla paste
- 3 egg whites
Cooking method
Step 1
Sift flour into a large bowl. Pour milk into a saucepan and put on low heat. Heat the milk to about 40°C. Remove from heat. Add butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Stir gently until the butter melts.
Pour the mixture into flour and stir with a spatula until smooth. Whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Carefully fold in the whites into the batter.
Step 2
Heat the waffle maker. Pour the batter into a measuring jug. Fill the waffle maker with the batter, pouring it in the centre of the mould so that it is evenly distributed after the lid is closed. Cook the waffles for 3-4 minutes. Transfer the waffles to cool on the cooling rack.
My tips and tricks:
If you buy a waffle maker, then at first you will definitely cook sweet waffles often. You will eat them with whipped cream, ice cream, fruits and berries, condensed milk, melted chocolate, honey or jam. You will sprinkle them with icing sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa. But one day you will get tired of it. And then I suggest you start cooking savoury waffles and eat them with soft cheese, salmon, pâté, caviar, crème fraîche, pesto sauce, mushroom and zucchini dips or vegetable ragout. Add finely chopped herbs, ham, grated cheese or hot peppers to them. To make savoury waffles, exclude vanilla from the recipe and add 5g instead of 25g sugar. And when you get tired of making savoury waffles, just start making sweet ones again 🙂
Alexander Skokov’s wine recommendations:
I recommend SHABO Special Edition Muscat sparkling wine to pair with Belgian waffles.
Sweet sparkling wines have long been considered gastronomic partners for various desserts. Due to its “flamboyance”, the sparkling wine does not dominate, but emphasizes the airiness of the Belgian waffles. Muscat bouquet is complemented by fruity notes of ice cream served with waffles, and light acidity is in harmony with the sweetness of wine and dessert.
- 110 g flour
- 125 ml whole milk
- 125 g butter, room temperature
- 25 g sugar
- 2 g salt
- seeds of 2 vanilla beans or 2 tsp vanilla paste
- 3 egg whites
- Sift flour into a large bowl. Pour milk into a saucepan and put on low heat. Heat the milk to about 40°C. Remove from heat. Add butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Stir gently until the butter melts. Pour the mixture into flour and stir with a spatula until smooth. Whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Carefully fold in the whites into the batter.
- Heat the waffle maker. Pour the batter into a measuring jug. Fill the waffle maker with the batter, pouring it in the centre of the mould so that it is evenly distributed after the lid is closed. Cook the waffles for 3-4 minutes. Transfer the waffles to cool on the cooling rack.