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| Waffles in the making Norwegian style |
This half term we are staying put so to speak. Life is often lived in the fast lane and there is little time to spend at home doing nothing. Other than a couple of day trips out, the plan is to be home bodies and enjoy doing nothing! (Believe that and you believe anything, the number of new projects I have started this week is ridiculous! but the good intention was there.)
So to sweeten the half term staycation, I promised my lot that I would make waffles and lots of them at that. So far we have had waffles for breakfast two mornings this week already.
So what are waffles? Waffles are leavened batter heated between two iron plates with an engraved/raised pattern to provide the final product with shape and impression. See above photograph.
In our household there is only one type and it comes in a heart shape. But many know waffles as the American favourite used with maple syrup and called Belgium waffles. To us, these are not waffles, sorry, but they are not! These 'waffles' are large in size with deep grid pockets and the batter uses yeast. They are incredibly popular and when out and about in the UK and America, these are generally what you are served. True waffles, not that I am biased at all you understand, come from Scandinavia. Scandinavian waffles are heart shaped and have a thin, easy to hold in one hand size about them. They tend to be made with sugar and are sweet, although there are several savoury versions of the batter available too.
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| Nothing beats a stack of Norwegian waffles |
Whenever I am not sure what to make, waffles are our families firm stand by, they are quick and easy and as mentioned can be made sweet or savoury. If the children have a class party day, they always request waffles to take into school.
I do not follow a recipe anymore as I have made them so often over the decades, wow, decades, that makes me feel old, but it is true, I have been making these for about 30 years and eating them for a lot longer than that! So I tend to go by look and I add a bit more here and a bit more there. As a rule of thumb, I make the mixture quite a bit thicker than you would pancake mixture. So you can use the ingredients below and just make sure the batter is thicker than pancake mixture and there is no need to measure, just go with your gut feeling, or alternatively below are a couple of recipes. I have successfully substituted the flour with gluten/wheat free flour before and although the mixture looks different, the taste is fairly similar, I know my friends with these intolerance enjoy the waffles.
Basic waffle mixture
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| Waffles best served with crème fraiche and home grown raspberries |
♥ 500g plain flour
♥ 250g icing sugar or 150g sugar (we prefer icing sugar)
♥ 1l milk
♥ 3 eggs
♥ 150g melted butter
♥ optional cardamom powder or vanilla essence
Melt the butter and then add all ingredients together and mix till smooth. I use an electric whisk. Leave to stand for 30 minutes in an ideal world. Often the children cannot wait and the mixture only stands for a few minutes, but it is best to wait if you can.
Heat waffles iron, spray for the first waffle with oil to prevent from sticking, but this should not be necessary after the first spray. the melted butter in the batter should prevent sticking to the sides of the iron.
Each waffles takes only a minute or two at most to cook.
Continue cooking until all the batter is used up and serve.
Any topping work well, but traditionally in Norway in the summer months you would serve with cream and sliced strawberries. but anything goes!
Sour cream waffles
♥ 600ml sour cream
♥ 1 tsp salt
♥ 1 tsp baking powder
♥ 220g plain flour
♥ 200ml water
Mix all the ingredients together until smooth and let stand for about 10 minutes before cooking.
These are savoury waffles and work well with smoked salmon and crème fraiche, thin omelette on top of them, sliced meat etc. Anything that you fancy really! These make great canapés and just that little bit different!
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| No waffles maker, no worries. Make drop scones instead! |
Don't have a waffle iron? There is a way...
You can now buy waffle irons here in the UK, so I suspect you can in most countries, however you can still use the above recipes and make drop scones on a griddle or in a frying pan instead. Make the mixture as normal, but instead drop some mixture onto a very hot griddle or frying pan, sprayed with a thin coating of oil and cook for a minute or two on each side. Add toppings as desired!
I am sure we will be having waffles again for breakfast tomorrow, after all isn't half term about having fun and enjoying yourself?
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| Heart shaped waffles |
♥ Enjoy half term everyone ♥
