Tag Archives: dessert

May 17, 2011 · 9:34 am

Waffle Week: Banana Nut Bread Waffles

These waffles taste just like banana bread, laced with cinnamon and finely chopped nuts. And some great deep pockets just begging for Vanilla Buttermilk Syrup (recipe HERE). These waffles are one of our family’s favorites! Your kitchen will smell divine for the rest of the day.

For Waffle Tips & Strategies, click HERE.

RECIPE:

Banana Nut Bread Waffles

Servings: 12-16
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2 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 ½ cups buttermilk or sour milk**
2 Tbs brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs, separated
1 ½ cups mashed bananas (about 3 ripe bananas)
4 Tbs butter, melted
¾ cup walnuts, chopped

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, combine buttermilk, brown sugar, vanilla, and egg yolks. Mix well. Stir in bananas and melted butter.

Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites until they form soft peaks. Stir buttermilk mixture into dry ingredients. Gently fold beaten egg whites into batter. Fold in chopped nuts.

Use a ladle or measuring cup to pour batter evenly into hot waffle maker (about 2 cups for the 4 small Belgian waffles in my waffle maker). Cook for about 3-5 minutes, or according to directions on your waffle maker. Remove waffles from waffle maker and place on a wire rack (not a plate). Serve immediately or keep warm in a warm oven (very low heat).

Makes 3-4 large Belgian waffles (12-16 small squares)

**To make sour milk: add 2 Tbs lemon juice to a 2 cup measuring cup, fill to 1 ½ cup line with milk (whole milk works best). Stir; let sit 5 minutes before using. If using sour milk, add an additional 1-2 Tbs flour to batter.

To freeze: Cool waffles on a wire rack. Place in Ziploc bags and freeze. Reheat individual frozen waffles in a toaster (for crispier edges) or microwave (for a soft waffle).

Recipe adapted from Willow Bird Baking

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Vanilla Buttermilk Syrup

Servings: Makes about 2 cups
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1 ½ cups white or brown sugar (I use half white, half brown)
1 cup buttermilk
½ cup (1 stick) butter
2 Tbs dark corn syrup
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped**

Combine sugar, buttermilk, butter, corn syrup, baking soda, salt, and vanilla bean (both seeds and split pod) in a large pot (mixture will increase drastically in volume while cooking from the reaction between buttermilk and baking soda. Use a LARGE pot: soup pot size). Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to maintain a low simmer and cook, stirring, for about 10 minutes, or until syrup is a light golden brown. Remove from heat. Remove and discard vanilla bean pod. Serve warm.

Store in refrigerator. Syrup will thicken to a soft caramel consistency in the refrigerator. Reheat before serving.

Serve over Waffles, Pancakes, Ice Cream, or anywhere you would use a caramel sauce.

** You can substitute 1 tsp vanilla extract for the vanilla bean, if desired. Stir vanilla extract into syrup AFTER cooking and removing from heat.

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Waffle Week: Brown Sugar Buttermilk Waffles

For Valentines Day, I got a new waffle maker. I have been without a waffle maker for more than ten years, and didn’t think that I was really missing out on anything. Waffles are just glorified, more-effort-involved pancakes, right? I was so wrong! So I must thank my kids for conspiring to get me this new waffle iron! I love it!

I do have to admit that Little J was leery of the first waffles that I made. “These are burnt. And square.” she said. I replied that they weren’t burnt; they were supposed to be that color. She insisted, however, that “real waffles are supposed to be yellow. And round.” (Think Eggo). Poor child: she had never eaten a homemade waffle, only an artificially colored imitation. I am glad to say that after her first bite, she was converted. She is still less convinced about the homemade syrups. She keeps asking when I am going to buy some more “real syrup.” Until then she is sticking to fruit and whipped cream toppings.

For the last couple of months, I have tried more than a dozen new waffle recipes (and some great waffle toppings), and I am finally ready to share some family favorites.

The first recipe is a traditional buttermilk waffle recipe, made with separated eggs (with the egg whites beaten until stiff). The whipped egg whites make for great air pockets in these crispy waffles with a soft, tender center. This is a great basic recipe for everyday waffles.

buttermilk waffles sep eggs (15)-1

A few Basic Waffle Tips & Strategies that I have learned these last 3 months:

Make sure that your waffle iron is very hot. Cool iron = lots of sticking. My new Calphalon waffle iron is non-stick and does not require any oil or spray to keep the waffles from sticking.

Don’t overfill the waffle maker pockets. Spillage is not fun to clean. Start with a scant amount of batter on the first few waffles, until you are sure of the right amount. Different recipes will rise more or less while cooking, so don’t think that the same amount of batter will work with different recipes.

Once your batter is mixed, do not keep stirring batter between batches. The air pockets in the batter (from the baking powder/soda or whipped egg whites) will collapse with over-stirring.

Use a ladle or measuring cup (1/2 cup size works well for my waffle maker) to scoop batter. This minimizes the stirring or pouring which will deflate your batter.

If you are using add-ins like blueberries or chocolate chips, sprinkle them on the batter in the waffle iron (instead of in the batter in the bowl); then use a heat-safe rubber spatula (or the back of your ladle) to move some batter over the berries/chips so that they don’t stick to the top plate of the waffle maker. If stirred into the batter in the bowl, these heavier items tend to sink, requiring more stirring, which will deflate your batter.

Cool waffles on a wire cookie sheet, not a plate. Letting the air circulate around the waffles will keep them from getting soggy.

If you are not serving the waffles immediately, place the wire cooling rack in a warm oven (200°F or lower) until ready to serve.

Waffles are great for making in large batches and freezing in Ziploc bags for busy mornings. Reheat in the toaster to maintain crispy edges.

Buttermilk substitute: Place 1 Tbs lemon juice in a one cup measure; add milk to one cup line. Stir; let sit for 5-10 minutes before using. Or try dried buttermilk powder that stores in the fridge. Or use kefir.

Oil (in the batter) makes for crispier waffles; melted butter makes for softer, more cake-like waffles. I prefer using oil in most recipes. Use a mild flavored oil.

RECIPE:

Brown Sugar Buttermilk Waffles (Separated Eggs)

Servings: 12
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2 cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp salt
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 ¾ cups buttermilk or sour milk**
3 Tbs brown sugar
4 Tbs oil or melted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs, separated

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt and baking soda. In a separate bowl, combine buttermilk, brown sugar, oil or melted butter, vanilla, and egg yolks. Mix well.

Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites until they form soft peaks. Stir buttermilk mixture into dry ingredients. Gently fold beaten egg whites into batter.

Makes 3 large Belgian waffles (12 small squares)

**To make sour milk: add 2 Tbs lemon juice to a 2 cup measuring cup, fill to 1 ¾ cup line with milk (whole milk works best). Stir; let sit 5 minutes before using. If using sour milk, add an additional 1-2 Tbs flour to batter.

To freeze: Cool waffles on a wire rack. Place in Ziploc bags and freeze. Reheat individual frozen waffles in a toaster (for crispier edges) or microwave (for a soft waffle).

Recipe adapted from Mark Bittman, How To Cook Everything

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Filed under Breads, Breakfast/Brunch

Tagged as air pockets, Belgian waffles, breakfast, buttermilk, Calphalon, crispy, dessert, freezing waffles, recipe, separated eggs, tender, tips, waffle iron, waffles, whipped egg whites

May 5, 2011 · 10:44 am

Quick & Easy Nutella Crescent Rolls

A quick and easy idea today that isn’t really a recipe, as it only contains three ingredients: a tube of packaged crescent rolls, a jar of Nutella and some chopped nuts. I used walnuts, but chopped hazelnuts, pecans, or almonds would also be good. These are the jumbo-sized rolls, but you can make them with any of the varieties.

Great for kids to make for a Mother’s Day breakfast (or dessert). And always popular with hungry teenagers after early-morning seminary.

Open tube of crescent rolls; separate dough into triangles. Spread with Nutella. Sprinkle with chopped nuts.

Roll into crescent shape, beginning with wide end. Curve ends into crescent shape. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicon liner. Bake according to package directions until golden brown. Serve warm.

RECIPE:

Nutella Crescent Rolls

Servings: 8
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1 tube Pillsbury Crescent Rolls (regular or jumbo)
Nutella
Finely chopped nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds or pecans)

Unroll and separate raw crescent roll triangles. Spread with Nutella. Sprinkle with chopped nuts. Roll into crescent shape, beginning with wide end. Curve ends into crescent shape. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicon liner. Bake according to package directions until golden brown (about 15-18 minutes at 350°F for the jumbo size).

Cool slightly. Serve warm.

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Filed under Breads, Breakfast/Brunch, Desserts

Tagged as baking, breakfast, brunch, chocolate, crescent rolls, dessert, easy, kids, mothers day, Nutella, nuts, quick, recipe

April 9, 2011 · 10:20 pm

A Butterfly in Buttercream

Today is my Little J’s 7th birthday. It is amazing how quickly time flies. My once-upon-a-time-baby is all grown up and decorating her own cakes now! I am glad she is still interested in fun little girl things like butterflies. Last year we made Cupcakes topped with Chocolate Butterflies for her 6th birthday. This year it was one great big butterfly cake.

Little J was in charge of design and decorations. She chose the color patterns of the icing sections, the sprinkles and the M&M borders (I love Easter-colored candies!). She also put on all of the M&Ms and sprinkles and shaped the antennae. She is very meticulous! My job was heavy construction: cake cutting and icing spreading.

She carefully separated a rainbow mix of sprinkles into separate colors.

If you look closely, the sprinkles are shaped like tiny butterflies. Little J says they are the baby butterflies and the big cake is the Mommy Butterfly.

Congratulations Little J on a cake well done!

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Happy 7th Birthday Little J. We love you lots!

RECIPE:

Buttercream Icing

½ cup butter
½ cup shortening (or additional butter)
1 lb (4 cups) powdered sugar, sifted
2 Tbs milk
1 tsp vanilla
dash salt
Additional milk to thin icing

Cream butter and shortening with a mixer. Beat in powdered sugar, 2 Tbs milk, vanilla and salt. This yields 3 CUPS STIFF icing (for piping borders and decorations).

For thinner icing (spreading on cake): Gradually beat in additional milk, 1 tsp at a time, until icing is desired consistency.

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FOR CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM: Add 3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled and additional 1 Tbs milk.

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2 Comments

Filed under Desserts, Kids' Cakes

Tagged as baking with kids, birthday, birthday cake, buttercream, butterflies, butterfly cake, cake, cake decorating, chocolate buttercream, dessert, frosting, icing, recipe