Waffles Recipe

Waffles are everything! This easy waffles recipe makes light, fluffy waffles that can also be frozen. Here’s how! 

Waffles that are 

• Light
• Airy 
• Easy to make 
• Delicious
• Perfect after thawing

Waffles are the kind of treat everyone deserves on a slow weekend morning, especially when it’s raining. OK, I fully acknowledge that the weather has nothing to do with eating waffles, you can have these complex pancakes (yes, this is what they are) any time of the day. I personally like making these on the weekend, when I can potter about the kitchen and make this while sipping on my coffee. 

Egg Whites in Waffles

This is a pretty straightforward recipe, with the fussiest part being separating the eggs. I’ll admit that this is not one of my favourite tasks in the kitchen. If even a single drop of yolk falls into the whites, it’s game over. Usually in recipes like this, separating the whites from the yolks and whipping them up to firm peaks is crucial to get light, airy and fluffy waffles (or cakes). The added air bubbles from whipping up egg whites get trapped in the batter when you (gently) fold the egg whites in. This helps to lighten the waffle batter considerably. 

However, it’s important to note that handling the aerated batter must be light – a heavy hand will knock out the air that we try so hard to incorporate with the egg whites. The trick here is to not fold until every last bit of egg white is gone. I find that it’s okay to stop folding in the whites when you see a few lumps or streaks of whipped egg whites in the batter. Stopping here will make sure you don’t overdo it when combining the egg whites into the batter.

What you’ll need to make the waffle batter

Like most easy muffins, this batter is also a wet into dry mixture, with the addition of folding in the egg whites at the last stage before cooking the batter. 

For the Wet

• Milk (lots of it) 
• Egg Yolks 
• Vanilla 
• Melted Butter 

For the Dry

• Flour 
• Baking Powder (for the fluff) 
• Sugar

Finally: Whipped egg whites

Butter vs Oil 

This recipe can be done with oil in place of melted butter if you’re in a pinch. I usually melt the butter and set it aside even before I start the waffles recipe. Using oil will reduce the time you spend doing this, but you might get different results. Using butter makes for richer waffles that are soft, while oil can help produce slightly crisp waffles. Also, the type of oil you use is extremely important – try to stick with something flavourless like sunflower oil – olive oil is a NO-NO. 

Waffle Iron 

I have used a manual waffle maker here. That is to say, I use this iron over a conventional stove. To do this, I use a grease spray to spray both sides of the waffle iron then heat it up for a good 2 mins over a high flame, before going in with the waffle batter. I prefer this, as I get to control the doneness of my waffles. 

If you own a waffle iron, buy all means and use it! This recipe is perfect for electric waffle makers too, which is what makes it so good. However, beware of how much batter you fill into each mould before making. I would recommend going with a smaller amount of batter at first, then observing the outcome before adding more batter in the next round. This batter contains baking powder, so you would need to make space for the batter to expand as it cooks.