Creative Baking with Your Waffle Iron: 8 Easy Dishes

I gave my first workshop, and of all things, it was about baking. As you know, I’m more of a foodie who jumps into "cooking" than "baking". Complicated recipes and lots of techniques aren’t really my thing, so just give me simple baking recipes.

Like these recipes I made using a waffle iron that actually has 14 (!) different baking plates. So you can't just use it for classic waffles, but there are also plates for making toasties, crispy wafers, madeleines, poffertjes, and more.

Well, I really enjoyed this workshop and the feedback I received afterward was very rewarding. It truly was an amazing group of hobby bakers who gave it their all for three hours straight.

Some practical tips for baking waffles

1. Zorg er steeds voor dat alle ingrediënten op kamertemperatuur zijn;
2. Zeef de bloem en vermijd zo klonters in het deeg;
3. Weeg alle ingrediënten correct af (bakken is exacte wetenschap);
4. Warm jouw wafelijzer op in gesloten toestand;
5. Smeer de bakplaten vóór elke eerste bakbeurt in met wat olie, ook al hebben de wafelplaten een anti-baklaag;
6. Sluit het wafelijzer onmiddellijk na het toevoegen van het beslag - zo bekom je een wafel die aan beide zijden dezelfde kleur heeft;
7. Gebruik een timer en respecteer de baktijd. Open je het wafelijzer te snel, dan blijft het deeg aan de bakplaten kleven;
8. Gebruik een wafelvork om jouw wafels uit het wafelijzer te halen;
9. Laat jouw wafels afkoelen op een rooster - zo vermijd je condensatie;
10. Bewaar wafels best in een plastiek of blikken doos. Je kan ze ook invriezen, zorg dat ze zorgvuldig verpakt zijn.

The workshop & the recipes

The group consisted of 16 people, divided over the 4 kitchen islands available to us. Each kitchen island of 4 people made 1 sweet AND 1 savory dish. Afterwards, we gathered all the dishes and presented them as a sort of brunch on one large table. The type of baking plate we used: island 1 worked with the plate for poffertjes, island 2 with the plate for waffles, island 3 with the plate for madeleines, and finally island 4 with the one for filled waffles. Four different baking plates, eight different dishes. 

The first island baked classic poffertjes and as a counterpart, savory potato-herb poffertjes. The classic poffertjes can be served as an afternoon snack, for example with powdered sugar, blueberries, and mint leaves as decoration. The potato-herb poffertjes can be served as an appetizer and topped with a dollop of sour cream (feel free to mix it with some mayonnaise and season with salt and pepper; add some finely chopped chives) and caviar or salmon roe. An edible flower also looks lovely.

Island number 2 baked soft vanilla waffles for storing and breakfast quesadillas with egg, avocado, and tomato. Sprinkle the vanilla waffles with powdered sugar. The quesadillas make a great lunch and can be served with a dip of sour cream, mayonnaise, finely chopped chives, and salt and pepper.

The third island went for classic madeleines and savory madeleines with Parmesan cheese and sun-dried tomatoes. The classic madeleines can be served plain and dusted with powdered sugar. Or you could dip half in melted chocolate sauce. The savory madeleines were garnished with arugula and served with chili oil.

Finally, island 4 baked filled waffles with apple-raspberry compote and savory filled waffles with herb cheese and smoked salmon. Decorate the raspberry waffles with extra powdered sugar, some fresh raspberries, and mint leaves. The savory waffles are served with watercress or arugula.

All the recipes can be found on the FRITEL website. 😋

Two recipes are actually not my own: the classic Madeleines, that’s a recipe by famous pâtissière Sarah Renson, and the filled waffles with apple-raspberry compote, that’s a recipe from Hap & Tap. Credit where credit is due, I always say! The recipe for the soft vanilla waffles for storing is mine, and you’ll find it here on Lizzylizzblog.

By Lizzylizz on September 23, 2024