Waffles. What’s not to like? They’re like pancakes but with little pockets to ensure maximum maple syrup to batter ratio. I’d been searching for years for a crispy, not overly doughy and not too stodgy waffle recipe – you know the ones – they’re like eating rubbery pancakes. See those air bubbles and sharp edges are on these waffles? For me that’s how I know this recipe’s a keeper. Far too many waffle batters didn’t rise enough to fill in all the corners or just tasted too doughy and not airy… This is none of those. After dozens at least thirty recipes of waffles worth of research, trial and error I’ve finally settled on this perfect recipe.
It’s foolproof. I even forgot to add the baking powder one time. I realised when my waffle didn’t rise and figured I’d add it directly to the batter. Still worked. It’s been sitting in the back of my recipe cupboard for a while now. I guess I just figured that everyone had their own favourite waffle recipe. It wasn’t until someone asked me for it the other day that I thought I better write it down – goodness knows I’m apt to lose the bit of paper it’s scribbled on.
It’s easily made with basic staples; I’ve swapped out buttermilk for milk and lemon juice because I hate buying a carton of buttermilk and wasting half of it. And also because buttermilk doesn’t seem to exist in Sri Lanka anyway. There’s no need to separate eggs or sift flour. It is after all breakfast food – designed to be made before you’ve had your first coffee of the day.
These waffles are crispy on the outside and airy throughout. Provided that you allow them to cool in a slightly warm oven or on a baking rack, they’ll stay (for the most part) that way, so they’re great for make ahead brunches. I’m not sure if it’s the just my imagination, but they definitely seem to get soft/soggy much quicker in this humid weather. If they get soggy, just pop in the toaster, or back in the waffle iron to crispy up.
Serve warm with anything from crispy fried bacon, southern fried chicken, ice cream and corn flakes. In fact, I feel it my solemn duty to tell you that my favourite ever waffle is from EightySix in Braddon and involves three of those four items I just mentioned. And it’s magical.
This is now my go to recipe for waffles that rise perfectly, have sharp edges that hold their shape and stay crisp (soggy waffles are just not worth eating, really…). The secret to crispy waffles? Swapping out some of the plain wheat flour for cornflour/cornstarch, which helps the waffle stay light, airy and crispy. Cornflour is often used in fried chicken batter recipes for this very reason.
- 1 tsp lemon or lime juice
- 1 cup (250ml) milk
- 120g plain flour
- 40g corn flour (also called corn starch)
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 60ml vegetable oil or melted butter
- 1 egg
- splash of vanilla essence
- Pour 1 tsp lemon/lime juice into a measuring jug. Top up with milk to make 1 cup and set aside while you prepare the other ingredients (you should technically use slightly less than a cup of milk, but it won't matter for this recipe).
- Place flour, corn flour, baking power and soda, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl. Whisk to roughly combine the dry ingredients.
- Add the vegetable oil, egg and vanilla essence to the measuring jug with the milk mixture. Whisk to combine.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Using a whisk, slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the centre. Set aside to rest for five minutes while the waffle iron heats up.
- Cook on a waffle iron, as per manufacturers instructions - don't overfill the iron as the batter tends to expand quite a bit.
Great recipe, the one that came with my Breville waffle maker made rubbery waffle shaped thing.