Your favourite cake. In a waffle. 🙂
Homemade carrot cake waffles for weekend making and weekday toasting. Drizzle over brown butter and cardamom syrup for an easy touch of luxury.
carrot cake waffles make a perfect Easter breakfast for the family xx
Waffles are my Dad’s weakness. Growing up I never really saw him eat anything other than cereal for breakfast; perhaps scrambled eggs at the weekend. But since retiral, he’s swapped a hurried bowl of bran flakes for a leisurely plate of waffles.
He doesn’t make them (deliberately not owning a waffle maker, I suspect). Instead, he rolls up his newspaper and drives or strolls with his companion Barbara to one of the many breakfast joints within a cricket’s jump of his home.
Dad very occasionally goes off-piste and orders something savoury, but nearly always regrets it. He’s happiest with a fat, fluffy Belgian waffle, its perfectly crisped exterior verging on nut-brown, sticky jars of syrup arrayed before him to ladle on at will.
If I am visiting I invariably stick with savoury, indulging in southern buttery grits and “homefries” alongside my poached eggs. But waffles? Nah. Too big. And they make me hungry unless I eat way more than is sensible. I need a good wodge of protein first thing or I am just insatiable for carbs the remainder of the day. Is that you, too?
All of this information is perhaps at odds with today’s recipe for Carrot Cake Pancakes. Why, after complaining about waffles, am I now a convert to that great puffy pastry disguised as breakfast? Well, I’ve found a way of feeling reasonably satisfied eating waffles whilst also eating just a reasonable amount.
An injection of whole grains, fibre-filled carrots and nuts chases away my hunger until lunchtime. No Brobdingnagian portions for me and my 50-something year-old waistline and pernickity stomach. Those days are long gone. Sadly.
A note or two. I call for teff flour but any wholegrain/seed flour is fair game – finely ground oats are a good option. I adore the nuttiness of teff, but Andrew really doesn’t care for the slightly gritty texture. But he does love that it is high in filling protein, bone-strengthening calcium and energising iron. In any case, the accompanying light spelt flour keeps the whole thing from becoming claggy (a great British word) and worthy.
Another tip is to separate the eggs and whisk up the white to stiff peaks, gently folding in after the wet mixture is amalgamated. You can also add raisins, but ensure that none of them is going to be touching the searing-hot waffle plates. Burnt raisins are bitter and super nasty.
As for sweetness, you will be adding syrup, or at least some pulverised dates I’m sure, so I’ve kept the waffles fairly neutral. I’ve got some organic pure stevia powder so I just added a speck of it to tip the batter over the edge from savoury to hint of sweet. One to 2 tablespoons of raw sugar or brown sugar would be perfect, if you instead wished to add real sugar.
Extra waffles freeze beautifully and can be toasted without defrosting. Beats bran flakes on a weekday, huh? 🙂 These would be perfect as an Easter breakfast for the family, too. Unless you fancied something chocolately, such as these Chocolate and Rye Pancakes, or perhaps a stack of these Chocolate and Granola Pancakes?
Btw, today I bought a scent at Aesop that has top notes of cardamom and clove. I can now smell like a waffle whilst eating waffles!
Carrot Cake Waffles with Browned Butter Syrup
Homemade carrot cake waffles for weekend making and weekday toasting. Drizzle over brown butter and cardamom syrup for an easy touch of luxury. xx
100g light spelt (or plain/AP flour) or gluten-free flour blend
40g teff or other finely ground wholegrain or seed flour
1-2 tbsp raw or brown sugar or pinch of pure organic stevia
2 tsp baking powder
zest of a small orange (optional)
rounded 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
rounded 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
small pinch (less than 1/8 tsp) ground cloves (optional)
1/8 tsp salt
2 eggs, white and yolks separated
250ml milk of any kind (full fat works best although I usually only have oat or almond milk)
20g best butter, melted
20g organic rapeseed or light olive oil (or all butter)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
75g grated carrot, plus more for topping, if wished
Syrup (for 6 pancakes)
25g best butter
50ml best maple or date syrup
1/4 tsp ground cardamom (or cinnamon)
40g finely chopped walnuts, plus more for sprinkling
Method
1. Heat your waffle maker as directed by the manufacturer.
2. Dry whisk the flours, baking powder, sugar/stevia, spices, orange zest and salt in a medium bowl.
3. In a separate, scrupulously clean, bowl whisk the egg white to stiff peaks. Set aside.
4 Pour the egg yolks, milk, butter, oil and vanilla into a jug and mix to combine.
5. Fork the carrot shreds through the dry mixture then add in the wet mixture. Gently combine until the flour just disappears. Fold in the whisked egg white with a sharp edged (metal) spoon, keeping as much volume as you can.
6. Spray the waffle maker plates with oil spray if necessary, then dollop on the batter, cooking until golden and puffed.
7. While the waffles are on the go make the syrup by melting the butter over a low heat in a small pan until a deep golden colour, flecked with brown; add the syrup, cardamom and chopped nuts to warm through. You can make more of this and keep it in the refrigerator until needed again that week.
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