Carrot Cake Waffles
I got a waffle iron! Well, I got a waffle iron weeks ago, but it had just been collecting dust until Saturday. If your waffle iron's hiding in the back of a cabinet, here's a reason to pull it out: Carrot Cake Waffles with Maple Nut Cream Cheese Spread. Breakfast for dessert-lovers!
An amazingly tasty breakfast, I might add. The waffles are based on a rich buttermilk waffle recipe, and carrot cake flavors are added into the batter: spices bloomed in butter, grated carrots, raisins, and chopped walnuts. The whole thing is topped with my new favorite condiment. This Maple Nut Cream Cheese Spread is insane! I want to spread it on everything, and it's so easy to make.
So, love carrot cake? Love waffles? You know what to do.
Carrot Cake Waffles
Recipe by: Adapted using the following recipes:
-Rich Buttermilk Waffles: Smitten Kitchen's adaptation of Mark Bittman.
-Maple Cream Cheese Spread by Carolyn R. Shaw.
-Spice blooming technique by America's Test Kitchen
Yields: 4 to 6 servings
Waffle Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
1 3/4 cups buttermilk* or 1 1/2 cups sour cream or plain yogurt thinned with 1/4 cup milk
2 eggs, separated
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick butter)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup raisins
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 1/2 cup finely grated carrots
Cooking spray for waffle iron
Maple Nut Cream Cheese Spread Ingredients:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
3-4 tablespoons maple syrup
1/8 cup chopped walnuts
Directions:
1. Bloom the spices in butter**: Heat 4 tablespoons butter in skillet over medium heat until melted, 1 to 2 minutes. Continue to cook, swirling pan constantly, until butter is light brown and has faint nutty aroma, 2 to 4 minutes. Add spices and continue to cook, stirring constantly, 15 seconds. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
2. Combine the flour, salt, sugar, baking soda.
3. Mix together the buttermilk (or buttermilk substitute) and the egg yolks. Stir in the spiced butter and vanilla. Spray the waffle iron well and preheat it. Stir the wet into the dry ingredients.
4. Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl with a whisk or electric mixer (make sure bowl and mixer are spotlessly clean) until they hold soft peaks. Stir them gently into the batter. Add carrots, walnuts, and raisins. Stir gently to combine.
5. Spread a ladleful or so of batter onto the waffle iron and bake until the waffle is done, usually 3 to 5 minutes, depending on your iron. Spray iron with cooking spray between waffles as needed.
6. To make Maple Cream Cheese spread, simply combine nuts, syrup, and cream cheese and mix well. Serve waffles immediately with a schmear of Maple Cream Cheese spread (which will get lovely and melty), or keep them warm for a few minutes in a low oven.***
Notes:
* The buttermilk can be substituted with 1 1/4 cups of milk at room temperature, mixed with two tablespoons white vinegar, left to clabber for 10 minutes.
**If you prefer a quicker breakfast, you can melt and cool the butter plain instead of browning it and blooming the spices in it -- but doing so does add flavor. If you do skip the spice blooming, simply add the spices to the dry ingredients in step 2. Add your plain melted, cooled butter instead of the spiced butter in step 3.
*** Waffles also freeze well. You can make a big batch, allow them to cool, and freeze them for a homemade alternative to preservative-laden commercial frozen waffles.
To read about how these waffles relate to WWF Wrestling, see more photos of the "layer cake" I built out of waffles, or find a list of other chimeric recipes, head over to my baking blog, Willow Bird Baking!
x-posted to food_porn, picturingfood, cooking
An amazingly tasty breakfast, I might add. The waffles are based on a rich buttermilk waffle recipe, and carrot cake flavors are added into the batter: spices bloomed in butter, grated carrots, raisins, and chopped walnuts. The whole thing is topped with my new favorite condiment. This Maple Nut Cream Cheese Spread is insane! I want to spread it on everything, and it's so easy to make.
So, love carrot cake? Love waffles? You know what to do.
Carrot Cake Waffles
Recipe by: Adapted using the following recipes:
-Rich Buttermilk Waffles: Smitten Kitchen's adaptation of Mark Bittman.
-Maple Cream Cheese Spread by Carolyn R. Shaw.
-Spice blooming technique by America's Test Kitchen
Yields: 4 to 6 servings
Waffle Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
1 3/4 cups buttermilk* or 1 1/2 cups sour cream or plain yogurt thinned with 1/4 cup milk
2 eggs, separated
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick butter)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup raisins
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 1/2 cup finely grated carrots
Cooking spray for waffle iron
Maple Nut Cream Cheese Spread Ingredients:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
3-4 tablespoons maple syrup
1/8 cup chopped walnuts
Directions:
1. Bloom the spices in butter**: Heat 4 tablespoons butter in skillet over medium heat until melted, 1 to 2 minutes. Continue to cook, swirling pan constantly, until butter is light brown and has faint nutty aroma, 2 to 4 minutes. Add spices and continue to cook, stirring constantly, 15 seconds. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
2. Combine the flour, salt, sugar, baking soda.
3. Mix together the buttermilk (or buttermilk substitute) and the egg yolks. Stir in the spiced butter and vanilla. Spray the waffle iron well and preheat it. Stir the wet into the dry ingredients.
4. Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl with a whisk or electric mixer (make sure bowl and mixer are spotlessly clean) until they hold soft peaks. Stir them gently into the batter. Add carrots, walnuts, and raisins. Stir gently to combine.
5. Spread a ladleful or so of batter onto the waffle iron and bake until the waffle is done, usually 3 to 5 minutes, depending on your iron. Spray iron with cooking spray between waffles as needed.
6. To make Maple Cream Cheese spread, simply combine nuts, syrup, and cream cheese and mix well. Serve waffles immediately with a schmear of Maple Cream Cheese spread (which will get lovely and melty), or keep them warm for a few minutes in a low oven.***
Notes:
* The buttermilk can be substituted with 1 1/4 cups of milk at room temperature, mixed with two tablespoons white vinegar, left to clabber for 10 minutes.
**If you prefer a quicker breakfast, you can melt and cool the butter plain instead of browning it and blooming the spices in it -- but doing so does add flavor. If you do skip the spice blooming, simply add the spices to the dry ingredients in step 2. Add your plain melted, cooled butter instead of the spiced butter in step 3.
*** Waffles also freeze well. You can make a big batch, allow them to cool, and freeze them for a homemade alternative to preservative-laden commercial frozen waffles.
To read about how these waffles relate to WWF Wrestling, see more photos of the "layer cake" I built out of waffles, or find a list of other chimeric recipes, head over to my baking blog, Willow Bird Baking!
x-posted to food_porn, picturingfood, cooking