Yogurt Waffles with Strawberries

Waffles is quite popular as a breakfast, brunch, afternoon tea or even snack kind of food here in SG. Be it a neighbourhood bakery or atas cafe, it's readily available these days.

I bought a cook book on "Waffles" a few months back and have been looking through the mouth-watering recipes since then. From the book, I learnt that there are 3 main types of waffles, namely Liege Waffle which uses instant yeast and very much like bread; Brussel Waffle which also uses instant yeast but with egg white meringue added and American style Waffle which uses baking powder/soda and tend to be sweeter and fluffier. I believe there are other methods of making waffles, and probably different cafes/families have their own secret recipes :)

I happen to have some Greek yogurt in the fridge, chantilly cream leftover from baking cake over the weekend and a few pieces of white strawberries brought back from Kyoto almost 3 weeks ago (and I have to finish them up pronto!). So decided to make the Brussel style Waffle.

Yogurt Waffles
(makes 5 pieces)

Ingredients

• 2g instant yeast
• 55g lukewarm water
• 120g cake flour
• 1/4 tsp fine salt
• 100g Greek yogurt
• 30g unsalted butter, melted
• 1 egg white
• 20g caster sugar
• Chantilly cream, strawberries (or other cream and fruits of choice)

Steps

1. Mix the instant yeast with the lukewarm water, stir well and set aside.
2. Sift cake flour and salt into a bowl, set aside.
3. Add the yeast-water mixture to the yogurt and mix well.
4. Add the flour-salt mixture into the yogurt-yeast mixture and fold till batter is well blended.
5. In a mixing bowl, beat egg whites till foamy, add the sugar gradually and beat till stiff peak.
6. Add 1/3 of the egg white meringue into the batter and fold gently, follow by another 1/3 of the meringue.
7. Pour the batter into the bowl containing the remaining 1/3 of the meringue and fold gently till just mixed.
8. Cover the batter bowl with clingwrap and let rest at room temperature for about 1hr.
9. Preheat the waffle maker, pour batter evenly into the waffle molds and cook for about 5-6 mins till browned.
10. Let the waffles cool slightly and serve with chantilly cream and strawberries. 

The texture of the waffles is chewy, with the edges slightly crispy when warm. The taste is rather bland as plain yogurt and very little sugar is added. It's recommended to eat it with some fresh cream, ice-cream, sauce and fruits to enhance the overall taste. The waffles keep well in freezer and can be heated up easily using toaster oven (or even air-fryer). I ate 2 pieces and kept the rest in a ziplock bag in the freezer so that I can give them to the kiddo as fuss-free snacks or quick breakfast when in a hurry. This type of Brussel-style waffle can also be made savoury by adding cheese, bacon, herbs etc, and I'm really keen to try those recipes.

I think I'm hooked on making waffles now and will be attempting more recipes from time to time!