The Seventh Wonder of The Waffle World - Pizzelle

I was filtering through the last 2 1/2 years of Blog posts yesterday morning and realized that I never finished the Waffle tour.  Oh, I covered Dutch Stroopwafel, Danish FlødeValfer (Sour Cream Waffles), PiskeFlødeValfer (Whipped Cream Waffles) and my Mom's Nutty Spelt Waffles.  I even tried to set the record straight about the dubious "Belgian" Waffle; promoting their true forms, being Brussels and Liège Waffles.  But I realized that I have missed a few "waffles" out there.  Isvafler being one of them (Danish Ice Waffles), along with Norwegian Krumkaker and the ever delicious Pizzelle of Italy.  All three of these waffles tend to be more of a cookie, like Stroopwafels, but they are waffles none the less.

Thus, I decided to tackle the Pizzelle today.  You will have to wait for Isvafler until the Marionberries come into season later this year.  (sorry)

Hailing from Abruzzo region of Italy, the Pizzelle (peet-ZEL-ey) is one of the oldest cookies in existence.  Sometimes they are called Ferratelle due to their being baked in an iron (Ferrium) press.  But "Pizzelle" seems to be the most common usage.  These delightfully crisp cookies are a traditionally flavored with anise seeds, though Lemon, Orange, Vanilla are pretty common nowadays as well.  Heck, you can even make chocolate ones, though I find it hard to tell when they are browned properly...  ;)

Me? I like a nice combination of anise and lemon...  Meyer Lemon that is.  YUM!

Because they are soft when first removed from the iron, they can be rolled around a form when hot and allowed to cool into their crispiness, retaining said shape they were formed into.  This is great if you have some licorice ice cream lying around, as they can very easily be rolled into a cone shape.  The perfect edible vehicle for your Gelato.

Pizzelle

4 large eggs
1 cup (8 oz) (225 g) Granulated Sugar
7 oz (195 g) Melted Butter
Juice and Zest of 1 Meyer Lemon (if using a regular lemon, use only half)
1 TB Anise Seeds
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Pinch of Salt
1 3/4 cups plus 1 TB (8 oz) (225 g) AP Flour
2 cups (8 oz) (225 g) Cake Flour

Place Eggs and Sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer with a whisk attachment.

Whisk together until light and ribbony. (about 5 minutes)

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a glass pitcher or small saucepan and set aside.
Zest the Meyer Lemon, squeeze out the juice and combine in a small ramekin with Anise Seeds, Vanilla Extract and a pinch of Salt.

In a medium bowl combine the AP Flour and Cake Flour, whisking to aerate well.

Once the Egg/Sugar mixture is pale and ribbony, slowly pour the butter in a thin stream (You are trying to create an emulsion) with the mixer on medium-high speed.

Once you have added all the butter, pour in the Lemon/Anise Seed mixture and continue whisking on medium speed until well combined.

At this point, you should probably plug in your Pizzelle iron.
Remove the whisk attachment and replace it with the paddle, turn the mixer to low and begin adding the Flour mixture, a little at a time to prevent a Flour Bomb from exploding in your kitchen.

Once all the Flour has been incorporated, remove the bowl from the mixer stand and grab 2 spoons (Soup spoons that is)

 

To load up a Pizzelle Iron simply scoop up a heaping spoon of the batter.

Use the other spoon to scrap it off the first spoon and onto the hot iron in a single blob.

OR - You can use a cookie scoop... LOL

Close the iron and press lightly to spread the batter (I have to press on mine a little because the lid section isn't very heavy)

 This is what it looks like after the batter spreads. (Just so's ya know)

Allow the Pizzelle to "bake" for approximately 1 1/2 minutes until golden brown.

Remove carefully from the iron (They are very soft and bendy) and lay them flat on a cooling rack to allow them to crisp up (like tuile cookies)

Then kick back with a nice cup of Earl Grey and enjoy!

Mangia!!
~~

My Heart Belongs to Waffles - FlødeValfer; Danish Sour Cream Waffle

OK, in case you have not been able to tell from some of my previous posts. I Love Waffles, all kinds of waffles. I decided, since my whistle had been wet with the Brussels and the Liège, that I would journey north to the land of my forefathers and make some Danish waffles or FlødeVafler (Sour Cream Waffles). I don't make these as often as the Brussels, and after making them this evening, I remember why... You will see.... Part of it has to do with the leavening. Brussels and Liege waffles use yeast. American waffles use baking powder, for the most part. Danish Waffles are dependent on a dual leavening action of beaten egg whites and the reaction of baking soda and sour cream.

The Danish waffler is designed a little different than its Belgian, American or Dutch Stroop Counterparts. All the afore mentioned irons have flat teeth while the Danish Iron has pointed teeth. It is designed in a Flower pattern that breaks apart into heart shaped petals.

Now, this is where I get to show off some of my 'antiques'...

Although I think you might still be able to order them, and there are electric versions out there. But for me, several years ago, in a thrift store, I found the same stove top type waffler that my grandmother has used since I was "knee high to a grasshopper". That same day, as luck would have it, I also found a Krumkager Iron. What the heck is a Krumkager? A Krumkager is a Scandinavian flat waffle cookie, flavored with mace or cardamom, similar to the Pizzelle of Italy minus the anise.

This is not without its challenges since only 1 side of the waffle cooks at a time... Even preheating can be tricky when trying to load up the thermal mass of the aluminum. But it's all worth it in the long run. For the Flødevafler is absolutely delicious.

Flødevafler

6 eggs; Separated 1/2 cup Sugar
1 tsp Ground Cardamom
1 1/2 cups AP Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
2 small pinches of Kosher Salt
1 cup Sour Cream
1/2 cup Unsalted Butter; Melted then cooled slightly

First off, we need to separate the eggs. (I use the half shell method moving the yolk from shell to shell until all the white has fallen away)

Mix eggs yolks, sugar, and cardamom together in a big bowl.

Whisk until smooth and pale.

Sift flour, baking soda, and salt together in another small bowl.

Mix sour cream and melted in a third small bowl.


Beat egg whites to firm peaks with a pinch of salt in a fourth bowl.



Whew OK, Now that EVERY bowl in the kitchen is dirty, lets begin combining things. (THIS is why I don't make them that often)

First, whisk the Sour Cream/Butter mixture into the Yolk/Sugar mixture.

After this is smooth, begin adding the flour in 3 parts, whisk in the first two additions;

then move to a spatula for the last addition, cause the batter will be thick.

OK, Now grab your biggest spatula. Yes, in this case, size DOES matter. Besides, every bowl in the kitchen is dirty, whats one more spatula?

Begin folding in the egg whites by taking about 1/4 of them and simply stirring it into the batter, this will lighten it just enough to allow for easier folding.

Fold in the remaining whites in 2 additions, use broad folding strokes to incorporate, the fewer strokes it takes, the fewer bubbles are deflated and the lighter your batter will be.

Let the batter sit for about 20 minutes on the counter to rest and begin heating your iron.

You will notice in about 10 minutes the batter will appear a little lumpy-ish because of some bubbles, this is due to the Baking Soda reacting with the Sour Cream. It's OK, the batter is just getting lighter, it will still rise in the iron.


I always spray the iron before the first waffle... After that the residual oils from the previously baked waffle keep everything lubed up well.
Pour 1/4 cup of the batter in the iron



and wait for the waffle to become medium brown. (I have to flip mine so it takes a little longer.)

Remove waffle and serve warm with Black Current preserves or Raspberries and Whipped Cream (Danes LOVE Raspberries)


I have no Idea how to say "Eat Up" in Danish, so....

Mangia!!
~~

I'm a Hound For Huckleberries - Huckleberry Sauce and Brussels Waffles

It's that time of the month folks. The BakeSpace Challenge for October 2009.

This month we are cooking with local ingredients, somewhat following along the lines of the somewhat trendy philosophy of "Locatarianism". A Locatarian limits the range of their food foraging to within 100 miles of their abode. Considering my new local in the Pacific Northwest I assumed that I would have very few difficulties coming up with something... HA!!! That is until key ingredients to the dishes I had planned started falling out of my 100 mile radius... Simple things that, with modern delivery methods, are available all year long, but aren't grown even remotely close.

Examples.... Lemon, Orange, Lime and Grapefruit... California and Florida are WELL beyond the 100 mile marker. I even had to watch the flour and sugar... OK, I will admit it... Sugar was impossible... It comes from Hawaiian Cane (I know people who are allergic to Beet Sugar). The worst thing though, was not being able to use chocolate... :( It was a sad day....

Then it hit me, like a big bag of "duh"! I have been pining away for the succulent, bright tartness of the Pacific Northwest Huckleberry for 13 years... I should be centering my dish around that!!! (Sometimes I am a little dense) And what better way to showcase a delicious huckleberry, than by applying it to the top of... Oh yeah, you guessed it... One of my favorite foods... WAFFLES!!!

So here is my Brussels (Belgian) Waffle Recipe, revisited with as many local ingredients as possible, all topped off with a delicious Huckleberry fruit topping. I did not photograph the waffle process, because I have already done it before, the only difference is that I substituted 1/2 cup of Bob's Red Mill Unbleached Wheat Flour with 1/2 cup of Spelt Flour from Azure Farms. The eggs were local from the lady down the street and the Honey came from a friend of my parents, Star, who has a winery and manufactures her wines using local wild flower honey.. :) Of course I had to go ahead and use Tillamook Butter (They use to only make cheese)

Brussels Waffles

1 package active dry yeast (OK, yes it was Fleishman's which is from Canada although I am closer now than before) ;)
1/2 cup warm Goat milk (105 to 110 degrees)
2 cups Bob's Red Mill Unbleached flour
1/2 cup Azure Farm's Spelt Flour
1/3 cup C & H Pure Cane Sugar
1/2 tsp Pacific Sea salt
2 Eggs from the lady down the street, separated
1 1/2 cups lukewarm Goat milk (105 to 110 degrees)
1 tsp Vanilla extract (ok, this came from Madagascar)
8 TB Tillamook Unsalted Butter, melted and cooled

Topping:
2 cups Pacific Northwest Huckleberries (frozen - Cause picking season is over)
1 TB Cornstarch (It's Argo, I have no idea where it comes from)
1 TB Local Wild flower Honey (from Leaning Star Winery - She use honey to make her wine)
Pinch of Pacific Sea salt
1 TB Tillamook Butter

OK, Go ahead and make the waffle batter and bake the waffles...... I will revisit the topping afterwards.

Sprinkle yeast over the 1/2 cup warm milk in a small bowl; set aside about 5 minutes to wake up.
In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar and salt together.
Lightly beat the egg yolks with a fork in a small bowl
In another small bowl or glass pitcher mix 1 1/2 cups warm milk with vanilla
Add melted Butter, then add the beaten egg yolks.
Add butter/milk/yolk mixture to the flour/sugar mixture, beat until smooth.
By now your yeast should be good and bubbly; Stir it down to get it well dispersed though the milk.
Then stir the yeasted milk into the batter.
Beat egg whites until soft peaks form; fold gently into batter.
Cover and refrigerate overnight. If you want to make them now you can leave it out on the counter for about 1 1/2 hours until doubled in volume, but the flavor is better if refrigerated overnight.
Preheat an electric waffle maker.
Remove from refrigerator and stir down batter.
Spoon about 1/2 cup batter into each waffle grid and use the back of a spoon or an icing spatula to spread over the grids a little.
Close iron; cook until waffle is well-browned and the waffle is no longer steaming (about 4 to 5 minutes).
Transfer cooked waffles to a wire rack and keep warm in an oven, set to 200 degrees, until all the batter has been cooked.

Makes 10 waffles. (that's 5 double squares by American Belgian irons)

Huckleberry Topping

This is the same way I make my filling for a Huckleberry Pie, which is really more of a tart as I refuse to actually cook the huckleberries, it ruins their texture especially once they have been frozen...

2 cups Pacific Northwest Huckleberries (frozen - cause picking season is over)
1 TB Local Wild flower Honey (from Leaning Star Winery - She uses honey to make her wine)
1 TB Cornstarch (It's Argo, I have no idea where it comes from)
pinch of Pacific Sea Salt
1 TB Tillamook unsalted Butter


First divide the berries evenly, placing 1 cup in a sauce pan and 1 cup in a bowl (set the bowl aside).

Add Honey and Salt to the Berries in the sauce pan and allow them to juice up for 10 minutes.
Pour the juice off into another bowl and make a slurry with the juice and the cornstarch.

Add the slurry back to the saucepan and place over medium flame;

cooking, while stirring, until thick and bubbly.

Remove the sauce pan from the flame and fold in the remaining berries from the bowl.

Then fold in the butter until melted.

Serve over your Waffles whith Whipped Heavy Cream..... AWESOME!!!!

Mangia!!
~~

When in Belgium - You Better Mind Your Waffles

Food origin … (and the ranting of a crazy person)

Most people are aware that French Fries are not from France, Cornish Game Hens are not imported from Cornwall, England and that “Danish” pastry originated in Vienna (It’s true, really). One of the few foods that HAS been properly designated by its origin is the Belgian Waffle, for it does, in fact, come from Belgium. However, if you ask for a Belgian Waffle at a café in Antwerp, no one will understand what you are talking about… and probably mistake you for the town crazy.

You see, there are many different waffles made in Belgium. What we silly Americans think of as the quintessential “Belgian Waffle”, is actually a ‘Brussels’ Waffle, as opposed to a ‘Liège’ Waffle, which is also a Belgian Waffle, and quite delicious I might add, with it’s crunchy brûlée exterior. But that is another post.

Getting back to the Brussels “Belgian” Waffle –
By definition, the Brussels Waffle is a yeasted dough that is baked in a deep grid rectangular iron (American - Belgian waffle irons are the wrong shape; being split into 2 squares) characteristically crispy on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside.
The Liège Waffle, on the other hand, contains pearl sugar (which is hard to find in U.S.) and is baked in a sort of oval shape. It’s much denser and has mini-chunks of "carameled" sugar dispersed throughout.

OK, so you are probably asking yourself, "Why is he being so OCD about this whole "Belgian" Waffle scandal?

Well I was offended earlier today, by a Food Network chef, who shall remain nameless, when I went hunting for ideas of what to serve on the Brussels Waffles that I am taking to work tomorrow for our IS/IT Breakfast. I came across a “Classic Belgian Waffle” recipe. Which is all fine and dandy, but when I clicked the link to see how they were presented and I saw the ingredient list to the actual waffle, I became enraged. There listed 2nd was the infamous "Baking Powder" and not one freeze dried granual of yeast was to be found in the whole recipe. NO yeast… !?!.... Nuh Uh!

This is called "American" waffle batter and there is nothing “Classically Belgian” about THAT… The batter's light sourness from the yeast counterpointed by the faint sweetness is missing. The texture may be crisp, but the interior is more rubbery. In fact, the final product is nothing but an American waffle with a deeper grid… Sadly lacking the refined flavor of a true Brussels "Belgian" waffle. Not that I am knocking American waffles either... but the batters are better suited to "standard" smaller grid irons. I wont touch on Danish Waffle irons, or Dutch irons in this post.

The point I am trying to make in my rambling, is that just because you slap American Waffle batter into a deep grid waffle iron (let me restate that the “Belgian” irons available in the U.S. are shaped wrong anyway) does NOT make it a Belgian waffle; Brussels, Liège or otherwise…

FOR SHAME ON YOU!!!! BAD, Food Network Chef!!!! BAD!!! Go to your ‘Walk In’ and THINK about what you have done…!!!!!
Suffering the American people to culinary mediocrity... And maligning the name of "Belgian" (even though misnamed) Waffle... For Shame!!! I will not be eating breakfast in YOUR restaurant any time soon.

At this point, I was beginning to wonder just how far this sort of thing had gone.... So, I looked at a "Belgian" Waffle mix while at the store this evening picking up some fresh berries... Sure enough... BELGIAN WAFFLE MIX.... Right on the ingredient list "Baking Powder".....!!!!! Apparently this is a rampantly growing phenomenon. Blatant false advertising. Oh, and, of course, it was TWICE the price of any other waffle/pancake mix on the aisle. I was wondering how they could possibly contend that their mix tasted anything like a real Brussels Waffle... Then as I kept reading past all the chemicals to prevent clumping and to preserve freshness, at the very bottom I saw the answer....

Artificially Flavored... Lovely.... gack!!!

So friends, I urge you... No, I implore you, please... If you have ever ordered a "Belgian" waffle and were terribly UN-impressed, or decided that you didn't like them, please, please, try this recipe before you pass your final verdict.

Brussels (Belgian) Waffles

Gaufre de Brussels with Creme Violette whipped cream and candied violets

1 package active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm milk (105 to 110 degrees)
2 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, separated
1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk (105 to 110 degrees)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 TB butter, melted and cooled

Sprinkle yeast over the 1/2 cup warm milk in a small bowl; set aside about 5 minutes to wake up.

In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar and salt together.

Lightly beat the egg yolks with a fork in a small bowl

In another small bowl or glass pitcher mix 1 1/2 cups warm milk with vanilla

Add melted Butter,

then add the beaten egg yolks.

Add butter/milk/yolk mixture to the flour/sugar mixture, beat until smooth.

By now your yeast should be good and bubbly; Stir it down to get it well dispersed though the milk.

Then stir the yeasted milk into the batter.

Beat egg whites until soft peaks form;

fold gently into batter. (That wire whisk is REALLY old, my grandmother still uses one just like it, my dad fixed this one for me by adding a new handle to it)

Cover and refrigerate overnight. If you want to make them now you can leave it out on the counter for about 1 1/2 hours until doubled in volume, but the flavor is better if refrigerated overnight.

Preheat an electric waffle maker. (Plastic housed waffle irons do not get hot enough to properly cook a waffle)

Remove from refrigerator and stir down batter.

Spoon about 1/2 cup batter into each waffle grid and use the back of a spoon or an icing spatula to spread over the grids a little.

Close iron; cook until waffle is well-browned and the waffle is no longer steaming (about 4 to 5 minutes).
Transfer cooked waffles to a wire rack and keep warm in an oven, set to 200 degrees, until all the batter has been cooked.

Makes 10 waffles. (that's 5 double squares by American Belgian irons)


Look, Even I can make a mess when I am not paying attention... LOL

Serving Ideas -

• Orange Blossom Honey Butter (1 cup butter, 3 TB Orange Blossom Honey; Beat together until light & fluffy)
• Whipped Cream (your choice of Liqueur Flavoring)
• Confectioners' Sugar
• Maple Syrup
• Fresh Berries and Whipped Cream or Confectioners' Sugar
• Bacon or Bacon and Maple Syrup
• MMM or spread with Nutella

The possibilities are almost endless......

UPDATE: Now that the IS/IT breakfast is over, I can post a few of the pics that I was able to take before fork hit mouth.. (Which was lightning fast by the way - I swear, we need a sign over our area "IS/IT, will Work for Food")

I happened to noticed that my fellow computer geeks' personalities were coming out as the added toppings... I guess you can tell a lot about a person from their Waffles.....

The Reserved Waffle.

The Buried Berry Waffle.

The Berry Lover waffle

The "I forgot to shake the Whipped Cream Canister" Waffle.

and the Nutella Nut Waffle...

Good Times....

Mangia!!
~~