In Search Of The Perfect Waffle

There’s a new gadget in my kitchen, and that means I’m obsessing again. It happens every time I buy a new toy, er, tool. When I got my first food processor, we ate purees at every meal. After buying a pasta maker, we practically lived on noodles.

Now it’s a waffle maker, and breakfasts have been, well, interesting. This time my quest was nothing less than the perfect waffle.

Making waffles from scratch always seemed like a lot of trouble. You must: (a) sift the dry ingredients; (b) combine the wet ingredients, and (c) beat the egg whites to stiff peaks.

That seems like a lot to do before you’ve had your morning coffee. But after a couple of tries, I found the batter could be put together in less than five minutes.

My first experiments were limited to trying recipes from various cookbooks. The main thing I learned was that most basic waffle recipes are pretty much the same. The only real difference I found is in “Joy of Cooking,” which uses cake flour rather than all-purpose, which makes them softer inside.

Then it occurred to me that, since waffle batter is almost identical to that used for crepes and other pancakes, I could add a little cornmeal - one of my favorite things to do with those others because it gives a nice crackly crunch.

Ground zero was the standard waffle recipe from an old “Fannie Farmer” book, based on milk and melted butter. It makes a waffle that is dark brown and very crisp but hard and dry inside.

Then I tried using sour cream. The lactic acid in sour cream breaks up the protein in flour, hindering the formation of gluten and creating a more tender product.

Of course, when one of these is used, you must also add a bit of baking soda - about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon per cup of liquid is enough - to aid in leavening.

The sour cream batter was paler and denser, and the waffle was crisp on the outside and very tender inside with a slightly tangy flavor. But it still wasn’t quite right.

Because sour cream is so thick, I ended up having to add much more of it to the batter to get a pourable mixture. Combine that with its very high acidity, and the waffle’s interior wound up being so moist and tender that it seemed almost underdone.

Next I tried buttermilk, which has less acidity and is more liquidy. Finally, I had the texture I wanted - crisp on the outside, with a firm yet cakey inside. But the flavor was a little short.

So I compromised, adding a bit of sour cream to the buttermilk. The texture was almost as perfect as the plain buttermilk, and the tang of the sour cream accented the fresh buttery taste. But the cornmeal still wasn’t quite the way I wanted it.

Maybe a softer texture would make the cornmeal crunch stand out more. Remembering the “Joy of Cooking” waffles based on cake flour, I tried that and it proved to be the turning point. Finally I had what I was looking for: a waffle with the texture of a crisp-crusted souffle, with a bit of a cornmeal crunch and a nice buttery tang.

What to do with the perfect waffle?

Butter and maple syrup is the obvious answer, but I also like to use it as a base for something like this lovely vanilla- and spice-scented compote of dried fruits.

Cornmeal Waffles With Winter Fruit Compote

Winter fruit compote

3/4 cup cake flour

1/4 cup cornmeal

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 eggs, separated

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup sour cream

Prepare winter fruit compote and set aside to cool.

Sift together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. In medium bowl, stir together egg yolks, buttermilk and sour cream. Beat egg whites in third bowl until stiff peaks form. Quickly combine egg yolk-sour cream mixture and dry ingredients, stirring just until batter takes on pebbly texture. Fold in egg whites.

Pour batter in waffle iron and bake according to manufacturer directions. Serve immediately, topped with cup winter fruit compote.

Yield: 6 waffles.

Nutrition information per each serving, with winter fruit compote: 415 calories, 317 milligrams sodium, 81 milligrams cholesterol, 7 grams fat (15 percent fat calories), 86 grams carbohydrates, 7 grams protein, 1 gram fiber.

Winter Fruit Compote

2 cups water

1 cup sugar

1 (3-inch) section vanilla bean

2 whole cloves

1 cup dried apricots

1 cup pitted prunes

1/2 cup dried sour cherries, optional

Bring water and sugar to boil in medium saucepan. Split vanilla bean lengthwise and, using tip of small sharp knife, scrape seeds into saucepan. Add bean husk and cloves to saucepan and continue cooking five minutes.

Reduce heat to low and add apricots, prunes and cherries. Cook at bare simmer just until fruit plumps and softens, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove vanilla bean husk before serving. Leftovers can be stored, covered and refrigerated.

Yield: 3 cups.

Nutrition information per each 1/2-cup serving: 251 calories, 4 milligrams sodium, no cholesterol, no fat, 65 grams carbohydrate, 2 grams protein, 1 gram fiber.