Friday 26 August 2011

I love the Cuisinart Waffle Iron

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A week or so ago we went out to a burger joint with friends for a treat.   After our burgers the children wanted waffles with chocolate sauce and we ordered for everyone.  Between the two families we had six children and of course the men wanted them too and I can’t say I blamed them.  On the way home I thought about the cost of the ingredients and that the eight servings of waffles came to almost £40!
I’m always thinking about thinking about how to save money on things without compromising. It’s unbelievable how expensive simple things can be, and we all have to think carefully about our spending.  I also think the children deserve to have treats, but these are something you can make at home in no time so I decided to get a waffle machine and make my own.

There are plenty of waffle irons around .. and they are not expensive, but after years of happily using the Cuisinart Ice-cream maker I decided to stick with the same brand thats worked for me every time. The Cuisinart Waffle maker costs £60.  No .. it doesn’t make it the cheapest on the market however I can honestly tell you that they make the most fabulous fluffy waffles that are seriously professional looking and they are really easy to clean. I just hate faff when it comes to clearing up so this is important to me, so to me they are great value.  We are now on our  4th batch of waffles made with with friends and I can't recommend them enough they are brilliant value for money.

The basic waffle mixture is easy and fun - effectively it’s a thick pancake batter but I thought I’d zizz things up with a seriously chocolate treat and make a chocolate and orange brownie waffle mix. It takes minutes to make and serves 16, anyone can make these and the cost for the ingredients was just £3.35 ..  and to be honest my waffles are far nicer!

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Chocolate Brownie Waffles
Makes 16
Cooking time 4 -5 minutes
Preparation 5 minutes
300g plain flour
200g vanilla sugar (or ordinary sugar with 4/5 drops of vanilla essence)
100g cocoa powder
3tsp baking powder
460ml skimmed milk
zest of 1 large orange
2 eggs
130g melted unsalted butter
150g chocolate (cut up to the size of chocolate chips)

1 Place all the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix well to evenly distribute.
2 Add the milk, eggs, orange zest and melted butter.
3 Whisk really well for about 2 -3 minutes.  Leave to stand for 5 minutes, whilst preheating your waffle maker.
4 Allow about 75g per waffle, but  if you don’t have a Cuisinart machine do check the size recommended by your manufacturer.  Spoon the batter into the waffle maker and spread with a heatproof spatula 1 cm away from the edge.
WARNING.. DO NOT over do the amount of mixture .. it will double in size and if you overfill then you will get the batter pouring out of the sides of the machine as it cooks.  Believe me when I say it makes a dreadful mess!  Better less mix then too much!
When the waffles are done serve hot with chocolate sauce and ice-cream.

6 comments:

  1. I love Cusinart, they are so reassuringly solid and well made, and ith the savings made then also good value for money aying for themselves rather quickly.

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  2. I have to say I am with you there. They are professional pieces of equipment built to last

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  3. I'm thinking of getting a waffle iron, and this one does look elegant! Your recipe sounds really delicious too :-)

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  4. Oh how strange. Instead of buying a waffle maker - I actually bought some this week. Waffle, fresh fruit & topped with the homemade ice cream.

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  5. They are so easy o make and taste far better than bought ones Di !

    ALso might make some savoury cheese waffles for lunch today !

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  6. after looking at that cuisinart waffle, I so love to have a cuisinart waffle iron just like that, that waffle looks so yummy!

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