Make the most glorious Fall spiced yeasted waffles, studded with toasted pecans, and topped with caramel apple compote! These are perfectly crisp on the outside, and fluffy and moist on the inside, with a warming spice flavor.EASY - This waffle recipe is SUPER easy. Very little active time to make the batter, with just an overnight proofing step in the fridge. If you do decide to make the apple compote, this will require extra cook time. US based cup, teaspoon, tablespoon measurements. Common Measurement Conversions. Weight measurements are recommended for accurate results.Please note that there is an overnight inactive proofing step in this recipe. So if you're planning on serving these for breakfast, the batter should be made the night before.
Place the warm milk in a bowl (see recipe notes). Whisk the honey in the milk to dissolve.
600 mL milk, 1 tbsp honey
Sprinkle the yeast over the lukewarm milk, and mix gently.
7 g active dry yeast
Allow the yeast to activate for about 10 - 15 minutes.
Make the batter
Place the milk with the activated yeast in a very large bowl. Add the flour, cornstarch, spices, butter, and salt. Whisk to combine well, and make sure there are no dry lumps. You can also use an electric mixer, but I usually use a manual balloon whisk or spatula.
250 g flour, 90 g cornstarch, 2 tsp ground cinnamon, ½ tsp ground cardamom, 115 g unsalted butter, 1 ¼ tsp sea salt, ¼ tsp ground cloves
Cover and let it sit in the fridge overnight (for best results), or up to 24 hours.
The batter will at least double in size by the following morning. Do not deflate the batter at this point.
For toasted pecans - Place the pecans in a non-stick skillet. Heat over medium heat while moving the pecans around in the pan. Heat the pecans until they are toasted (turn color and are fragrant).
Place the pecans on a chopping board and let them cool slightly. Chop the pecans into smaller pieces, and set aside for the following day.
The following morning
In a medium-sized bowl, mix the room temperature water and baking soda.
½ tsp baking soda, 2 tsp water
Add the 2 eggs, and whisk the eggs really well.
2 large eggs
Add about ½ - ¾ cup of the waffle batter into the egg mixture, and mix really well.
Pour the egg mix back into the rest of the batter mixture, and gently stir / fold it in until there are no egg streaks left in the batter. Be careful not to deflate the batter too much at this point.
The yeasted waffle batter is now ready to be used.
Making the waffles
Preheat the waffle iron well, and brush the plates with butter or oil.
Using a ladle or ice cream scoop, pour the batter onto the waffle iron plate. Make sure not to overfill (adjust the batter amount after one test waffle at the start).
Sprinkle some of the toasted pecans on top, and close the waffle maker.
Cook the waffle until it's crisp and dark golden brown in color.
Carefully remove the waffle from the waffle maker, and let it cool on a wire rack.
If needed, place the cooked waffles in an oven, at the lowest heat setting, to keep them warm until they are served.
Serve with caramel apple compote.
1 recipe caramel apple compote
Caramel apple compote (make this the previous day, for convenience)
Make the compote according to the recipe here. Then let it cool in the fridge.
1 recipe caramel apple compote
Before serving, gently warm the apple compote in the microwave. You can also warm the compote in a saucepan over low-medium heat on the stove.
Spoon the caramel apple compote over the waffles before serving. Top with whipped cream. Alternatively, serve the waffles with maple syrup and whipped butter.
Maple syrup, Whipped butter, Whipped cream
Notes
Note about activating the yeast
You can activate the active dry yeast in either 1/2 cup of warm milk or the whole milk amount. If using instant yeast, you do not need to activate the yeast. But do use lukewarm milk to make the batter.
Note about the yield
The yield can vary depending on how proofed your batter is, and how much it deflates during the final mixing step.