Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Orange cinnamon Belgian waffles with dark chocolate hot fudge



I have never been one to let anyone tell me or dictate what I can or can't eat for breakfast.  "Recalcitrant."  That's a really good word to describe me.  So, why not have dark chocolate hot fudge on orange cinnamon Belgian waffles for breakfast?  I mean, most weekday mornings consist of a customary round of fruit (honeycrisp apples, as of late) mixed with skyr and generic honey nut cheerios, so I reserve my rights to serve up something extra splendid for the weekends.  So there.


These waffles are yeast based, which lends them the perfectly nice crisp on the outside that I really like about Belgian waffles (and why I prefer them to the standard leggo-my-eggo variety), and I sprinkled a bit of pearl sugar in during cooking, just for an extra sweet kick.  The orange flavor is strong, and the cinnamon flavor is mild, but, of course, the show-stopper is the thick, dark, melted-ganache-like hot fudge drizzled all over.  You really want to splurge and use the best chocolate and cocoa powder you've got for this one, because really, you won't regret it!


In other news, I must apologize for being more absent from this blog, the food blogosphere, and the twitterverse than I would like lately.  I feel so out of the loop.  Thankfully, my life has managed to settle into a routine again, but it's basically one where I'm madly scrambling to keep up with the 100miles-per-minute brilliance of the two chairs of my dissertation committee while still trying to keep my wits semi-about me--scrambling, trying, and probably failing pretty miserably, to be perfectly honest.  So in the midst of all this, there hasn't been much brain power left in me to even tweet about anything remote interesting, much less be in the kitchen or behind the camera or blogging away--sadly!  (I miss you, my foodie friends!)  But, at the very least, on the weekends, there are waffles....


...and chocolate.  Please don't forget the chocolate.



Read on for recipe...


Orange cinnamon Belgian waffles
adapted from King Arthur Flour's recipe
makes enough for four (number of waffles depend on the size of your waffle iron)

1 cup lukewarm whole milk
6 Tbspn butter, melted
3 Tbspn honey
3/4 tspn salt
1 tspn vanilla
2 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbspn ground cinnamon
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice, slightly warmed
freshly grated zest of 1 large orange
1 1/2 tspn instant yeast
pearl sugar, optional

1. Stir to combine all of the ingredients except the pearl sugar in a large bowl, allowing room for expansion.
2. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at (warm) room temperature for an hour.  The mixture will begin to bubble somewhat.
3. Preheat your waffle iron and coat lightly with cooking spray.  Place enough batter in the center of your waffle iron to allow for expansion and sprinkle in the pearl sugar, if using.  Cook for roughly 4-6 minutes until golden brown.  Serve immediately with dark chocolate hot fudge, or keep warm in a 200 degree F oven.


Dark chocolate hot fudge
adapted from the Scharffenberger Chocolate book

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2.5 oz. dark chocolate, chopped
4 Tbspn (2 oz.) butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup whole milk

1. Whisk together the sugar and cocoa powder and set aside.
2. In a double boiler over simmering hot water, melt the chocolate and butter.
3. Meanwhile, heat the cream and milk in a small saucepan over medium heat.  As soon as steam begins to rise from the milk, whisk in the sugar and cocoa powder until they are dissolved.  Keep this at a low simmer, and do not let boil.
4. Once the chocolate and butter have melted in the double boiler, stir until smooth and then stir in the cocoa and milk mixture.  Whisk for 2-3 minutes until it is slightly thickened.  Pout into a heat-proof container and let cool.
5. Rewarm in a double boiler or microwave as needed; otherwise, keep covered in the refrigerator.



Enjoy!

42 comments:

  1. I'm so excited that you made Gaufres liégeoises, I hardly ever see these outside of Europe. I like these much better than regular waffles, they have a nice crispness to them.

    Sorry to hear that things have been so crazy for you recently, hope things let up soon!

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  2. Stunning! Your picture are really AWESOME! And this recipe: completely for me... I'm printig this, right now!

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  3. Oh gosh. This is making my mouth water. I love chocolate with orange! I also love waffles and hot fudge. Thank you for combining all these things and telling me it's okay to eat it for breakfast ;)

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  4. every single time you post, im literally licking my screen...and drooling...and wishing i was yur roommate. yur recipes an dpictures are awesome.

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  5. I am completely obsessed! I would love to serve this for breakfast on Valentines Day but, I don't think that I can hold out!

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  6. I'll be at your place by tomorrow morning. Please wait for me with this breakfast! :)

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  7. I´ll be taking them as breakfast tomorrow!... great pictures and info as always!..we missed you. Welcome back to foodiesphere!... kisses from Argentina

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  8. I agree with "Lick My Spoon"- thank goodness I am not the only one inclined to lick the screen. Your photographs are exquisite, and the mere suggestion of the ingredients you combine together makes my mouth water... delicious+delicious=mega delicious!

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  9. Your flavor combination thing is so awesome. You're the flavor matchmaker!

    It's currently snowing like mad (like MAD I say) out here in the midwest. What I wouldn't give for a snowday, hot chocolate, and these waffles. Oh, and someone to serve them to me. Preferably a male. Preferably shirtless.

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  10. mmmmm.... excuse granted!!! Love Belgian waffles.. love their dough-y insides! oh my! yes I can see that the chocolate fudge, kicking it up a whole notch! :)

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  11. Lol! One of my favorite parts of food blogging is that I can eat dessert for breakfast, but only if I am photographing it, otherwise I might have dessert for every meal.

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  12. Belgian waffles taste SO good! I had never tried them before until recently and loved the chewiness of it!
    Your photos needless to say they always take my breath away!

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  13. i must have waffles soon...i even have some pearl sugar stashed away! these look amazing, lovely photos as well. good luck with your dissertation :)

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  14. I have not had waffles in ... wow, can't remember... in fact, I have yet to buy a waffle maker, despite all the gadgets in my kitchen... Woe is me..

    I'm salivating..

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  15. Hold that thought or rather that waffle I'll be right over!

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  16. Oh orange cinnamon sounds amazing! And that hot fudge dropping out of the jar is just begging to be licked off 8p. I love your breakfast dessert, Steph =D.

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  17. I will always "leggo my eggo" and reach for Belgian waffles if given the choice! One of my favorites, a treat when I was traveling to Europe often, and no, I could never ever forget the chocolate :)

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  18. Oh my. I don't have a waffle iron where I live now (Reykjavík for 3 months), but this post will make me have to go out searching for one among my friends.

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  19. OMG: This looks amaze and Belgian waffles are my favorite. yummy!

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  20. These are so so so so stunning! The pictures are gorgeous and I haven't had Belgian waffles in ages *shame on me*. Your post has given me a sudden craving :-)

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  21. Hmm, I'll have to try making these gluten free. I bet they'd be fabulous! Thanks for reminding to give yeasted waffles a try.

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  22. I LOVE waffles
    I LOVE chocolate!!!!!!

    YUMMMMMMMY!

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  23. What is pearl sugar, and where do I get some?

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  24. @Shirleen: pearl sugar is a special type of sugar for baking that won't melt. I think King Arthur Flour carries it: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/pearl-sugar

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  25. these waffles look AMAZING! and i love how unperfectly perfect their shape is... what waffle machine do you use?
    p.s. congrats on the photos!

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  26. @celina c.: Thanks! I used just a regular rectangular waffle iron, but instead of putting enough batter in to fill the entire mold, I only put one small scoop in the centers.

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  27. I tried a yeasted waffle recipe and it's still quite soft.. mm maybe I should try this recipe.. love belgian waffles with chocolate !!

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  28. I LOVE belgium waffles! And they seem delicious in the pictures but How do you make the waffles with that volume? I have made this same recipe and seem pancakes. Do you know where I can get a good machine for waffles?
    Thanxs!

    xx.

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  29. wait wait waaaaait.. did you just say pearl sugar??!

    Where did you find it?! (jealous!) ;)

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  30. @Brooke: You can find pearl sugar online (I think King Arthur Flour has it). I got mine at a local bakery supply shop.

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  31. @Brooke: You can find pearl sugar online (I think King Arthur Flour has it). I got mine at a local bakery supply shop.

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  32. wait wait waaaaait.. did you just say pearl sugar??!

    Where did you find it?! (jealous!) ;)

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  33. I will always "leggo my eggo" and reach for Belgian waffles if given the choice! One of my favorites, a treat when I was traveling to Europe often, and no, I could never ever forget the chocolate :)

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  34. these waffles look AMAZING! and i love how unperfectly perfect their shape is... what waffle machine do you use?
    p.s. congrats on the photos!

    ReplyDelete
  35. I have not had waffles in ... wow, can't remember... in fact, I have yet to buy a waffle maker, despite all the gadgets in my kitchen... Woe is me..

    I'm salivating..

    ReplyDelete
  36. mmmmm.... excuse granted!!! Love Belgian waffles.. love their dough-y insides! oh my! yes I can see that the chocolate fudge, kicking it up a whole notch! :)

    ReplyDelete
  37. I´ll be taking them as breakfast tomorrow!... great pictures and info as always!..we missed you. Welcome back to foodiesphere!... kisses from Argentina

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  38. I'm so excited that you made Gaufres liégeoises, I hardly ever see these outside of Europe. I like these much better than regular waffles, they have a nice crispness to them.

    Sorry to hear that things have been so crazy for you recently, hope things let up soon!

    ReplyDelete

I love hearing from you and reading your comments! Thanks so much for stopping by the blog. Happy feasting!