CHOCOLATE-CHIP WAFFLES WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE
These Belgian-style waffles are given a hidden crunch by the addition of pearl sugar to the dough. If you can’t find pearl sugar, you could coarsely crush some sugar cubes to achieve a similar effect. Start the recipe a day ahead to prove the dough.
Prep time overnight Cooking time 30 mins Serves 6
200ml pouring cream
130g dark chocolate (55 per cent cocoa solids), finely chopped
CHOCOLATE-CHIP WAFFLES
125ml (½ cup) warm milk
1½ tsp dry yeast
1 egg, lightly beaten
300g (2 cups) plain flour
40g caster sugar
Scraped seeds of 1 vanilla bean
125g softened butter
70g bitter chocolate (minimum
70 per cent cocoa solids), finely chopped 50g pearl sugar
Vegetable oil, for brushing
TO SERVE: Thickly sliced banana, roasted salted peanuts and ice cream (we’ve got an amazing recipe for peanut butter fudge ice cream at fridaymagazine.ae/food)
For chocolate-chip waffles, stir milk, yeast, egg and a third of the flour in an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook to combine. Scatter in remaining flour (don’t stir), set aside until yeast mixture bubbles through flour, 1 hour, then add caster sugar, vanilla seeds, 1 tsp fine sea salt and knead until a dough forms, 3-5 mins. Add butter a little at a time, kneading until soft, 4-5 mins, form into a ball, place in a lightly buttered bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside until doubled in size, 2 hours. Knock back dough, knead in chocolate, wrap in plastic wrap, weight with a plate and refrigerate overnight. Scatter pearl sugar over dough, knead to incorporate, then divide dough into 6 pieces, roll into balls and set aside on a tray lined with baking paper until doubled in size, 45 minutes to 1 hour. To finish waffles, brush a heated waffle-maker with oil. Flatten dough balls slightly into the wafflemaker and cook in batches until golden and cooked through, 5-6 mins. Meanwhile, bring cream to the boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat, add chocolate, remove from heat and stir until smooth. Serve waffles warm topped with scoops of peanutbutter fudge ice-cream and drizzled with chocolate sauce, sliced banana and roasted peanuts.