Recipes: Waffles with hot chocolate sauce

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Ingredients (Makes 12)

For the batter

325g plain flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

pinch of salt

60g caster sugar

2 large eggs, separated

450ml whole milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

100g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

For the hot chocolate sauce

75g cocoa powder

75g caster sugar

50g dark chocolate (60–70 per cent cocoa solids), finely chopped

Method

To make the batter, put the flour, baking powder, salt and half the caster sugar in a large bowl and whisk together. In a large jug, whisk together the egg yolks, milk, vanilla and melted butter, then pour it into the flour mixture, whisking until you have a smooth batter.  Put the egg whites in a clean, grease-free bowl and, using an electric mixer, whisk until they hold soft peaks. Continue to whisk while you slowly pour in the remaining sugar until the meringue is stiff and glossy.  Add the meringue to the batter and gently fold together. Cook the batter according to your waffle iron’s instructions.

To make the chocolate sauce, put 200ml water in a medium pan and add the cocoa powder and caster sugar. Whisk together until smooth.  Put over a medium heat and bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 2 minutes or until the syrup has thickened. Remove the pan from the heat and leave to cool for a few minutes, then add the chocolate and stir together until melted and smooth. You can serve the sauce warm or cold, but it gets a lot thicker as it cools down. If you have any sauce left over it can be kept in the fridge for up to a month and then reheated at a later point.

Tip

This recipe makes quite a lot of waffles, so you could, of course, halve the quantities, but you can also freeze the cooked waffles. Leave them to cool completely then wrap them in a double layer of clingfilm. When you want to serve them, leave them to thaw fully before reheating them in the oven at 120c (100C fan oven)/gas ½ for about 10 minutes or until heated through.