Nigella Lawson Waffles

Nigella Lawson’s waffles are light, crisp waffles made from a batter lifted with whisked egg whites, served with maple syrup and berries. The batch makes about 20 small square waffles, from her book At My Table.

She confesses she caved and bought a waffle iron after being distracted by all the waffle-eating in an American TV show, having made that mistake once before. This time, though, she’s stuck to it and turned into “something of a weekend waffler”.

The trick to their lightness is separating the eggs. The whites are whisked to firm peaks and folded in gently at the end, giving a thick, airy batter that cooks up crisp outside and fluffy within, rather than dense and flat.

Nigella Lawson Waffles

Recipe by Pinch Perfect

5.0 from 1 vote

Course: Dessert, SnacksCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy

Servings

20

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

25

minutes

Calories

130

kcal

Total time

40

minutes

Nigella’s weekend waffles from At My Table: a vanilla batter lightened with whisked egg whites, cooked crisp in a waffle iron and served with maple syrup and berries. Makes about 20 small waffles.

Ingredients

• For the waffles:

• 450ml full-fat milk

• 225g plain flour

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 3 x 15ml tablespoons caster sugar

• ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

• 3 large eggs (separated)

• 125ml vegetable oil

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• To serve:

• maple syrup

• blueberries or other berries, as wished

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Directions

• Set up:Pour the milk into a large measuring jug. Combine the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl. Put the egg whites into another, grease-free, bowl to whisk, and add the yolks to the milk jug.
• Make the batter:Add the oil and vanilla to the milk and yolks and beat together. Whisk the egg whites to firm peaks. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk until smooth and lump-free, then fold in the whisked whites slowly, gently and thoroughly for a thick, airy batter.
• Heat the iron:Heat the waffle iron per its instructions (some need light oiling first).
• Cook:Fill one side with 250ml (or the right amount) of batter and close. Cook for 1 minute, then turn the iron over and cook the other side for 2 minutes. For an electric iron you won’t turn it, so cook a minute or so longer, following the machine’s instructions.
• Serve:Ease each waffle out and keep going until the batter’s used up. Serve straight from the iron (or keep warm, below), generously drizzled with maple syrup and a tumble of berries.

Notes

• (keep them warm and crisp): Preheat the oven to 120°C/100°C fan/200°F before you start, and sit the waffles on a wire rack over a baking sheet as you make them. This keeps them warm and helps give a lovely crisp crust. If you’re not keeping them warm this way, eat each one as soon as it comes out of the iron.
• (your waffle iron): Cooking times and how many you make depend on your iron. Nigella’s sturdy non-stick stove-top Belgian iron takes 250ml of batter per batch and needs turning; if yours differs, follow its own directions.
• (make ahead / store): It’s not advisable to make ahead, but refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat on a wire rack over a baking sheet in a 200°C/180°C fan oven for 4 to 7 minutes.
• (freeze): Freeze in an airtight container, layered with baking parchment, for up to 1 month. Reheat straight from frozen as above, allowing an extra 1 to 2 minutes, until crisp outside and piping hot through.

FAQs

Why whisk and fold in the egg whites separately?

This is what makes the waffles light and crisp rather than dense. Whisking the whites to firm peaks and folding them in gently at the end traps air throughout the batter, which expands in the hot iron to give a fluffy, airy inside and a crisp shell. It’s the single biggest difference between these and a flat, heavy waffle.

Fold them in slowly and thoroughly but gently, so you keep as much air as possible rather than knocking it out. Make sure the bowl and whisk for the whites are completely grease-free, or they won’t whip to firm peaks. Whisk the rest of the batter smooth first, then fold the whites in last.

How do I keep the waffles crisp while I cook the rest?

Nigella’s trick is to preheat the oven to a low 120°C and sit each cooked waffle on a wire rack set over a baking sheet as you go. This keeps them warm without steaming them soft, and actually crisps the crust further while you finish the batch, so they’re all ready to serve together.

The wire rack is key, since sitting waffles flat on a plate or piled up traps steam and makes them go limp and soggy. If you’re not using the low oven, then each waffle really is best eaten the moment it leaves the iron, while it’s at its crispest.

How much batter and how long per waffle?

It depends entirely on your waffle iron, which is why Nigella gives her own as a guide and tells you to follow yours otherwise. Her stove-top Belgian iron takes 250ml of batter per batch, cooked 1 minute on one side then, flipped over, 2 minutes on the other.

An electric iron isn’t turned, so you’d cook it a minute or so longer in one go, watching for the steam to slow and the waffle to turn golden. Don’t overfill it, or the batter overflows as it rises. The full quantity makes about five batches, which separate into 20 small square waffles.

Can I make the batter ahead, or make them dairy-free?

The batter is best made and used fresh, since the whisked egg whites lose their lift on standing, which is why Nigella advises against making it ahead. You can weigh out and combine the dry ingredients in advance to save a little time.

For dairy-free waffles, swap the full-fat milk for a plant-based milk like oat or soya, which works well as the recipe already uses oil rather than butter. The texture stays much the same. Keep the eggs, though, as their whites are what make these so light.

What do I serve them with?

Nigella keeps it classic with maple syrup and a tumble of blueberries or other berries, and that hot-waffle, cold-berry, sticky-syrup combination is hard to beat. Use real maple syrup rather than pancake syrup for the best flavour. A dusting of icing sugar or a dollop of yoghurt is lovely too.

They also take savoury and sweet toppings equally well, from crisp bacon to a scoop of ice cream for a dessert. For a fruitier weekend breakfast in the same spirit, Nigella’s rum-spiked French toast is another treat, and there’s more on the Nigella Lawson recipes page.

Can I make them ahead, store or freeze them?

While the batter should be used fresh, cooked waffles keep and reheat surprisingly well. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, and reheat them on a wire rack over a baking sheet in a 200°C fan-180°C oven for 4 to 7 minutes to bring back the crisp.

They also freeze beautifully for up to a month, layered with baking parchment in an airtight container. Reheat straight from frozen as above, with an extra minute or two, until crisp outside and piping hot through, so you can have a fresh-tasting waffle any morning. Toasting them also works.