This time of year means one thing in my garden – apples, and lots of them. Last year I left it a little later before picking any though and had to supplement the harvest used in my quinoa apple crumble with some shop-bought apples. So this year I made sure to gather the apples during that narrow window of after they’ve started to ripen but haven’t started to drop yet.
This windfall of apples was the perfect opportunity to play around with and test the newest toy in my kitchen – a waffle maker. A waffle maker is something I’ve toyed around with the idea of getting for years now (seriously, since I bought my first ever vegan cookbook that had waffle recipes in it and I’m talking over a decade here) but just never have.
I suppose there’s the worry it could become like the fabled toastie maker: you get into making every possible combination, it’s the best thing ever to grace your kitchen, but then, somehow, it ends up at the back of the cupboard for a few months, maybe a year, and before you know it, it’s completely forgotten.
The difference here might be though, that this is one of the greatest things ever to call my kitchen its home.
Sage Appliances, created by Heston Blumenthal, recently sent me the No-mess Waffle™ waffle maker to try out. They say their product ranges are designed ‘to help you prepare food & drink better, faster and more easily’ and the no-mess aspect of the waffle maker does exactly that.
The nifty moat around the edge of the iron always catches any excess batter if you add too much. With the way the machine presses the waffles it’s easy to trim the edges after the waffle is cooked, if you want to keep them neat and tidy (to be helpful of course, not to treat yourself along the way…). The settings on the Sage waffle maker are great too, allowing you to choose your ideal level of golden brown. A quick wipe once you’re done and that’s it – genuinely, no mess (sadly, that doesn’t stretch to no washing up).
When I got started on this recipe, I wanted the apple flavor to come to the fore with every bite of these apple cinnamon vegan waffles. Since some of the apples from my garden were so tiny, I was also aware what a laborious job peeling, coring and chopping each and every one would have been. With both of these points in mind, I decided the best option would be to spiralise them! This meant that the skin was in such thin strips that you didn’t get any of the sharp pieces of peel that can be a problem if you cook unpeeled chopped apples. If you don’t have a spiraliser then you can easily grate the apples or slice them into thin strips and it will work in a similar way.
I served my waffles with some of my all-time favorite plant-based honey from Sweet Freedom (I know, it crops up in at least a quarter of all recipes on here) but they would be an absolute dream served with a healthy caramel sauce if you have a little more time.
- 150g wholemeal flour
- 1tsp baking powder
- 2tbsp lucuma powder or brown sugar
- 2 chia "eggs" (1 egg = 1tbsp milled chia seeds mixed with 3tbsp water to form a gel)
- 1tsp vanilla bean paste
- 215ml almond milk or dairy-free milk of your choice
- 60g dairy-free margarine, melted
- 500g apples (pre coring), spiralised, grated or cut into thin strips
- 1tsp ground cinnamon
- 2tbsp water
- Mix the flour, baking powder and lucuma together in a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, mix the chia eggs and vanilla bean paste togther. Add the almond milk a little at a time, stirring well, until it has combined with the chia mix.
- Create a hole in the middle of the dry ingredients and slowly begin to pour in the chia mix, stirring constantly to form a batter. Be careful not to mix the batter any more than necessary - it doesn't need to be completely smooth. Now add the melted butter and gently mix in.
- Set the batter aside for ten minutes.
- In the meantime, add the spiralised apple, cinnamon and water into a large pan. Heat over a medium high heat and simmer for ten minutes until the apples are soft.
- Set the waffle maker to heat up.
- Gently mix the apples into the waffle batter and scoop around a quarter (depending on the size of your waffle maker) of the mix onto the iron. Press and cook according to your machine and preference (I chose a medium setting).
- Once cooked and golden brown, remove the waffle from the machine and place on a piece of kitchen paper to prevent it becoming soggy.
- Repeat the process for each waffle.
- Serve with plant-based honey, syrup or a caramel sauce.
What’s your favorite waffle flavour? Are there any combinations you’d like to see on here?