The Urban Dictionary defines groaking as staring silently at someone while they are eating, yearning for a morsel. In my house, the best groakers are Chip, our Goldendoodle, and me! Chip has his groak stare honed to perfection especially for waffles, pancakes and any nut butter. I tend to groak when I have already devoured my dark chocolate sorbetto and watch the kids stir the remnants of their sorbetto into a soupy mess – not quite ready to admit that they are full. My hope is to always get a few more bites before it melts completely, alas my wish is usually crushed.
Weekend breakfasts are traditionally homemade pancakes and Belgium waffles. Even as a child, I remember special weekend breakfasts – pancakes or a trip to my dad’s favorite donut shop.
I have tried and experimented with many, many pancake and waffle recipes. The ones that I prefer are a versatile batter that I can cook either on the griddle or in the waffle maker. We are evenly split at my house: two of us prefer waffles and two of us prefer pancakes. My latest adventure has been with buckwheat flour. Below is the recipe, I used this past weekend which we all enjoyed! If you have leftover waffles, wrap each one in foil and freeze then toast to reheat.
Buckwheat Waffles with Raspberry Syrup
Equipment
- Fine Mesh Sieve
Ingredients
- 1 cup buckwheat flour
- 1 cup flour Italian grade 00 flour will yield fluffier pancakes.
- 2 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 2 cups almond milk or non-dair milk of choice
- 1 lemon juiced and zested
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 1 bag frozen raspberries or 2 cups fresh
- 1-2 tbsp sugar or honey
Instructions
- Mix the dry ingredients together.
- In a separate bowl, combine the lemon juice, zest, and almond milk. Let the mixture rest for 5-10 minutes to create a plant-based buttermilk.
- Add the maple syrup and vanilla bean paste to the dry ingredients and then slowly add the milk mixture.
- Whisk gently and allow batter to rest for at least 15 minutes before cooking.
- Cook in a waffle maker as per manufacturer's instructions or use the batter to make pancakes on a griddle.
Raspberry Syrup
- In a small saucepan combine the raspberries and honey or sugar. (I always like to start with the lower end of the sugar range and after tasting add more if needed).
- Simmer over low heat until the raspberries break down.
- Remove from heat and pour mixture through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds.
- Return syrup to the pot and simmer until reduced by half its volume.
Serving Suggestions
- Top pancakes or waffles with syrup, nut butter, non-dairy dark chocolate hazelnut spread, fresh fruit, powdered sugar or any other desired toppings.
Note: My daughters’ favorite toppings included smearing dark chocolate hazelnut spread over the waffles and a drizzle of raspberry syrup!
