Buckwheat Waffles

Waffles are the perfect breakfast food that can make a quick meal any time of the day, and they’re easier to make by far than crepes or even pancakes since they don’t need any flipping. For the health conscious, waffles don’t have to be off the table, with the right ingredients they can be quite nutritious and some sweet toppings can make them still feel decadent.

I first discovered baking with buckwheat flour in a cozy patisserie in Montreal. The crepes were nutty flavoured and robust, the perfect compliment to my large glass of melted drinking chocolate. It is a light, naturally gluten-free flour rich in protein, fiber, B vitamins, manganese and magnesium. Using it for waffles makes an end product that’s dense but light and tastes sweet and nutty. They go well with the classic combination of butter and maple syrup. I like to add in some fruit too, because it adds some  fiber, minerals, vitamins and antioxidants along with enough natural sweetness to cut down the amount of syrup needed.Strawberries, mango and banana all go well with the waffles and placing them on a skewer makes them easy to serve. Drizzling them in melted dark chocolate gives the taste of chocolate dipped fruit but reduces the amount needed, so it can still be considered healthy. I also like to portion out the butter (I use small cookie cutter to make hearts or other shapes), it gets softer faster, spreads better and makes it easier to control the amount used.