If you have any relatives or friends with kids then you can easily realize that the new parenting style is much more different than the one you grown up with. Kids are the object of everyone’s attention anytime and their parents never let you focus on any other subject but their abilities, intelligence, self learned computer skills, accomplishments, artistry and so on. I am afraid the world is not enough to satisfy the urges of that many genius people in twenty years time. For some reason most of the parents are treating their child as a messiah sent to save the humanity which entitles the kid to do anything he/she likes. Hope that they know something I do not know.
Particularly in my society over-parenting is perceived as a valuable asset. In financial terms; you make an investment by spending time, money and effort to get the highest possible return out of it. However, most of the time result is over-protected and high maintenance grown-ups who do not know how to cope with the outside world.
I mentioned a lot about the kids since we hosted a family gathering during the weekend, featuring nephews and nieces and their parents around the dining table. We had a long, pleasant breakfast and had a conversation on difficulties of raising children. After listening about all the scheduled activities, after school classes every day, private lessons in the weekend and a fortune spent to present them the best possible childhood experiences, I thought my parents were so lucky to raise me almost for free.
When it comes to food, we decided to bake waffles to amuse our little guests. Kids really like waffle not surprisingly when it is accompanied with praline or ice cream on top. Like many other food stuff, waffle has also variations depending on the batter it’s made. While American style contains baking powder in its batter and is thinner compared to Belgian versions, Brussels waffle is made from a leavened batter with a thick and crispy texture. Another variation, Liège waffle, made in eastern Belgium is based on brioche dough and contains pieces of sugar caramelizing on the outside. Scandinavian version is also thinner and they use explicitly romantic heart-shaped waffle mold which personally I do not find appealing at all. In Sweden, they also celebrate 25th of March as the Waffle Day (Våffeldagen, means “day of our lady”) and it is the day the Archangel Gabriel heralded the Virgin Mary that she was pregnant. Besides religious references, it is believed to be the first day of spring and should be greeted by preparing tasty waffles. I totally agree on that.
As for the waffle recipe I shared below, the batter is American style while the looks and texture is more on the Belgian side since I like waffle thick and crispy rather than the soft, foldable versions. You may use different toppings as well but the ones I used here are very light, simple yet delightful recipes from the book “Perfect Scoop” written by the connoisseur of ice cream, David Lebovitz. Particularly, the strawberry frozen yogurt (another thanks to my mother-in-law who sent us the delightful strawberries even the season is so over) has an infatuating effect on me that I gobbled up the left-overs in the mixing bowl within a few minutes.
As a last word, the waffle with smooth raspberry sauce and strawberry frozen yogurt will also be your kids’ or nephews’ favorite while maintaining a healthy diet for them so that they can keep their perfect figure for the year-end performance at school. I know, he/she is already perfect in every way, no need to mention, right?
Ingredients
For waffle (around 12 pieces, depending on your waffle mold)
- 1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
- 20 g (0,7 oz.) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 3 eggs
- 7 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 ½ cup milk
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
For smooth raspberry sauce (250 ml)
- 2 cups (225 g/7,9 oz.) raspberries, fresh or frozen
- 2 tablespoons sugar (I prefer granulated sugar)
- ¼ cup (60 ml) water
- A few drops freshly squeezed lemon juice
For strawberry frozen yogurt (makes about 1 quart/1 liter)
- 450 g (15,8 oz.) strawberries (though the original recipe requires fresh strawberries, my trials with frozen strawberries worked out well also)
- 2/3 cup (130 g) sugar
- 2 teaspoons vodka
- 1 cup (240 g) plain whole-milk yogurt (I prefer it well drained before use)
- 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
It is better to prepare the frozen yogurt a day before and the raspberry sauce on the same day so that you will have everything ready when the waffles are still hot and crispy. Pour some smooth raspberry sauce and add two scoops of strawberry frozen yogurt on top of the waffle. You may use fresh mint leaves to garnish.
For waffle (around 12 pieces, depending on your waffle mold)
| 1. | Separate whites and yolks of all 3 eggs |
| 2. | Pour egg whites in a stand mixer bowl add the salt and mix at the high speed till it has a snow like texture (see it in the picture) |
| 3. | Toss the remaining solid ingredients; flour, baking powder, and sugar in a bowl and mix well with a spoon. |
| 4. | In a different bowl combine melted butter, egg yolks, vanilla extract, milk, and mix well by means of a whisk |
| 5. | Pour the solid mixture into liquids slowly and keep on stirring |
| 6. | Add the egg whites into the mixture and fold gently to make the final batter |
| 7. | Pour some of the batter into hot waffle molds by the help of a ladle |
| 8. | Remove the waffles on a cooling rack when both sides get a nice golden brown color |
For smooth raspberry sauce
| 1. | Purée the raspberries in a food processor with sugar and water until smooth |
| 2. | Press the mixture through a mesh strainer to remove any seeds |
| 3. | Add the lemon juice and mix |
For strawberry frozen yogurt
| 1. | Slice the strawberries, add sugar and vodka. |
| 2. | Stir until the sugar begins to dissolve |
| 3. | Cover and keep at room temperature for 1 hour (stir for a few times) |
| 4. | Purée the strawberries and their liquid with the yogurt and lemon juice in a food processor until smooth |
| 5. | Refrigerate for an hour, and then freeze in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. |
#1 by Joey Bachrach - May 14th, 2013 at 16:08
The meaning of the phrase “ice cream” varies from one country to another. Phrases such as “frozen custard”, “frozen yogurt”, “sorbet”, “gelato” and others are used to distinguish different varieties and styles. In some countries, such as the United States, the phrase “ice cream” applies only to a specific variety, and most governments regulate the commercial use of the various terms according to the relative quantities of the main ingredients.