There’s a little place near us called Seward Cafe. This hippied-out, laid back, cooperatively-run, vegan-loving, charming spot has some amazing, healthy breakfasts. It’s my go-to place when I don’t want to bust my gut eating piles of greasy diner fare. One of my faves is the B&G Deluxe – two biscuits with steamed broccoli, grilled mushrooms & garlic, topped with cashew-mushroom gravy, tomatoes & scallions. It’s incredible, friends. Also out of this world? The fact that they serve breakfast with a side of sprouts.
Most amazing of all? Their buckwheat pancakes.
Dan and I headed over there a couple of weeks ago to share an omelette, a pancake, and the New York Times crossword. Too cute, aren’t we?
Their buckwheat pancakes are made with local organic flours, milk, eggs, and honey. Honey! I decided then and there that I needed to introduce myself to buckwheat flour and try recreating those beauties.
I have to say I was pretty proud of what I created. I’m trying more and more to create my own recipes and really, truly adapt. It’s a hard slog but bit by bit, I’m getting better at it.
I was nervous that these wouldn’t turn out but actually, they were damn near perfect. Using only buckwheat flour and wholewheat flour gave them a real nuttiness and earthy flavour that I adored. They were fluffy, crisp around the edges, and perfect with a pat of butter, some sliced bananas, and a healthy drizzle of maple syrup.
Buckwheat Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup buckwheat flour
- 1 cup wholewheat flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 3/4 cups buttermilk or milk
- 2 large eggs
- 3 tbsp honey
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- canola oil, to heat in pan
Directions
- Melt two tablespoons unsalted butter in a small pan and set aside to cool slightly.
- Combine buckwheat flour, wholewheat flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg in a medium sized bowl and whisk together.
- In a separate larger bowl combine buttermilk, eggs, honey, and melted butter. Whisk til the mixture is smooth and completely blended.
- Heat canola oil in a large frying pan on medium-low heat. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and use a spatula to mix until just combined. Pour a quarter of the mixture into heated pan. Cook until bubbles start to form on top of the cake and the edges start to brown slightly. Flip and cook for another few minutes. Serve immediately with sliced bananas, butter, and maple syrup. Makes four large pancakes.
The last time I posted a waffle recipe here, several of you commented that you were on the fence about purchasing a waffle iron. Well, hopefully this recipe will push you firmly off the fence and into the magical land of waffle love.
These are decidedly dessert-like waffles and yet I ate them for breakfast and strongly vote in favour of you doing the same. I used yoghurt instead of buttermilk and I found it gave them such a soft, rich texture so that it’s not unlike eating a lemon poppy seed muffin, in waffle form. The warmed blueberry sauce (my recipe is here) adds a wonderful decadent touch but if you’re looking for something more simple, spooning some blueberry jam on top would work too.
The lemon flavour is gentle and whilst the blueberry sauce is a bit of a dream, I actually really enjoyed the plain bites where I could feel the textural crunch of the poppy seeds and really taste the lemon zest. If you wanted to make them even more lemony, I’d recommend adding the juice of half a lemon to your wet ingredients. That would really make these zing. Happy waffling!
Lemon Poppy Seed Waffles
adapted from Bon Appetit, September 2000 via Epicurious
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, sifted
- 6 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp poppy seeds
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/4 cups plain whole yoghurt
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick or 2 oz) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tbsp grated lemon zest (from about 2 lemons)
- Warm blueberry sauce, to serve
Directions
- Combine the flour, sugar, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl and whisk together.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk the eggs, yoghurt, melted butter, and lemon zest to blend. Add the yoghurt mixture to the flour mixture and whisk until just blended. Let the mixture stand and rest for 15 minutes. Great time to do the dishes!
- Preheat your waffle iron according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Spoon batter onto waffle iron. Cover and cook until golden and cooked through, about 7 minutes. Serve immediately with warm blueberry sauce.
My poor waffle maker has been languishing in my pantry for months, unused since the last batch of chocolate waffles. (Otherwise known as waffle dessert. For waffle breakfast, see here and here.) Dan has been talking longingly of the days when waffles made a regular appearance at breakfast so this weekend we did the decent thing and busted out the maker for some waffles.
Not just any old waffles though. No. These waffles might just be the mightiest of them all. Forget sweet, we went savoury all the way with sharp cheddar, black pepper, chopped chives, parsley, and a decisive crunch of cornmeal. They are so good. You won’t need anything on top in my opinion so long as you have a couple of runny eggs and some bacon, but a dollop of sour cream wouldn’t go amiss.
The dough is pretty thick going into the waffle maker – fear not. The end result is fluffy and perfectly done.
Savoury Cheddar-Chive Waffles
adapted from Joy the Baker and Williams Sonoma
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cornmeal
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup melted unsalted butter
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/4 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup finely grated cheddar cheese
- 3 tablespoons chopped chives
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Directions
- Preheat a waffle maker on medium-high heat according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, black pepper, and salt.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, butter and buttermilk. Stir in the grated cheese. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, then add the chives and parsley. Stir until just incorporated. Try not to over-mix the batter.
- Cook according to your waffle machine instructions.
- Garnish with extra chives and parsley and serve immediately with bacon and fried eggs. Add a dollop of sour cream if you wish. Serves two.
