Gingerbread waffles evoke warm holiday memories, usually. A couple years back, we were going to drive down to Asheville, NC to check out the National Gingerbread House Competition at the Grove Park Inn.
Unfortunately, we never made it. The speedometer and gauges on our car decided to quit 2 hours into our road trip and we were otherwise stranded. We got towed all the way back home on New Year’s Day.
Bummer. We were so looking forward to it.
Oh well, you can’t eat those houses anyway. The Gingerbread Homeowner’s Association and the Gingerbread man himself would have a snit.
Since we couldn’t, and still can’t see the créme de la créme of gingerbread house architecture, we’re enjoying these Gingerbread Waffles with Vanilla Crème Anglaise instead.
Making Fluffy Gingerbread Waffles from scratch
Texture: How to make Belgian waffles light and fluffy
The key to fluffy waffles is separating the eggs and beating the whites to soft peaks. This step mixes air into the batter, which makes the waffles light and airy.
Taste: How to get gingerbread flavors into Belgian waffles
- Use freshly grated ginger and nutmeg in the batter.
- Molasses will help to achieve dark brown coloring and sweetness.
- Cook your waffles longer on the highest setting. This allows the spices in the batter to bloom and really come alive.
Gingerbread flavor profile ingredients:
- Molasses
- Fresh grated ginger
- Fresh grated nutmeg
- Ground cloves
Making Crème Anglaise for Gingerbread Waffles
What is Crème Anglaise?
Crème anglaise is the decadent dessert sauce you didn’t know you needed. It has a fancy French name, but it’s a mainstay in many British desserts. It totally complements the snowy gingerbread house effect of powdered sugar adorning these waffles.
Plus, the vanilla flavoring of the sauce combined with molasses and warm holiday spices in the gingerbread waffles makes this extra inviting to devour.
How do I make Crème Anglaise?
The mainstream way of making the sauce is somewhat complicated and involves tempering the eggs, without scrambling them, into the heated milk.
We’ve got a much simpler way that involves heating all the ingredients at the same time. The key is not exceeding 180° Fahrenheit so that the eggs don’t curdle. If this happens, straining the sauce through a sieve will fix this problem.
It’s traditionally flavored with vanilla, and most recipes use a vanilla bean pod. However, we’ve kept this simple (and cheaper) by using only vanilla extract.
Basic steps for making crème anglaise
- Place all ingredients in a sauce pan and whisk to combine over medium heat.
- Keep stirring until thickened
- Strain into a bowl and chill for 3 hours
Check out our other flavored waffle recipes:
- Blueberry Waffles with Lemon Curd Crème Anglaise
- Maple Pecan Waffles With Cinnamon Crème Anglaise
- Cheddar Waffles with Apple Pear Cognac Compote
We hope you’ve enjoyed this article. As always, comments are welcome and encouraged!
PrintFluffy Gingerbread Waffles with Crème Anglaise Recipe
These fluffy gingerbread waffles are made even better with a rich vanilla cream sauce! The perfect treat to warm your spirits on a cool fall morning.
- Prep Time: *10 min
- Cook Time: 5-7 min
- Total Time: 15-17 min
- Yield: 6 to 8 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Waffle Iron
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Crème anglaise
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or 1 vanilla bean pod split open)
Gingerbread waffles
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs, separated
- 2 cups milk
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2 teaspoons grated, fresh ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 3 tablespoons molasses
- 1 tablespoon sugar
Instructions
*For the crème anglaise:
- Place all ingredients in a saucepan over medium-low to medium heat.
- Whisk until combined.
- Using a silicone spatula, stir scraping bottom of pan in a figure eight motion.
- Keep stirring until the sauce thickens. Test it by coating the back of a spoon with the sauce and running your finger through it. If the path you ran your finger through remains and doesn’t fill back in, it’s done.
- Remove sauce from heat, and immediately pour sauce through sieve into a heatproof bowl.
- Chill in the fridge for at least three hours.
For the waffles:
- Preheat the waffle iron.
- In a medium bowl, sift together flour and baking powder. Whisk in salt, nutmeg, and cloves. Set aside.
- In a second bowl, use a wooden spoon to beat the egg yolks and sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved.
- Add molasses, vanilla, melted butter, grated ginger, and milk to the eggs, and whisk to combine.
- Combine the egg/milk mixture with the flour mixture, and whisk until just blended. Do not over mix.
- In a third bowl or a stand mixer, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, about 1 minute.
- Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the waffle batter. Do not over mix.
- Spray the waffle iron with nonstick cooking spray, and pour enough batter in the iron to just cover the waffle grid. Close and cook according to manufacturer’s instructions until golden brown, about two to three minutes. Serve immediately.
- Sprinkle powdered sugar (if desired) over waffles and then drizzle with créme anglaise.
Notes
- You can make the crème anglaise the night before so that it’s ready the next morning when you make the waffles.
- *Inactive prep time for the crème anglaise is 3 hours to chill in the fridge.
Keywords: waffles, gingerbread, vanilla crème anglaise
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