Aunt Kate’s Kitchen: Waffle recipes from the 1930s to jazz up breakfast today

Whether you like savoury or sweet, waffles can be a real treat for breakfast time. Here are some more recipes from the 1930s for you to try.

Waffles are one of those versatile treats that you can have for breakfast, brunch, birthdays, Christmas, sweet, savoury or as an after dinner treat.

Aunt Kate, the “original domestic goddess” knew this all too well and even dedicated a section in her 1933 Baking Book to the treasured treats.

At the top of the section, Aunt Kate writes: “Waffles are light pancakes meant to be cooked in a waffle iron, but an omelette pan does just as well. The secret of good waffles is to get the iron or pan very hot, then keep it at an even temperature throughout the baking.”

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Date Waffles

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1¼ cups milk
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• 1 cup dates, stoned and chopped

Method

1. Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder.
2. Add the egg yolks, melted butter and milk gradually, and beat until perfectly smooth.
3. Add the chopped dates and fold in the stiffly-frothed egg whites.
4. Fry in a greased pan and serve with sweetened, whipped cream.

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Canadian waffles

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1¾ cup milk
• 4 tbsp butter

Method

1. Sift all the dry ingredients into a bowl.
2. Add the yolks of the eggs and the milk. Beat well and add the butter, which has been melted and cooled.
3. Beat the whites until stiff and fold them into the butter. Mix well and, but do not beat.
4. Pour 3 or 4 tablespoonfuls batter into the centre of the hot iron or pan and bake for two minutes or until puffed up and well browned on one side.
5. Turn and bake for about one minute on the other side, then remove it at once to a hot plate and serve at once with warm syrup.

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Plain waffles

Ingredients

• 1 cup milk
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp butter

Method

1. Sift and blend the dry ingredients. Combine the beaten eggs, milk and melted butter and add to the dry ingredients.
2. Mix well, then fry in spoonfuls in a greased omelette pan or waffle iron.
3. Serve piping hot with a square of butter melting on top.

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More in this series…

Aunt Kate’s Kitchen: Bakes to make for mum or create them together this Mother’s Day

Aunt Kate’s Kitchen: Two classic chocolate cake recipes from 1933 that we can still make today