Plantain waffles

I love Caribbean food and where possible if I can add a likkle island flair to a dish, I’ll do it! This recipe was a happy accident. When I first made these waffles, I only had one miserable plantain lying around, so I had to make it work with sweet potato and I realised it adds the perfect colour and extra layer of sweetness. The thing I love most about these waffles is that they’re a great base for fried chicken, brunch or dessert.

Plantain waffles. Credit: Steven Joyce / Murdoch Books

• makes

  6

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 150 g (5½ oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• ½ tsp salt
• 100 g (3½ oz) oven-baked or steamed sweet potato, cooled
• 1 ripe plantain (approx. 200 g/7 oz)
• 60 g (2¼ oz) light soft brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
• ¼ cup (60 ml) vegetable oil, plus extra for coating
• 2 eggs, separated
• 200–220 ml (7–7½ fl oz) oat or cow’s milk

To serve

• blueberries and/or raspberries
• 1 banana, sliced
• almond butter
• golden syrup

Instructions

1. Preheat your waffle maker to a medium–high heat.
2. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a bowl and pop to the side.
3. Now you want to blend together the sweet potato and plantain. Don’t worry if you don’t have a blender, as you can mash it instead. The little lumps of plantain provide a great texture to the waffles, plus it also means one less dish to wash! Add to the bowl.
4. Next, add the brown sugar, vanilla, vegetable oil, egg yolks and milk to the bowl. Whisk until smooth.
5. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form – this will take about 3–4 minutes by hand or 1 minute with an electric whisk. Carefully fold the egg whites into the batter, as you don’t want to knock all the air out.
6. Spray your waffle maker with cooking spray, or brush with oil. This step is crucial, otherwise your waffles will stick.
7. Place portions of batter into the waffle maker, leaving about 1 cm (½ inch) gap at the edge as it will spread once you close the lid. Cook for 4–6 minutes.
8. Serve with berries, banana, almond butter and golden syrup, or place into an oven at 90°C fan (225°F/Gas mark ¼) for up to 30 minutes to keep warm until you’re ready to serve.

Image and text from Flayvaful by Nathaniel Smith, photography by Steven Joyce (Murdoch Books, RRP $HB49.99).

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.