Chocolate Waffles (pancakes!) with cherry compote & Vanilla Yoghurt

Growing up one of my favourite breakfasts was waffles, which my Nanny made whenever we went and stayed at her place, she just made good old traditional waffles & served them with ice cream & syrup. Now that she has left us I decided it was about time I learnt how to make them myself so I got the machine off my mum & today gave them a go using a fancy recipe of Bill Granger’s from Bill’s Sydney Food. Well I had a little problem in that my machine was in German & I had no instructions so I tried it on the middle setting & heated it up good & proper, then sprayed with oil so they wouldn’t stick & dolloped on the first lot of batter. Disaster! The machine was way too hot & the mixture immediately stuck & that was it. Being a bit tired by this stage I couldn’t be bothered cleaning the machine so made my waffles pancake style, very delicious & wicked to be having such a chocolate treat for brekky & even though they weren’t as pretty as waffles I don’t think the taste was any the worse for the use of the frypan. Will get the waffle maker out again soon & try it a bit differently, if anyone has any tips on the cooking please help me! Thanks. Also I used fresh cherries as they are so delicious now, much better then frozen if you ask me.

Chocolate Waffles (pancakes!) with cherry compote & Vanilla Yoghurt

3 eggs, separated
1 ½ cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
60g unsalted butter, melted
100g good quality dark chocolate, chopped
1 ½ cups plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
a pinch of salt
Good quality dark chocolate, shaved (to serve)

Place egg yolks, milk, vanilla & melted butter in a bowl & stir until combined.

Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl resting over a saucepan of boiling water & heat until chocolate has melted. Allow to cool slightly.

Sift flour, baking powder & salt into a bowl & make a well in the centre. Gradually stir in the milk mixture until the batter is smooth.

Place the egg whites in a clean dry bowl & beat until soft peaks form. Fold into the batter with a large metal spoon. Add the melted chocolate & swirl through batter.

Cook according to the waffle iron manufacturers directions!

Serve with cherry compote, vanilla yoghurt & shaved chocolate.

Cherry Compote
½ cup caster sugar
250g frozen cherries
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Place sugar in a small saucepan with ½ cup water over medium heat. Stir to dissolve then boil until liquid is reduced by half. Add cherries and cinnamon & cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat & cool before spooning over waffles.

Vanilla yoghurt
1 cup natural yoghurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place ingredients in a small bowl & stir until combined. Refrigerate until required.