I have good news, and really good news. The good news is, it’s officially Waffle Day today. There is a day for pretty much everything now, including puppy day (who knew, but what an awesome idea)! Sandwich puppy day into the same week as waffle day, and I’m thinking you have pretty much the perfect week, right there? And the really good news? You can make the best waffles you’ll ever taste, in your own home, in five minutes flat.
How to Use a Waffle Maker For the Best Waffles Ever
Happy Waffle Day!
How to use the Sage Smart Waffle Maker
The secret is the Sage Smart Waffle. I’ve wanted one of these ever since I saw my friend Tanya reviewing it a couple of years ago. This week, Sage finally made my kids dreams come true by asking me to review the Smart Waffle machine, and as today is waffle day, I wasted no time in putting it through its paces.
Looking for more family food gadgets? Read how family pizza nights have become legendary since we got the brilliant Roccbox pizza oven
Sage Smart Waffle Maker Review
The first thing to note is that it is EASY! I’ll admit I was nervous. We have a super busy day today, and I needed to cook, photograph, and write about a new piece of kitchen equipment all before 11am. So I set my alarm and got up early to become domestic goddess. As I leafed through the Smart Waffle instructions, it quickly became apparent that this was going to be a doddle. In fact, just plugging in the machine told me everything I needed to know.
Basically, you switch on the Smart Waffle, select a programme (I chose chocolate) and turn the dial to determine how light, golden, or dark the waffle comes out. You can then choose from one of the starter recipes that Sage give you in the handbook – which I recommend for your first few goes – and get cooking!
I followed the instructions for the chocolate waffles, adding 120g of white chocolate chips to my mix as a surprise for the kids. I’m always apprehensive when I make additions to recipes, but this worked perfectly, and I had light, fluffy, and oh so thick waffles, dotted with chunks of white chocolate. Perfect to serve with strawberries and cream. So successful was my first attempt at waffles, I will certainly venture into the realms of adding blueberries to a basic mix, or even peanut butter! Tanya went so far as to make her own cherry kirsch sauce, and I’m betting the Sage waffles would make an incredible dinner party dessert.
The Smart Waffle takes your settings, and calculates the right amount of time and temperature to cook the perfect waffle each time, resulting in a waffle that’s crisp on the outside, with just the right amount of chewy and light on the inside. Hence the ‘smart.’ It took about 10 minutes for me to make the mix, and just five to cook two big fat fluffy waffles, so I had breakfast on the table for the whole family in twenty minutes, with time to spare to create a good latte for me, to go with it. This is the Sage recipe, with my additions, in case you fancy trying it at home:
White chocolate chip waffle recipe in a waffle maker
White chocolate chip waffles
Equipment
- Waffle maker
Ingredients
- 150 g dark 70% chocolate
- 90 g butter
- 2 eggs
- 375 ml milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 300 g plain flour
- 165 g caster sugar
- 25 g cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 100 g white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Microwave the dark chocolate and butter for 30 seconds at a time, stirring each time, until melted and smooth. Set aside to cool slightly
- Whisk eggs, milk and vanilla, and stir through cooled chocolate mixture until smooth
- Sift flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt together in a large mixing bowl, and make a well in the centre
- Pour in egg mixture and whisk until mostly smooth
- Stir through white chocolate chips and cook in your waffle iron
- Makes 8 large waffles
- Serve with berries and whipped cream
Waffle Maker FAQ’s
Can you put chocolate chips in a waffle maker?
Yes, yes, and hell to the yeah!!! As long as you have a batter of the right consistency, adding in chocolate chips – or anything you might add to a cake batter, really – is absolutely fine. You could add dried fruit, lemon zest, even mini marshmallows!
How much waffle batter should you put in your waffle maker?
Right, this one is a matter for experimentation. I’d advise starting with a recipe from the leaflet that comes with your waffle maker. Once you’ve made your batter, pour it into a measuring jug, and only put in the exact amount your recipe states for one waffle. We’ve learned with the Sage Smart Waffle Maker that the waffles come out so fluffy that less is more. I’d say it also depends on your settings. For us Belgian comes out fluffier (and therefore expands more in the machine) than Classic.
About the Sage Smart Waffle
The Smart Waffle retails at £169.95 (2017 prices). The machine’s technology calculates the correct time to cook your waffle based on a number of variables, so you get the perfect waffle every time. The non-stick plates are super easy to clean, and because of the ‘moat’ around the outside, excess batter cooks and is easy to snap off, leaving the waffle itself exactly right.
I was given a Smart Waffle for the purposes of review. All opinion, editorial and imagery is my own.
Read our other Sage Appliances reviews:
- The Sage Smart Scoop ice-cream maker
- The Sage Scraper Mixer Pro for the perfect cake
OMG! How delicious do they look?! I’ve been toying with the idea of buying a waffle maker. I think you’ve sealed the deal x
Honestly Amy I would recommend the Smart Waffle, and I’m not just saying that. At the end of the day, a waffle maker is a luxury, but if you want one, I don’t think you’ll get a better one than this. They really were good. My family have challenged me to all sorts of flavours now, so I suspect I will be adding waffles to my weekend desserts plan (not really a morning person 😉 ).
My mouth was watering reading this, I love waffles. A peanut butter waffle sounds delightful. I would definitely put one of these waffle makers on my wish list.
oh hello. HELLO
Isnt it the best?!! Incredible waffles and also you can have some fun with it by cooking other things too.
Make an omlette and throw it in there rather than a frying pan.
I have a whole board on Pinterest for waffles ya know. I cant wait to see what else you make with it!!
My mind is officially blown by today’s twitter conversation. Omelette?! It’s never ending! I am going to cook the whole week’s meal plan in there now. Especially liking the idea of using croissant batter for an Eggs Benedict waffle!
I’ll have to try that one … we make waffles all the time and are huge fans. xx
I was given a waffle machine a couple of years ago, but it’s nowhere near as smart as this! We do love a good waffle on a Sunday morning, but for some reason it’s never occurred to me to make chocolate waffles!! They look incredible! I know what we will be having this Sunday! 😀
It’s really simple, just the addition of chopped up chocolate and cocoa powder. And chocolate chips!
I have the smaller Sage one and that’s amazing so I can’t imagine how great this will be. We had omellets in ours for tea the other night and I’ve made bubble and squeak in there too x x
I love that you can make omelettes! I would never have thought of it. So many possibilities to try!
They look amazing. I’m slightly overwhelmed at the price though. But I guess it’s worth it for a good waffle. The chocolate ones sound delicious….now you’re talking
Yes it’s an investment, but having had a cheaper machine in the past I’d say this is way superior. I lived without a waffle maker for a long time and was absolutely fine, but if I were going to have one, this would definitely be my choice. Seriously professional waffles!
My boys would LOVE this. I would love like even more of a house end than I already am!
Ohh you lucky, lucky lady. Since Tanya fist started to share her waffle creations I have been coveting one of these. I hope you continue to enjoy them, I’m sure you will. Mich x
I’ve never really been in to waffles but they look amazing!
who knew! that’s one for my diary…. they look delicious – I would LOVE one of those!