Aretha Frankenstein's Waffles of Insane Greatness

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Genius Recipes says: This recipe (originally from Aretha Frankenstein's restaurant in Chattanooga, TN) is the ideal I-just-woke-up-from-a-waffle-dream waffle, a morning-of alternative to the overnight yeasted kind. The cornstarch in the batter helps tamp down gluten formation, making these waffles silky and moist inside with a crust as thin and crisp as an eggshell.

Serves 2 to 4

  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup whole milk or buttermilk (or a combination)
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil or melted butter
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Butter and pure maple syrup, for serving
  1. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; mix well. Add the milk, vegetable oil, egg, sugar and vanilla and mix well. Let the batter sit for 30 minutes.
  2. Heat a waffle iron. Follow the directions on your waffle iron to cook the waffles. Serve immediately with butter and pure maple syrup or hold in a 200 degree oven, directly on the rack (don't stack them or they'll get soggy). These also reheat very well in the toaster.

Comments (49) Questions (2)

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about 1 month ago Greatfallsdeb

We LOVED these waffles as written and we make waffles every week. I thought they were perfect and they have become our "go to" recipe (although I can't stop trying new ones).

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2 months ago ChezHenry

One other point noted by another commentator-I find that these don't taste as good once frozen and reheated in the toaster, as I normally do with my Waffles, loading up on a batch Sunday morning for some weekday Waffles. Perhaps the cornstarch (fundamentally the only unique item in this recipe) doesn't allow the product to freeze/reheat well?

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2 months ago ChezHenry

I have made these 3 times now since joining Food52, and with one important tweak, my family resoundingly loves these. The salt is too high for the amount of batter created. I have reduced it to 1/4 teaspoon and found it perfect. Reviewing many other waffle recipes I use and love, they all use 1/2 teaspoon of salt to 2 cups of flour, which makes sense that it should be halved inasmuch as this recipe has 1 cup of flour (flour+cornstarch=1 cup). I think the cornstarch here is the key to Waffle Greatness, light crispy perfect.
As for many reviewers here stating they didnt get 4 Waffles out of the recipe, I did. This recipe produces exactly 2 cups of liquid batter, and my 20 yr old Oster Belgian Maker takes 1/2 cup of liquid batter per Waffle. Check your Waffle Iron for instructions-I have one that makes Circus Animal Waffles for my kids and that takes 3/4 cup per shot. So just plan ahead-and know that this recipe produces 2 cups of batter so you can sort out how much to make for your particular Iron.

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3 months ago fearlessem

I'm just not sure what the fuss is about these. I just got a waffle maker, and tried this as my first recipe... And I just didn't think they had that much flavor -- almost no depth of flavor. They were certainly better than the waffles you get at a hotel make-your-own breakfast bar, but to my taste not by that much... There is a local waffle shop in my town that makes incredible waffles, and I'm starting to wonder if those ones are yeasted...

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3 months ago Babcia

I found this very recipe on food.com, doubled. It is the best waffle I have ever tasted! I made it exactly as written, used an OLD waffle iron. It made 5 waffles, just one too many for the two of us. The extra one was toasted the next morning but wasn't nearly as good. This recipe called for 3 tablespoons of sugar; I had no problem with that; it didn't seem too sweet. I would try melted butter and/or honey but I don't want to mess with success!

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4 months ago reahpeah

These are wonderful. I made with oat flour and replaced buttermilk with almond milk+a glob of yogurt. Nice, light and crispy!

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4 months ago reahpeah

These are wonderful. I made with oat flour and replaced buttermilk with almond milk+a glob of yogurt. Nice, light and crispy!

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5 months ago Angie E.

We've been making waffles, pancakes, or crepes every Saturday for the past 10 years (adding 4 children along the way). I just made these this morning and the kids loved them, asking what I had changed in the normal recipe. The boys go with maple syrup. My daughter uses homemade strawberry or raspberry jam. Thanks for the recipe!

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6 months ago kstallbe

The most genius of the genius recipes I have made so far. I want to try using this batter for a pancake next... Thoughts?!

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3 months ago kstallbe

I made them as pancakes, but made the batter thicker with more flour. Very, very good. Hard to compare though, because waffles beat pancakes every time.

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6 months ago maribeth121

I am always on the lookout for a great waffle recipe. I'm so pleased I found this on the internet yesterday. We often have breakfast for dinner, much to my youngest son's chagrin. I decided to make these waffles tonight, and will definitely double the recipe. I will be serving them with either butter and syrup or creamed chicken, which I am making too.

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6 months ago Fiskie

I have recently developed an intolerance to dairy products, so milk and butter don't work for me, but I love waffles. Any suggestions to adapt the recipe to my new diet?

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6 months ago Ms. T

Delicious! We just got a waffle iron and for our test run used a Bittman recipe, and they were just ok. A little cardboardy. The second time around, we used this recipe and it was night and day difference. Perfect texture. The search is over. Served with pear ginger sauce (see my pear ginger muffins recipe) with toasted pecans. Heaven. This will be the jumping off point for all future waffle experiments. Thanks for sharing.

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11 months ago MeghanSK

We have always used the same waffle recipe in my house (joy of cooking), but, having noticed this recipe, I suggested we try something new for my birthday on Wednesday. This had become an immediate favourite, we've had it for breakfast every day since! My only note to other readers/cooks is along the lines of what others have said before - we have consistently gotten only 2.5 waffles out of this recipe. It's perfect for 2, but I'd start doubling or trippling the amounts if making breakfast for more than 2!

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12 months ago kstallbe

I make this all the time. It is mind-blowing. I really like using browned butter (ghee) in place of the oil, or as a condiment. It makes the waffle taste like waffle-candy!

Also, I have found a 50/50 mix of buttermilk/regular milk to give me the most consistent results.

THANKS FOR POSTING THIS!

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about 1 year ago Robin O'D

I made these today and they were great! Based on previous comments, I doubled the recipe which produced 7 waffles. I also used buttermilk and used half butter and half canola oil. They were crispy on the outside but had great flavor.

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about 1 year ago nostimamiala

We've been enjoying these for over a year now (saw the recipe first time at the food network's website). They are delicious! Thank you for the recipe.

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about 1 year ago daisybrain

Made these this morning and as good as they were I can't understand how anyone could think that this recipe could possibly feed 4. I had to ration the results to feed 3, and everyone wanted seconds. They were all out of luck. Double or triple it if you like to eat or have hungry 9 year old boys in the house.

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over 1 year ago LoisonMaui

I made these waffles for a Birthday Champagne Brunch for my girlfriend. I also made Nancy Silverton's Whipped Cream. The event was a big success. Everyone said they wondered why we don't make more waffles these days. Great recipe. I made enough for two waffles per attendee. I had 10 guests. Put them in the oven directly on the racks per the instructions so they wouldn't get soggy prior to serving. Served with fresh fruit, apple sausage, and champagne.

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over 1 year ago saparker1

I have never made waffles in my life but I made these this past weekend for my new husband and me. Used a small Cuisinart waffle maker set on 3. They turned out great! I kept the unused batter in the fridge and made one tonight after stirring it up a bit. Had waffle instead of bread with supper. Still turned out great! By the way...I am not a great cook and have just recently started cooking at home instead of take out. Married life will do that for you. Thanks for this great recipe. Now I can impress my Mom...

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over 1 year ago Sylvia9000

Yes, insanely great! Just tried these for dinner on a hot summer night with cold maple syrup, whipped cream and frosted peach compote. A great way to cool off. Looking forward to trying a warmer version this fall.