Waffle Weekend: Gluten Free Chocolate Waffles

This week has been full of changes.  We decided spur-of-the-moment that I should attend Food Blog South next weekend!  I designed new business cards to take with me to FBS (because my old ones were three years old & full outdated information).

After submitting my new business card designs to the printer, I suddenly panicked because my new card design didn’t match my blog site design. Thus, the blog also received a slight facelift, with some design changes and an updated "About Me & FAQs" page.  And I created a Sweet Treats Facebook page! (I should have made one *years* ago...) I In less than a week, there have been over 230 likes!!  If you haven’t already, please venture over there and “like” the page :)

But there have also been some bittersweet changes too.  We said “see you later” to some very dear friends who are moving from Texas to Washington for a job transfer. We’re excited about this new adventure they’ll have, but we’re also really sad to lose them...

So this weekend, in celebration and in consolation, I made Gluten Free Chocolate Waffles and topped them chocolate sauce, vanilla ice cream and raspberries.  They made a great breakfast in bed while binge watching "Veronica Mars" :)

Gluten Free Chocolate Waffles
adapted from Gale Gand via Waffelizer 
Yields approximately 6 waffles, depending on waffle iron size 

5.3 oz / 1 1/4 c Gluten Free Flour (I used Jeanne’s GF AP Mix, or use AP if not gluten free)
1.5 oz / 3 Tbl Brown Sugar
2 tsp Baking Powder
3/4 tsp Sea Salt
0.75 oz / 1/4 c Cocoa Powder (I used Hershey’s Special Dark)

2 eggs, separated
1 1/2 c Whole Milk (room temp, if possible)
1 oz / 2 Tbl Unsalted Butter, melted
1 oz / 2 Tbl Vegetable Oil, plus additional for greasing the waffle iron

Chocolate sauce, optional, for serving (recipe follows)
Vanilla Ice Cream, optional, for serving
Raspberries, optional, for serving

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and sea salt. Sift in the cocoa powder & stir to combine. 
2. In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together the egg yolks (reserve the whites), milk, unsalted butter, and vegetable oil.  
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. 
4. Preheat the waffle iron. Whip the egg whites to medium stiff peaks, using a handheld mixer (or just a whisk if you’re in need of a good arm workout). Fold the egg whites into the waffle batter. 
5. Cook on the preheated waffle iron, greasing with additional vegetable oil if necessary (we did need to grease ours). Hold finished waffles in a 200 F oven until all the waffles are cooked. 
6. Serve the waffles drizzled with chocolate sauce, topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream & a sprinkling of raspberries. Store any leftover waffles in the refrigerator or freezer. 

Chocolate Sauce
3 oz semisweet or dark chocolate, broken or chopped into small pieces
3 oz Heavy Cream

1. Place the chocolate into a small/medium bowl.  
2. In a small sauce pan, heat the cream until just before the boiling point (small bubbles around the edges of the pan as well as steam should be visible. 
3. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Let stand for a minute, then whisk until all the chocolate pieces are melted. 
4. Serve drizzled over the waffles. Store any leftovers covered in the refrigerator.