My new waffle-maker.

Waffles. Yum.

Waffles are Belgian. I have just come back from six months in Belgium.

Heart-shaped waffles are girly. Do you know anyone girlier than me? I’m not sure I do…

Ergo, a waffle-maker that creates heart-shaped waffles was an inspired birthday present for yours truly. And I have my awesome flatmates to thank.

Last Sunday morning seemed like the perfect opportunity to try out my new piece of kitchen kit. So try it out I did. In a big way.

Put it like this: it was a waffle-heavy day.

My waffle maker is this one from Trebs, and I absolutely love it.

It’s really easy to use, simple to clean (all it needs is a wipe) and it’s super compact so doesn’t take up much room in your kitchen. It can just casually sit there in between your pastel-coloured Smeg fridge and shiny KitchenAid (#agirlcandream.)

But wait a minute, shall we talk about the actual waffles first? Yes, I think so. Priorities = straight.

Oof, they're tasty.

I don't think my pictures do these babies justice, so you're just going to have to take my word for it.

Warm, sweet, fluffy inside and crisp outside, they're pretty sensational as they are.

But obviously, I felt the need to have ALL the toppings.

Starting off with a little drizzle of golden syrup...

...before graduating to nutella and banana.

A swirl of Choc Shot. Because that's healthy. Ahem.

Nutella, peanut butter, jam, golden syrup, maple syrup, chocolate sauce, honey, strawberries, banana... You name it, it'll go well with these waffles.

And when your toppings melt on to the warm waffley goodness - oh my! There are no words.

I'll be honest, they're not exactly like the waffles I had in Belgium, but that doesn't matter. I don't think anyone other than the Belgians can compete with those. 

My waffles are wonderful in their own right.

And hello, they're heart-shaped. Heart-shaped, yet also flower-shaped when you put them together. Amazing, right?

I pretty much followed the recipe in my instruction booklet and was surprised to find it was basically a cake mix - I'd expected the batter to be more like pancakes. But hey, ya learn something new every day, right? 

Maybe this will come up on The Great British Bake Off technical challenge one day and we can all be like, "Ahaaaa... We know how waffle batter is made. How do you like me now, Paul?"

To make these tasty little waffles you need:

120g butter, softened

225g caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

190g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

a pinch of salt

225ml milk

Lightly wipe some oil over the waffle maker moulds. Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until creamy and smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat in well. Add the rest of the ingredients and - you guessed it - beat together until well-combined.

Turn your waffle maker on and leave to heat up for a few minutes (this doesn't take long and light tells you when it's ready.) Transfer your mixture to a jug and slowly pour it into the mould, being careful not to overfill - it may take a few attempts to get this right.

Bake the waffle for 4-5 minutes until golden brown then carefully remove from the mould with a plastic spatula.

So simple, eh?

All that's left to do is smother your waffles with toppings and dig in! 

I think making waffles like this are a really fun alternative to pancakes and I can't wait to try out different flavours and combinations.

Thanks to the gals for bringing it into my life (and I recommend you get one in yours pretty sharpish too.)