Valentine’s Day Red Velvet Waffles

Valentine’s Day falls on a Tuesday this year, and a romantic breakfast in bed, homemade dinner, or date night during the busy workweek seems improbable. Why not celebrate the weekend before (or after!)?

For many of us, there aren’t many Monday-Friday mornings when we can take our time and spend a leisurely morning in bed. But on the weekends – now that’s another story.

These red velvet waffles are the perfect, romantic breakfast in bed option for an early Valentine’s Day surprise or a fun weekend breakfast to make with the entire family. The kids are sure to have fun decorating with the cream cheese frosting, whipped cream, and red and pink heart-shaped sprinkles.

We went for an over-the-top Valentine’s Day breakfast, stacking red velvet waffles into a red velvet waffle cake. That’s right – a cake made entirely of waffles. Love is in the air, indeed. We layered red velvet waffles with cream cheese frosting then topped the final product with a mound of whipped cream. Worried your loved one might not be able to handle this towering cake? Smear a waffle or two with cream cheese frosting or top with maple syrup for a breakfast that’s just as special.

Anyone that wakes up to this gorgeous, confectionery creation is sure to feel the love. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Red Velvet Waffles

Author: Hamilton Beach Test Kitchen

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, separated
2 cups milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon red food color
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Frosting

Instructions

Heat waffle baker.
In a large bowl, mix together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.
In a medium bowl, beat egg whites until stiff, but not dry.
In another bowl, whisk together egg yolks, milk, butter, vinegar, food color and vanilla. Pour into dry ingredients and stir briefly until just combined.
Fold whites into batter. Pour batter into waffle maker. For amounts of batter to use and cooking times, follow your waffle baker directions. Be sure to bake until steam stops escaping from waffle baker and waffles are golden brown.
To serve, drizzle with cream cheese frosting.

Notes

Homemade waffle batter may take longer to cook than packaged pancake and waffle mix. The packaged mix waffles are done in about 5 minutes. Made from scratch recipes take a few minutes more.

The Belgian waffle grid holds more batter than a traditional grid. Recipes give a range of batter to use, for example, 1/2 to 3/4 cup. The larger amount should be used for a Belgian waffle grid. For this recipe, we used 2/3 to 1 cup batter.
While finishing the rest of the batch of waffles, keep the baked waffles warm and crisp by placing directly on the rack in a 200°F oven.

Waffles can be frozen and then reheated. Make a large batch ahead of time and let cool on a cooling rack. Freeze in airtight storage bags then heat in an oven or microwave.