Belgian Waffle Strawberry Shortcakes

Today is the premiere of the third season of Married and Hungry on my IGTV Channel (12pm PST)! For those of you eagerly waiting for new episodes, thank you so much for your patience. We took a much longer break this time around due to other projects on both our ends, but it is so good to be back! It feels like we never left. For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, and are new around here, Married and Hungry is a cooking show where I teach my husband how to cook and bake. He has no idea what he is doing in the kitchen and so each episode is really me just making sure he doesn’t burn the place down. So far all is good. We’ve been doing it for three years now, and it’s been a lot of fun to share it with you all. So please give it a watch if you haven’t already! 

Today’s post just so happens to be the recipe featured in the premiere episode. These Belgian Waffle Strawberry Shortcakes are a new take on that classic summer dessert we all love. Biscuits will always be number one in my book, but Belgian waffles give this dessert a “lighter,” almost crispier layer that I think is much needed here. If you don’t want to sandwich them together, you can just serve them open-faced with just one larger waffle if you’d like. Breakfast, dessert or even a late-night snack, this one is sure to be a new favorite. 

Let’s start by getting the strawberries ready. If you prep them first, you can set them off to the side, and they’ll be ready to go by the time you’re done with everything else. You want to rinse off a pound and a half fresh strawberries, and then trim off the tops and them slice. 

**Note: You don’t want to slice them too thinly, so depending on the size of the berry you’ll want to slice them into about 3 to 4 slices. You want them to still have a bite to them, if that makes sense.**

Toss together the sliced strawberries with granulated sugar and fresh lemon juice. Set aside and allow to macerate at room temperature while you make the waffles.

**Note: Depending on how sweet your berries are (give them a taste!) you can add more or less sugar. If they’re somewhat tart, you can bump up the sugar by a tablespoon and if they’re super sweet and ripe, you can cut down on it!**

To make the Belgian waffle batter, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

**Note: This is my go to Belgian waffle recipe, which is the same I used for the Waffle Churros post and as you can see, it’s so versatile and can be used in many different ways!**

In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg yolks, oil and vanilla. Pour into the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined, and no dry streaks remain. Make sure you don’t over-mix the batter at this point, or you’ll end up with dry tough waffles.

In another clean bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Add to the waffle batter and gently fold the until they are evenly distributed throughout the batter.

**Tip: Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the egg whites into the batter. If you stir too rapidly, you’ll run the risk of deflating the egg whites, and then your waffles won’t be fluffy and crispy.**

Heat up a Belgian waffle maker and once hot, spoon about 1/3 cup batter into the center of each cavity. Close the waffle maker and cook according to manufacture’s instructions.

**Tip: Transfer the cooked waffles to the wire rack and continue cooking the rest. Once all are down, transfer the baking sheet to the oven to keep the waffles warm.**

To make the sweetened whipped cream filling, beat the cold heavy cream, powdered sugar, vanilla and a tiny pinch of salt on high until soft peaks form.

**Tip: The cream can be made ahead of time and kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days before using. Just give it a gently stir before using.**

Assemble the shortcakes by placing one waffle on a plate. Top with a spoonful of strawberries (with a bit of the syrup) and a big dollop of fresh whipped cream. Place another waffle on top and then dust with powdered sugar right before serving.

If you want to plan ahead, you can make each component ahead of time, keep them separate in the fridge until ready to use. When the waffles are cooled, just transfer to a large resealable bag and keep in the fridge. Then when you want to serve them, just rewarm them in a toaster or oven for a few minutes until they crisp up again. 

You can easily swap out the strawberries for almost any fruit that is in season. Any berry would work here (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries or even a mixture of all of them would be great). Peaches would be fantastic in here as well!

I hope you’ll give this recipe a try this summer, especially when you feel like sprucing up that classic strawberry shortcake. And of course, don’t forget to watch the season 3 premiere of Married and Hungry. You can follow along on my IGTV Channel on Instagram to see the newest episodes and/or catch up on Seasons 1 and 2! They’re still great!

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CBjA_HSHOQf/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

5 from 3 votes

Belgian Waffle Strawberry Shortcakes

Spruce up everyone's favorite summer dessert by making these Belgian Waffle Strawberry Shortcakes! Fluffy homemade Belgian waffles are filled with fresh macerated strawberries and sweetened whipped cream.

Servings 10 to 12 servings

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Ingredients

Filling:

• 1 ½ pounds strawberries stemmed and sliced
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Waffles:

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 2 large eggs separated
• ⅓ cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream:

• 1 ½ cups heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons powdered sugar plus more for dusting
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 250°F. Place a wire rack over a baking sheet and set aside.
• In a large bowl, toss together the sliced strawberries with the sugar and lemon juice. Set aside and allow to macerate at room temperature while you make the waffles.
• To make the waffles, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg yolks, oil and vanilla. Pour into the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined, and no dry streaks remain.
• In another clean bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Add to the waffle batter and gently fold the egg whites until evenly distributed.
• Heat up a Belgian waffle maker and once hot, spoon about 1/3 cup batter into the center of each cavity. Close the waffle maker and cook according to manufacture’s instructions. Transfer the cooked waffles to the wire rack and continue cooking the rest. Once all are down, transfer the baking sheet to the oven to keep the waffles warm.
• To make the cream filling, beat the heavy cream, powdered sugar, vanilla and salt on high until soft peaks form.
• Assemble the shortcakes by placing one waffle on a plate. Top with a spoonful of strawberries (and their syrup) and a big dollop of cream. Place another waffle on top and then dust with powdered sugar. Enjoy!

Author: The Candid Appetite