Breakfast meet dessert. Dessert meet breakfast. This decadent tasting, yet still nutritious, way to kick off your day is a celebration of all things chocolate and a perfect excuse to dust off that waffle maker. Consider topping with dollops of thick yogurt and fresh berries. Batter using egg whites is best made shortly before making the waffles, but extras can be chilled for up to one day.
Not all cacao powder is created equal. Your best buy for health benefits is “natural” or “raw” cacao powder over “Dutch processed” (often spelled “cocoa”), which uses alkalization to mellow out the flavour but also damages precious antioxidants.
No buttermilk in the fridge?
A quick fix is to stir 1 Tbsp (15 mL) freshly squeezed lemon juice or distilled white vinegar into each cup of regular milk and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes. When it’s ready, milk will be slightly thickened, and you’ll see small curdled bits. You can also mix 3/4 cup (180 mL) plain yogurt or sour cream with 1/4 cup (60 mL) water to thin, then use as you would buttermilk.
No oat flour in the larder?
If you have rolled oats on hand but no oat flour, you’re in luck. You can whiz up oat flour by blending rolled oats in a food processor or high-powered blender until a fine powder forms. A single cup (scooped and levelled) of old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats yields just over 1 cup (250 mL) oat flour.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups (350 mL) oat flour
1/3 cup (80 mL) cacao powder
3 Tbsp (45 mL) coconut palm sugar or brown sugar
1 tsp (5 mL) cinnamon
1 tsp (5 mL) low-sodium baking powder
1/2 tsp (2 mL) baking soda
1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt
2 large organic eggs, separated
1 1/2 cups (350 mL) buttermilk
3 Tbsp (45 mL) grapeseed or sunflower oil
1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract
3 oz (85 g) bittersweet chocolate (at least 70% cacao), chopped, or dark chocolate chunks
Directions
Heat oven to 200 F (93 C).
In large bowl, whisk flour, cacao powder, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In separate bowl, whisk together egg yolks, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix gently. Let batter rest for 10 minutes to help hydrate the oat flour.
Using electric mixer on medium-high speed or hand-held whisk, beat egg whites in small bowl until soft peaks form. Working in 2 batches, fold egg whites into batter just until combined. Fold in chocolate.
Heat waffle iron until very hot; lightly coat with oil. For each waffle, ladle 1/3 cup (80 mL) batter onto waffle iron and heat until set. Transfer prepared waffles to wire rack set inside baking sheet and place in warm oven while you prepare remaining batter.
Each serving contains: 422 calories; 14 g protein; 22 g total fat (7 g sat. fat, 0 g trans fat); 47 g total carbohydrates (13 g sugars, 8 g fibre); 324 mg sodium
