Malted chocolate and... sourdough?

Oh yes.  It works.  And how.  Yummy, chocolatey malted waffles.  For breakfast or dessert or whenever.  We tried them for breakfast and they were quite popular with the girls!  (Especially the whipped cream part, imagine that.)  They are light but still filling because of the whole wheat and the cream, if you use it.  The outside is nice and crispy and the inside is chewy/cakey with little bits of melted chocolate.  Well, they are soft straight out of the iron, but they crisp up quickly on standing.  You could top them with anything you like, we used the cream and cinnamon but you could always use sliced bananas, peanut butter and whipped cream and call it the Chocolate Elvis waffle...  Me, I'd go for strawberries and cream.  The chocolate covered strawberry waffle.  Yum.  Or for dessert, top with ice cream and chocolate sauce.  Maybe some pecans?  Try making your own maraschino cherries for the top!  Well, you don't have to go that far.  I did, but you don't.  ☺  There's lots of options, have fun with it!  By the way, you cannot tell there is whole wheat in there because of the overnight rest.  Start it the night before and if you premeasure the ingredients, it only takes a minute to stir together for breakfast.  This recipe makes about 10 standard squares in my little two-square waffle iron but can also be made in a Belgian waffle iron and can be doubled for family or company.  You could probably use unfed starter from a sourdough discard and just let it sit out on the counter for a few hours before refrigerating to perk it up.  No waste that way!

Malted Chocolate Waffles

Starter:

4 oz. (about ½ c) ripe sourdough starter (fed or unfed)

5 oz. (about ½ c + 2 tbsp) cool water

3 oz. (about ¾ c) white whole wheat flour

Batter:

¼ c dutch process cocoa

¼ c malted milk powder

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp sea salt

¼ tsp cinnamon

6 tbsp sugar

1 large egg

3 tbsp butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla

6 tbsp mini chocolate chips

The day before you intend to eat these, combine the starter ingredients and mix thoroughly in a medium bowl.  Cover the bowl and stick in the fridge overnight.  I left mine out for an hour before refrigerating it to give it a bit of a boost.  Next day, whisk the dry ingredients together in a small bowl.  You may need to sift for lumps in the cocoa and malted milk powder.  I don't use mine very often, so it tends to turn into a brick - I use my spice grinder or food processor to re-powder it.  (Works great for buttermilk powder too.)  Add the dry ingredients, plus the egg, melted butter, vanilla, and chocolate chips to the sourdough batter.  Stir to combine.  To bake the waffles: Drop about ¼ cup batter per standard square onto a greased, preheated waffle iron. Bake the waffle until steam stops coming out the sides of the iron. The waffles will feel soft and tender coming out of the iron, but will crisp up on standing.  And your kitchen will smell like chocolate cake for an hour after! 

Adapted from King Arthur

This has been yeastspotted!