In my quest to avoid wheat and other grains, which I’m still learning about, I was quite eager and determined to make something with coconut flour. My first attempt was making my own flour at home with desiccated coconut and grinding it in the coffee grinder. I found that produced a very moist and heavy “flour” and didn’t work well in the recipe I tried. (Possibly letting the ground coconut dry would produce the desired effect. I didn’t have the patience or time that day, so I didn’t do this.)
Since then, I’ve been searching for coconut flour in stores, even in Germany, but have found it a bit expensive. I was almost resigned to purchasing it online (something I like to do, after I’ve had the product in my hand first), when on our way to dinner this weekend, I spotted a Holland & Barrett near Earl’s Court, in London. I crisscrossed the street, dodging traffic to make a beeline for the store! I had been told they carry all the organic and harder to find items, such as coconut flour, and it’s true. I purchased a 500g package of Tiana Organic Coconut Flour; and when we got home I placed it on the kitchen table, almost like a statue waiting to be prayed to…
It stared at me for a couple of days, until I decided to give it a go.
When I first opened the package, a strong coconut fragrance emerged, slightly putting me off. I love coconut, but I don’t want my baking to taste like coconut, unless it’s meant to. However, for those of you like me, who have wondered about this, the coconut flavour dissipates and cannot be appreciated in the baked goods.
I am only familiar with baking and cooking with almond flour and know that there are a number of adjustments one must make in a recipe for it to turn out moist and spongy. So, I turned to the internet for inspiration…there’s a lot of information and consequently recipes out there! But a few for waffles caught my eye. I’m not typically a sweet breakfast person. In fact, normally, if I eat something sweet like a pancake or waffle, I’m hungry very soon after. But the thought of a healthy version of a waffle intrigued me.
I must have gone to bed dreaming about waffles, because I woke up determined to make them this morning…the following recipe is a combination of other recipes I found online, but one primarily from Health Home Happy.
COCONUT & ALMOND FLOUR WAFFLES
Ingredients, makes 6:
- 1 medium ripe banana, peeled and cut into large pieces
- 1 medium apple, peeled and cut into large pieces
- 4 eggs
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
- 1 tablespoon raw honey
Process:
Preheat waffle iron. Preheat oven to 50C.
In a blender, place all the ingredients and pulse until batter consistency is achieved. (I found this combination perfect for waffles, but a bit thick for pancakes.)
Grease the waffle iron with a paper towel drenched in olive oil, and pour the batter onto the iron. Cook for 3-4 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove with a fork, and repeat until all the batter is used. You can keep the waffles warm in the preheated oven, on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
I served mine with a dollop of yoghourt and some fresh strawberries and a drizzle of raw maple syrup.
Note: These waffles turned out moist and airy, just the right texture I was looking for, plus tasted delicious alone. According to Health Home Happy, you can also use leftover waffles as sandwich bread! I didn’t have any leftovers today, but next time I’ll double the recipe to have some for sure, and try them in the toaster as well!
Oh yeah, definitely trying these!
Hi JJ! Let me know what you think! 😉
Do you think I could use almond butter instead of cashew butter?
Hi Jacqueline, I used almond FLOUR; however, yes, you can substitute for almond or cashew BUTTER. But that will have more moisture from the oil of the nuts, so you need to adjust by maybe adding more coconut flour for example. Hope this helps! 😉
I think I will try these with coconut oil instead of olive oil. Also I think I’ll beat the egg whites separately (like I do in my other recipe for Belgian waffles, it makes them fluffy) and fold them into the already mixed batter.
Sounds great Kerry. Back when I created this recipe, I was still not using coconut oil. So changing that is a good choice in baking. Also, beating the egg whites sounds like a wonderful idea. I’ll try that myself next time too! Thank you!
Just to check, is this with the kind of coconut milk that comes in cans, or the kind you get in waxed cardboard cartons at the store?
Hi Alex,
I’m sorry for the late reply. For this recipe I made my own coconut milk from coconut cream and filtered water, which turns out a bit more watery than the one that comes in a carton. Hope that helps! Debra xx
Thank you for this recipe! I added a sprinkle of cinnamon and half a teaspoon of vanilla essence, plus I folded the egg whites in after blending (as suggested) and it was by far the best Paleo waffle recipe I’ve tried so far. Oh and I didn’t have any apples so will try adding one next time…
Thank you Becca for trying the recipe. I’m happy to hear you liked them! Debra xx
Liked the look of this recipe and the use of fruit. It was just a disaster. The waffles never got crisp and were impossible to remove from the maker. Ended up making a sort of dutch baby out of the remaining batter. Tasted fine but not what I was going for.
Oh I’m sorry to hear that Gabriella. I’ve never had problems with this recipe and have made it many times. Could it be your waffle maker was not properly set? That can happen. Debra xx
These are so good. I make them often. Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you Shawn-Patty! I’m happy to hear you enjoy them! Debra xx