Yeasted Banana Waffles and Gingered Orange Macarons

"We've gained weight! NO MORE DESSERTS!" were the words coming from A's lips that brought horror to my ears.

Now that the Christmas party is over and we are diving into the new year, A has decided that I shall be banned from baking desserts (with the exception of my monthly daring bakers challenges... I managed to get a pass for those). Fine. We have gained some weight. We should probably start the diet now. But no more desserts??? Can't I just make them? I don't have to eat them.

To be honest, I don't really love eating them anyway. I am sure that many bakers would agree when I claim that I like baking for the joy of seeing what I can create and the pleasure of watching others enjoy what I have created. I don't bake so that I can eat sweets every weekend. Quite the contrary - if you knew how many times I asked A if I could just throw my latest creation away so that we wouldn't have the sugary calories tempting us on the counter.

Let's see how long this ban on sweets lasts. I have already managed to get around it for this weekend as we have guests arriving from out of town. (A said I could still bake for guests, just not for us!). Next weekend is the antiques fair, and he has asked me to prepare macarons for all of the generous dealers who have set aside tickets at the front door. So I guess the moratorium starts in February?

Having out of town guests for us means a tremendous amount of advanced planning on our part - whether it is one guest or four (I should add that this is something we love doing!). I spend the weeks before pouring over recipes and restaurant reviews and concocting an itinerary around home cooked meals from a carefully selected menu, as well as a number of meals out at our favorite restaurants. As New York has no shortage of excellent restaurants, A and I usually lean heavily on brunches at home that will keep stomachs satisfied until dinner so that we can avoid expensive NYC snacks during the day.

So the menu for this weekend includes 3 brunches, and of course some sort of welcome cake to nibble on arrival. In addition to some of my go-to brunch items (quiche, scones, etc), I decided this was the perfect excuse to try a recipe I had been eying for awhile - yeasted banana bread waffles served with a fresh fruit salad. Waffles are sweet, but not dessert, right?

I originally found the recipe that I used on Seven Spoons. It caught my eye for two reasons - first, it was a recipe that could be prepped the day before, and second, it offered a new twist on an old favorite. The scent of spiced banana bread wafting through the air was enough to make this recipe worth it. The waffles themselves were delicious. Light, fluffy and not too sweet.

Finally, for our guest's wife who was left back in LA, a batch of gingered orange macarons packed for the plane.

Recipes after the jump!

The recipe on Seven Spoons claims that it yields about 6-7 waffles. As such, I 1.5x'ed the recipe... which resulted in about 15 waffles!!! One note on pouring the batter into your waffle iron - do so sparingly. Perhaps because of the yeast in the batter, this waffle batter puffs up and spreads out a lot more than my standard recipe, so it is really easy to overflow the waffle iron.

Yeasted Banana Waffles

yield - about 14-15 waffles

6 oz unsalted butter, melted

1 3/4 cup milk
1.5 teaspoon vanilla extract
14 ounces all-purpose flour
1.5 tablespoon dark brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons yeast
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground clove
3 eggs, beaten lightly
4 small, over-ripe bananas
3 greek yogurt

In a small bowl, mix melted butter, milk and vanilla. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, yeast, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and clove. Pour the butter/milk mixture over the flour mixture and stir to combine. The mixture will start to foam slightly as the yeast activates. Stir in the beaten eggs. Cover the mixture loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 12 and up to 24 hours.


This is what the batter looks like when it is ready to go in the morning. It has a slightly spongy appearance, and you can see little holds and air-bubbles from the active yeast.

When you remove the batter from the refrigerator, allow it to sit at room temperature for about half an hour to dechill. Mix together the mashed bananas and sour cream and stir them into the waffle batter. Now you are ready to start cooking the waffles!

After overflowing issues with my first waffle, I slightly underfilled the iron to prevent any more messes. The cold temperature of the batter upon removal from the fridge and the consistency of the banana mash result in a longer cook time. (Or at least it felt longer to me!)

Gingered Orange Macarons
yield - about 36 sandwiches or gerbet

Gerbet
110 grams egg white, aged

300 grams powdered sugar
150 grams almond meal
37 grams water
8 grams orange extract
2 tsp powdered ginger
yellow and red food coloring

Whisk the almond meal and 150 grams of the powdered sugar together in a small bowl. Add 55 grams of egg whites to the top of the mixture, as well as the food coloring, extract and powdered ginger. DO NOT mix in the egg white. Set the mixture aside.

Mix 150 grams of powdered sugar and the water in a small sauce pan. Put 55 grams of egg white into the bowl of a mixture and begin whipping to create a stiff meringue. Begin heating the sugar/water mixture on medium high heat to create a simple syrup. When the syrup reaches approximately 245 degrees, remove it from the heat and slowly add it to the meringue by pouring the hot liquid down the side of the mixing bowl as the mixer is still running. Continue to beat until the mixture cools.

Fold the almond/sugar/egg white mixture into the meringue, using firm strokes at first to incorporate all of the dry ingredients. Continue to mix carefully until the mixture has the texture of cold honey. If you lift the batter up with the spatula, it should fall off slowly in thick ribbons.

Transfer the batter to a piping bag and pipe onto a parchment or silpat covered baking sheet. Let the piped shells rest for approximately thirty minutes, or until they are dry to the touch. Bake in a pre-heated over at 345 degrees for 15 minutes, or until the shells show slight color.

Remove from the oven and let the shells cool for a few minutes, then slowly remove them from the parchment paper and move them to a rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Ganache
4 oz bittersweet chocolate
4 oz heavy cream
1 tsp powdered ginger
1 tsp orange extract

Chop the chocolate up into small pieces and reserve in a bowl. Combine the cream, ginger and extract in a saucepan over medium high heat. Bring mixture to a boil and then pour over chocolate in bowl. Let the chocolate/cream mixture rest for about 5 minutes and then stir combine. Once the ganache looks smooth and shiny, allow it to sit at room temperature until it becomes thick enough to pipe onto the gerbet.