Sourdough Carrot Cake Waffles with Cream Cheese Syrup #BreadBakers

What could be more perfect for Easter breakfast or brunch than sourdough carrot cake waffles with a drizzle of cream cheese syrup? Not a single thing!

This recipe idea came to me last month when I was baking the sourdough sweet carrot waffles for Muffin Monday. I made a little note for myself, as a reminder to try carrot cake waffles someday. 

When our Bread Bakers host for April decided on Easter breads as our theme, some day came sooner rather than later! Waffles are, after all, a quick bread. 

Sourdough Carrot Cake Waffles with Cream Cheese Syrup

This recipe makes 7 Belgian-style waffles. If you aren’t eating them at once pop them in the toaster to reheat and refrigerate the cream cheese syrup. It’s still quite spreadable, even cold.  

Ingredients  

For the waffle batter:

1 1/2 cups or 190g all purpose flour

1/4 cup, tightly packed, or 50g brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup or 210g fed sourdough

1/2 cup or 120g mashed cooked carrots 

2/3 cup or 160ml milk 

1/4 cup or 60ml canola oil, plus extra for greasing the waffle iron

2 eggs 

For about 2/3 cup or 156ml cream cheese syrup:

4 oz or 113g cream cheese, softened

6 tablespoons powdered sugar, sifted

3 tablespoons milk, plus more to taste

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

Make the cream cheese syrup by beating together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Whisk in the milk and vanilla. (Add a bit more milk if you prefer a thinner syrup.) Set aside while you make the waffles.

Preheat your waffle maker.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. 

In another smaller bowl, whisk together the sourdough starter, mashed carrot, milk, canola, and eggs until fully combined. 

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredient bowl and fold until just combined. Do not overmix. 

Grease your waffle iron, top and bottom, with a little canola oil.

Add the batter to the waffle maker. The size of your waffle iron will depend on how much batter you add but try not to overfill. That just makes a huge mess when it overflows. 

Cook according to manufacturer’s instructions until the first set of waffles are golden brown. Remove from the waffle iron and keep warm in a low oven. 

Continue cooking waffles until all the batter is used up. 

Serve with lashing of cream cheese syrup. 

Enjoy! 

It’s the second Tuesday of the month so that means it’s time for Bread Bakers! As I mentioned above, we are sharing Easter breads. Check out the links below for inspiration. Many thanks to our host, Swathi of Zesty South Indian Kitchen.

• Choreg-Armenian Easter Bread by Sneha’s Recipe
• Chocolate Bunny Bread by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Greek Tsoureki by A Messy Kitchen
• Sourdough Choreg-Armenian Easter Bread by Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Sourdough Carrot Cake Waffles with Cream Cheese Syrup by Food Lust People Love
• Orange Blueberry Hot Cross Buns by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Jidase by Magical Ingredients

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Pin these Sourdough Carrot Cake Waffles!

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Feta and Strawberry Tabouli Salad

Feta and strawberry tabouli salad is a great twist on a Middle Eastern favorite. Juicy ripe strawberries brighten the salad, adding color and a welcome sweetness. This is one salad that’s just as good as leftovers!

As much as I love a traditional tabouli salad (which is A LOT!) it’s also fun to mix things up and put a new spin on an old favorite. Adding fresh strawberries was inspired by the fancy salads we enjoy with not only greens but also fruit, nuts and cheese. In this case, the nutty-flavored bulgur wheat is standing in for actual nuts. 

On a completely different subject, let’s talk about the first ingredient, a thing I like to call purple onion. In most recipes it is referred to as red onion or Spanish onion but since my first encounter with same as a child, I’ve called it purple onion. Because it is purple! This is my tiny hill and I am prepared to defend it. 

A Google search quickly revealed that in some European countries it is indeed called purple onion and now I want to know where. Annoyingly, Wikipedia didn’t say. Even BBC Food had the nerve to describe the onion thusly, “Red onions are an attractive, milder alternative to the yellow onion with their shiny purple skin.” Purple. That’s right. 

Have I convinced anyone? Join me on the purple side. It’s more accurate over here. Plus I have tasty salad.

Feta and Strawberry Tabouli Salad

For aesthetic reasons, I chose to use yellow cherry tomatoes for this festive salad. If you only have red ones, no worries. The flavor is what really matters. 

Ingredients

For the dressing:

1/2 medium purple onion, sliced very thinly (about 2 1/2 oz or 70g)

2 tablespoons or 30ml fresh lime juice

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup or 60ml extra virgin olive oil

For the salad:

1 cup or 210g bulgur wheat (3 1/4 cups or 615g when soaked and drained)

1 bunch green onions, just the green part, chopped (about 11/4 oz or 35g)

1 very large bunch (about 5 1/3 oz or 150g) cilantro

8 oz or 227g yellow cherry tomatoes, halved

14 oz or 400g strawberries, hulled and quartered

7 oz or 200g feta, crumbled (I prefer the sheep’s milk type.)

 

Method

In metal or heatproof bowl, cover your bulgur wheat with 1 3/4 cups or 414ml of boiling water and cover the bowl with an upside down plate or some cling film. Set aside. 

Put your thinly sliced onions in a large bowl and pour the lime juice over them. Sprinkle with the salt. Add a few good grinds of fresh black pepper. 

Let the onions marinate in the lime juice for a few minutes. This helps reduced their pungency and sharpness. Now mix in the olive oil. 

Chop your green onions finely and set aside. 

Cut the hard stalks off of the cilantro and discard.  (The tender, narrow stalks near the leaves are fine to leave in.) Wash the cilantro thoroughly several times and dry in a salad spinner or a dry dishcloth.  Chop it roughly. 

Once the bulgur wheat has absorbed all of the water it can, drain it in a strainer and push down on the top to get rid of any excess water. 

Fluff it with fork and leave it to cool. 

Now we can assemble the strawberry tabouli. Add the halved tomatoes to the dressing first. 

Tip in the cooled bulgur wheat, the green onions and cilantro and mix well to coat the wheat with the dressing.

Finally, add the strawberries and feta and toss gently to combine. This tabouli gets better and better as it sits so you can make it ahead without any problems.  

Enjoy!

It’s Sunday FunDay and my friends and I are sharing side dishes for your Easter table. Anything that isn’t a main course qualified so we’ve got you covered from appetizer to dessert! Many thanks to our host, Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm. 

• Bunny Cupcakes from Amy’s Cooking Adventures 
• Feta and Strawberry Tabouli Salad from Food Lust People Love 
• Fresh Pea Hummus from Culinary Cam
• Pineapple Bread Pudding from A Day in the Life on the Farm 
• Pork Sorpatel - East Indian from Sneha’s Recipe 
• Potato Salad with Condensed Milk from Palatable Pastime 
• Stir-Fried Balsamic and Ginger Glazed Carrots from Karen’s Kitchen Stories 
• Veggie Niçoise Salad from Mayuri’s Jikoni 
• Whole Wheat Rosemary Garlic Bread Recipe from The Mad Scientist’s Kitchen

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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French Bean Watermelon Radish Salad

Beautiful to behold and tasty to eat, this French Bean Watermelon Salad would be a welcome addition to your Easter table or bridal/baby shower feast.

Most weeks I do the grocery shopping on a Friday morning, list in hand, all about moving efficiently through the store and getting home again but occasionally I take a little more time to look for new ingredients. 

A few weeks ago this paid off when I spied watermelon radishes in the produce section. They don’t look like anything much from the outside but the Google image of the inside sold me! I mean, honestly, look how pretty they are! Compared to regular radishes, their taste is mild with just a little hint of bite.

According to the The Kitchn, watermelon radishes are an heirloom variety of daikon radishes and originated in China, where they are called shinrimei. They’re a root vegetable and member of the Brassica family, which also includes arugula, broccoli, and cabbage. Watermelon radishes are larger than regular radishes and can range from the size of a golf ball to that of a softball. Mine was somewhere in between. 

Does your nearby grocery store or market sell these beauties? I hope so!

French Bean Watermelon Radish Salad

This is a fairly simple salad because I wanted to show off the watermelon radish but feel free to add other vegetables, if you’d like. Just toss them in with the green beans to dress them. One of the good things about this salad is that it is just as good the next day. Not all salads can say that!

Ingredients

1/4 small purple onion

Fine sea salt

2 tablespoons white balsamic or cider vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Freshly ground black pepper

10 oz or 285g fine French beans, topped and tailed

1 watermelon radish

2 tablespoons olive oil

Method

Finely slice the onion and add it to your salad bowl along with the vinegar, Dijon mustard, a good pinch of fine sea salt and a few generous grinds of black pepper. 

Use a sharp knife to cut the beans in half on the diagonal. Longer beans can be cut into three. 

Use a sharp knife or a mandolin to slice the watermelon radish thinly. 

Add the olive oil to the onion and vinegar in the salad bowl along. Give it all a real good mix with a fork to make a dressing. 

Put an inch or two of water on to boil in a big pot with a steamer basket for the beans. 

When the water is boiling, pop the beans onto the steamer basket and cook for 2-3 minutes, lid on, or until the beans are cooked but still a bit crunchy. I steamed mine for 3 minutes. 

Use tongs to transfer the hot beans to the salad bowl and toss well to coat them with the dressing. Set aside to cool. 

Cover your serving plate with the slices of radish, reserving a few to decorate the top.

Add the dressed beans and onion then the reserved radish slices. I folded mine in half and then half again to make that pretty shape. 

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are celebrating National Eat a Rainbow Day! Check out all the colorful dishes my friends are sharing below. Many thanks to our host, Wendy, from A Day in the Life on the Farm. 

• Cereal and Milk Pancakes from Palatable Pastime
• Colourful Fruit Salad Pudding  from Sneha’s Recipe
• Crispy Rainbow Egg Rolls from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• French Bean Watermelon Radish Salad from Food Lust People Love
• Moroccan Rainbow Carrot Salad from Mayuri’s Jikoni
• Naturally Dyed Rainbow Pasta  from Amy’s Cooking Adventures
• Rainbow Roasted Vegetables from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Tomato, Cucumber, and Red Onion Salad with Latholemono Dressing from Karen’s Kitchen Stories

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

Pin this French Bean Watermelon Radish Salad!

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