So Waffley Versatile

Fanny Cradock closes this part by blabbering on about a very particular tool of the trade. Luckily for me I bought a vintage, Italian one very recently, in perfectly unused condition, and I've been looking for an excuse to try it out! The stove-top Waffle Iron is not something I'd have expected Fanny to be blethering about, but as ever she is full of surprises. It's a lovely shiny piece of kitchen kit, I wonder how readily available they were back in Fannys time? Not that that would concern her of course, she'd continue to twaddle on about them before striking a deal with the importers and adding them to her catalogue...

I'm also not sure how well known or how popular waffles themselves were outside of the States. Not that that would stop Fanny babbling about them.These are obviously not the potato ones which became staples of the 80's tea times, but the ones more like biscuits and rolled into cones if you were fancy. Fanny was. Fanny gives them their French translation to boost their appeal - she chats about Les Gaufres Amèricaines.

Fanny starts her batter banter by combining perfectly ordinary (don't tell Wrights) self-raising flour with both bicarbonate of soda and baking powder in a roomy bowl. As the butter melts quietly on the stove, a beaten egg is dropped in and blended with a little milk until it makes a thick, springy dough. The remaining milk is very gradually but steadily beaten in too, once the dough is fairly smooth, and finally the butter, preferably with a trusty wooden spoon. The batter goes very glossy after this addition, and is worth the extra palaver.

Fanny prattles on with very particular instructions for the waffle iron. It needs to heated perfectly dry on both sides, over a low flame, which can be done while making the batter. When the batter is ready to go, brush the insides of the iron with a little melted butter or oil (or even better still with saindoux seemingly) or if like me you are feeling modern, spray some oil over the surfaces. Fanny says it must be very hot, and must smoke viciously and sizzle. Indeed it does. She plops a dollop of batter on while still over a moderate heat and spreads it out before closing the iron. I tried that, but it slid around a lot, so I just plonked it on and closed them, squidging the batter evenly.

Fanny's chatter is that if you overdo things and plop on too much batter it will escape out the sides, oozing and bubbling, so always have a clean, small knife to hand to cut it free. This turns out to be top advice until I get used the particular amounts for my iron. Fanny's final ramble of advice is to turn the iron over before checking if the first side is golden and cooked, and finishing off the underside. The waffles should never look a rather disconsolate beige. The finished waffles look great, crisp up once cooled and while warm wrap around the spindly thing that came with it to make (sort of) cones. My ice-cream would perhaps dribble from the bottom, but Fanny recommends serving simply with Maple Syrup and butter anyway. So I can dribble away quite happily while I gabble on about how great the waffle iron is...