Wafers

Waffles are a popular and easy-to-prepare dessert dish that is loved by many for its variety and taste. The idea to cook waffles first came to the Germans, who called the new dessert from batter the word waffel – “honeycomb”.

The history of the delicacy

The very first waffles were prepared in medieval times, when they were perceived only as one of the varieties of ordinary cookies. Distinctive features of such a “new cookie” were the manufacturing technology with a traditional pattern on the surface of the delicacy in the form of an imprint and the composition of the waffle dough. It was prepared from cream, flour, water, sugar and eggs.

Historical facts indicate that waffles were known both in ancient Greece and in Germany. The first mention of this product dates back to the 13th century, and in the 15th-16th centuries only a person with a noble pedigree could afford to bake such a dessert, since none of the lower strata of the population knew about the recipe for a new dessert, he was kept in the strictest confidence. On the American continent, waffles appeared in the 17th century during the mass emigration of the Dutch to these lands. In those days it was an exclusively home-made dish, waffles were about 13 centimeters thick and were an indicator of poverty until the 14th century, because they were baked from the remains of dough from bread mixed with water. Later, people learned to flavor pastries with various syrups, and since then waffles have become a confectionery delicacy available only to the elite.

According to Belgian legend, waffles were invented in the 18th century by a cook commissioned by the Belgian Prince of Liege. The crowned lady wanted to try some incredible muffin, and the chef came up with the idea of ​​baking waffles, generously flavoring the dough with vanilla. The aroma of vanilla struck the prince on the spot and Belgian waffles became a favorite delicacy of the royal court. After some time, this dessert spread throughout Belgium. In the same 18th century, the first waffle desserts appeared in the Czech Republic. “Resort waffles” are still a national treasure of the Czech Republic, they are generously added with sugar and almonds, which give the dessert an unusual and aristocratic flavor.

Since the 60s of the 19th century, wafers have gained wide popularity, due to which they are being produced on an industrial scale. At the same time, the industrial production of beet sugar began to develop, as well as baking equipment, which contributed to the rapid growth in the distribution of waffles among the population.

Composition and types of confectionery

As part of classic waffles, there are no all kinds of preservatives, flavor enhancers or dyes. Therefore, their dough has an absolutely natural composition. What can not be said about their fillings, which in modern recipes can be stuffed with anything. The calorie content of the dessert, which, as a rule, is quite high, also depends on the fillings and their characteristics. On average, the energy value of a stuffed waffle is about 342 kilocalories per 100 grams of product. Without filling, these pastries are used as the basis for ice cream forms or as an addition to berry desserts. On the basis of wafer cakes, cakes and pastries, tubes and various intricate desserts are prepared.

All existing varieties of this pastry differ from each other only in the fillings with which they are flavored. The most famous and loved by all waffles include:

• crispy wafer leaves without filling, which everyone uses to complement various dessert dishes – ice cream, cakes and more;
• stuffed desserts, which may contain fudge filling, fatty filling or fruit and berry filling;
• fructose, fortified waffles, other dietary desserts that are intended for people with certain health problems, or for those who carefully monitor their weight and figure.

Useful and harmful properties

The energy and nutritional value of this dessert is both its plus and minus. It is easy to get enough of waffles if you are hungry, the glucose in the composition is able to stimulate brain activity during mental work or some kind of excessive stress. However, by abusing waffles, it is easy to earn obesity and other serious consequences for one’s own health.

You can not eat this dessert for those who suffer from pancreatitis, problems of the gastrointestinal tract, are struggling with excess weight or diabetes. Many types of this delicacy are contraindicated for allergy sufferers, since it contains eggs, cream, sugar, flour and butter, as well as filling, which also determines how safe the use of this dessert will be.

The calorie content of wafers directly depends primarily on how fatty and sweet they contain the filling. The wafer sheet itself contains about 340 kilocalories per 100 grams, but what it is anointed with can increase this figure by several times. Also, a lot depends on the dough for baking, which comes in two varieties – sugar or butter.

The most common waffle dessert necessarily contains a fatty filling with all sorts of flavors. There are a lot of calories and dyes in such a product, but there is practically no benefit. Stabilizers and flavor enhancers can affect human health in different ways, but necessarily negatively, there can be no minerals in colored strawberries inside waffles. In addition, all this chemistry, as a rule, is most often flavored with heavy confectionery fats, which readily react with it, but are not absorbed at all in the human body.

Thus, you can calculate the approximate calorie content of the most popular waffles, which are currently on sale in almost all retail chains:

• dessert covered with chocolate will have about 518 kilocalories;
• delicious homemade waffles will add about 490 kilocalories to the main diet, and if they contain raisins, this will slightly reduce the figure to 452 kilocalories;
• when condensed milk is added to the dessert, the calorie index increases to the level of 510 kilocalories;
• a classic dessert with fruit fillings (from natural fruits, not chemical ones) has 350 kilocalories;
• the famous Artek waffles have a calorie content of 495 kilocalories;
• the Viennese product with caramel has 424 kilocalories.

Home Diet Recipes

At home, you can always prepare a variety of delicious and healthy desserts using only high-quality ingredients. In addition, with home baking, many components can be replaced with more useful analogues, so waffle lovers are better off learning how to cook them on their own in order to deny themselves such incredible pleasure less often.

To prepare low-calorie homemade waffles, you will need the following ingredients:

• 2 cup of flour;
• 2 eggs;
• 1,5 cup of water;
• salt and sugar to taste;
• some soda.

Break the eggs and separate the yolks and whites into separate bowls. The yolks are thoroughly beaten separately, salt and soda are added to the whipped yolks and the mixture is again thoroughly beaten. 1 glass of water and flour are also added there, everything is gently mixed and topped up with the rest of the water. If you want to get sweet waffles, you can add a couple of tablespoons of sugar to the dough, but this is not necessary. The finished dough is poured into the cells of the electric waffle iron and baked in the appropriate modes, which in each device may differ slightly from each other. In order for the dessert to remain low-calorie, the filling for it should be chosen one where there will be a low energy value.

Also, waffles in a waffle iron can be prepared according to another diet recipe. For them you will need:

• 2 eggs;
• a glass of kefir;
• a glass of whole grain flour;
• tablespoon of vegetable oil;
• half a cup of sugar and salt to taste.

In a deep bowl, beat eggs, kefir and sugar together until a dough with the consistency of sour cream is obtained. Then oil is added to the dough and everything is mixed. The waffle iron must be oiled before baking, and then gradually pour the dough into it, which should be baked for 3 minutes.

Such wonderful recipes for incredible waffle desserts will help those people who constantly monitor their health and weight to occasionally indulge in sweets. At the same time, they can be sure that they will not gain extra pounds, will not provoke the occurrence or exacerbation of various chronic diseases, and simply will not be poisoned by store-bought chemical products.