Homemade Waffles

Sift 280 g flour into a large bowl, add 4 tsp baking powder and 1 tsp salt, and whisk the dry ingredients together until well combined.

In another bowl, beat 2 eggs with a fork, pour in 350 ml room-temperature milk, add 70 g melted and slightly cooled butter, 2 tbsp sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla extract — stir until smooth.

Pour the wet mixture into the bowl with the flour and quickly stir with a spatula or whisk just until combined (10-15 seconds) — a few small lumps in the batter are fine, the main thing is not to overmix, or the waffles will turn out dense. Cover the bowl and let the batter rest for 5-10 minutes while the waffle maker heats up.

Preheat the electric waffle maker to medium-high (about 180°C) — this takes roughly 5 minutes. If the plates aren't nonstick, lightly grease them with melted butter.

Pour about 120-150 ml of batter into the center of each section of the preheated waffle maker, close the lid, and cook for 3-5 minutes without opening the lid — go by the waffle maker's indicator light or watch for the steam from under the lid to almost stop and the crust to turn golden-brown and crisp.

Carefully lift out the finished waffle with a fork or silicone spatula and transfer it to a wire rack to cool, rather than stacking them on a plate — otherwise they'll steam and lose their crispness. Repeat with the remaining batter: you should get 4 large waffles.

Serve the waffles right away, hot and crisp, drizzled with maple syrup to taste and topped with a pat of butter.