Red Velvet Waffles
The perfect Valentine’s Day breakfast is red velvet heart-shaped waffles! These red velvet waffles with cream cheese glaze are made with melted chocolate and cocoa powder to drive home the chocolate flavor for your favorite red-colored breakfast treat.
I’m convinced that a homemade breakfast makes any day special right from the get-go. When I saw this heart-shaped waffle maker, I just knew I wanted to post a red velvet cake-inspired waffle recipe. Whether it’s for Valentine’s Day, your significant other’s birthday or your anniversary, these heart-shaped waffles are the perfect romantic gesture.
What Does Red Velvet Taste Like?
Red velvet is a combination of vanilla, chocolate, butter and buttermilk flavors. This recipe doesn’t use a red velvet cake mix but is made from scratch. I’ve included finely chopped chocolate in addition to cocoa powder in this recipe to enhance the chocolate flavor.
One thing to note is that because red velvet includes chocolate, we want to be careful not to have the waffle iron too hot (if you have an iron where you can adjust the heat) or not to have the waffle batter on for a long time. Why? Because chocolate can burn. Don’t worry though! As long as you are watching the waffle iron and take the waffles off when they are done, they’ll turn out beautifully! Just don’t abandon your waffle maker on the first go.
I like to make 1 waffle first as a test and take note of how long it was in the waffle iron and use that as a guide for how long to cook the rest. I wish I had a one-size-fits-all option for how long to cook the waffles, but it all just depends on the waffle iron you use (and how crispy you like your waffles).
Ingredients
- Bittersweet chocolate — Finely chopped. We’ll melt the chocolate and add it to the waffle batter.
- All purpose flour
- Cornstarch — This ingredient is different from what we’d see in a pancake recipe. Adding cornstarch to waffle batter is what gives the waffle a crispy exterior and soft inside.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder — Using cocoa powder and melted chocolate is what will give us the red velvet flavor (which, if you didn’t know, red velvet cake is a chocolate flavor base).
- Baking soda — When combined with the buttermilk (our acidic ingredient), baking soda reacts. This is what gives batter a rise.
- Baking powder — Paired with the baking soda, baking powder also helps as a leavening agent. It reacts twice, once when it gets wet and a second time when it gets hot.
- Salt — Helps balance the flavor.
- Sugar — Provides the sweet nature of these waffles.
- Eggs — Separated. We’ll use the yolks first and then whip the whites up to help provide the fluffy waffles we love!
- Buttermilk — The important acidic element we need to not only add flavor but to work with the baking soda to give a light, fluffy texture.
- Vanilla extract — Every good waffle recipe needs some vanilla!
- Butter — Melted. Adding melted butter to waffles and pancakes helps give that yummy, buttery breakfast flavor we love.
- Gel red food coloring — Wouldn’t be red velvet without the traditional red color! I like to use gel food coloring because it provides a vibrant color with only a few drops.
Cream cheese glaze
- Cream cheese — Softened. To avoid clumps, make sure your cream cheese has been sitting at room temperature for a few hours.
- Milk — Any fat % will do.
- Vanilla
- Powdered sugar
How to Make Red Velvet Waffles from Scratch
- Melt chocolate.
In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring well after each interval. Let cool slightly. - Mix dry ingredients.
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until fully combined.
- Mix wet ingredients.
In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks, buttermilk, vanilla, butter, and a few drops of gel red food coloring. Add the melted chocolate and whisk until smooth. Add this to the dry ingredients and mix until partially combined.
- Beat egg whites.
In a small bowl, beat the egg whites until frothy, then add the sugar and beat until soft peaks form. Fold the egg white mixture into the batter until combined. Batter will be lumpy but you don’t want large pockets of flour.
- Heat the waffle iron.
Cook the waffles until your desired doneness. Be careful not to cook for too long as the chocolate in the waffles can burn. Place in a 200 degree oven to keep warm and to crisp them up even more. - Serve with your choice of topping.
Serve with syrup or a cream cheese glaze. I suggest the cream cheese glaze if you want the full “red velvet” effect. - Make glaze.
To make the glaze, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add milk, vanilla and powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add more milk or powdered sugar until it reaches your desired thickness. It should be a consistency that is easy to drizzle.
Tools Used for This Recipe
Heart-shaped waffle iron – Warning: this waffle iron is super cute but also small and gets very hot! I only made a few heart shaped waffles and then gave up and decided my family would eat large waffles.
Hand mixer – One of my favorite hand mixers (I’ve owned several).
Mixing bowls – I love using these bowls because you need all 3 sizes for this recipe.
Recipe Tips
If you’d rather not use red food coloring, you can use red beet powder instead.
Let your butter and chocolate cool slightly before adding it into the mixture to avoid scrambling the eggs!
Using the eggs separately in the recipe means we can whip up our egg whites and give the waffles a better lift and light texture.
To save time you could use a store-bought cream cheese frosting. Put it in the microwave for a few seconds to soften it, add it to a piping bag and drizzle on top of the waffles.
Turn your breakfast into fried chicken with red velvet waffles! You just might opt for syrup instead of the cream cheese glaze.
Chocolate can burn easy, so be sure to watch your waffles. If you can adjust the heat on your waffle iron, don’t have it too hot. If you can’t, just be sure you don’t overcook it. One tip that helps is to use the first waffle as a test. Keep track of the time and see how long it’s in the waffle iron to get to your desired crisp-ness without burning the chocolate. Then use that to help you get the remaining waffles cooked to perfection!
FAQs
What does red velvet taste like?
As mentioned above, red velvet cake, the most recognizable red velvet dessert, is a combination of vanilla, cocoa, butter and buttermilk flavors. There are such things as velvet cakes. Velvet cakes were named to signal to those enjoying it that the cake would have a soft and smooth texture. Many velvet cakes are made with buttermilk, which helps give the cake a moist, soft texture.
How long do red velvet waffles take to cook?
I wish I had a one-size-fits-all option for how long to cook the waffles, but it all just depends on the waffle iron you use (and how crispy you like your waffles). One thing to note is that chocolate can burn easy. Just make sure the waffle iron isn’t too hot (if you can adjust the heat) or not to have the waffle batter on for a long time. I like to make 1 waffle first as a test and take note of how long it was in the waffle iron and use that as a guide for how long to cook the rest.
Additional Valentine’s Day Recipes
- Red Velvet Macarons
- Homemade Red Velvet Cake
- Red Velvet Popcorn
- Valentine’s Day M&M Rice Krispie Treats
If you make this recipe and love it, I would be so grateful if you come back to leave a rating and review. Thank you! ❤️
Red Velvet Waffles
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup bittersweet chocolate - finely chopped, about 2 oz
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs - separated
- 2 1/4 cups buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter - melted
- gel red food coloring
Cream Cheese Glaze
- 6 oz cream cheese - softened
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- In a microwave safe bowl melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring well after each interval. Let cool slightly.
- In a large bowl whisk the flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a medium bowl whisk the egg yolks, buttermilk, vanilla, butter, and a few drops of gel red food coloring. Add the melted chocolate and whisk until smooth. Add this to the dry ingredients and mix until partially combined.
- In a small bowl beat the egg whites until frothy, then add the sugar and beat until soft peaks form. Fold the egg white mixture into the batter until combined. Batter will be lumpy but you don’t want large pockets of flour.
- Heat waffle iron. Cook waffles until your desired doneness. Be careful not to cook for too long as the chocolate can burn in the waffles. Place in a 200 degree oven to keep warm and to crisp them up even more.
- Serve with syrup or a cream cheese glaze. I suggest the cream cheese glaze if you want the full “red velvet” effect.
Cream Cheese Glaze
- Place cream cheese in medium sized bowl. Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add milk, vanilla and powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add more milk or powdered sugar to make it your desired thickness.
- Drizzle the glaze over the waffles when ready to eat. To get the nice squiggles you see in the picture, I placed the glaze in a ziplock bag and snipped off the end then squeezed it overtop for the prettier look. You can also serve these with syrup and/or sprinkled powdered sugar.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Spruce Eats.
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