Happy Monday Steemians, and happy mother's day to all the moms of the interwebs!

Anyone who has seen my blog the last week or so will notice a trend. I've bought a waffle iron, and this is my 3rd post in 6 days to celebrate the new gadget in my kitchen.

While the previous 2 have been more homely recipes, I figured I'd give the humble waffle a more sophisticated treatment.

The result is a fudgy, crunchy brownie waffle topped with possibly the richest ice cream I've ever made. (I made a batch on Saturday, and despite my fella and I over indulging on several servings of the stuff, we still haven't made it half-way through the container. I count that as a win.)

Topped with fresh, tart raspberries, passion fruit and a drizzle of white chocolate- you could serve little portions of this for a fancy ass dinner party and no one would argue with you. It looks ordinary, it tastes incredible.

Anyhow, with the exception of cacao butter (which can easily be substituted with coconut oil) all the ingredients are pretty cost-effective and easy to come by, and excluding the cooling and freezing time of the ice cream, takes only 30 minutes of active labour to pull together.

Make this a couple of days in advance and wow guests with a kickass dessert when they least expect it. (The waffles freeze awesomely for up to 3 months! Just warm 'em in the toaster before topping with ice cream.)

People will love you. (unless they're lactose intolerant. I'll work on a recipe for that in the future)

As promised in previous posts, my aim is to encourage more people to explore their kitchens and try out new things. So, if you're taking on this recipe and get stuck at any point, leave me a comment or hit me up on Instagram and I'll skype or text you through it, step by step! Now there really is nothing to be afraid of (also no hot oil or sharp knives needed for this recipe, so it's a pretty safe place to start!)

If you do decide to make this, please drop me a link so I can check it out!

Here's how to make it!

Ganache Ice Cream

This recipe makes enough for 6 generous portions of waffle and ice cream stacks, or 12 more delicate desserts (with a little ice cream for midnight snacks all to yourself!)

4 large egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups full Cream milk
½ cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1½ cups dark chocolate (I used 70%)
50 Grams Cacao butter or Virgin Coconut Oil
1 Tsp Salt (use flakes for pops of saltiness, or finely ground for a fuller chocolate flavour)
1 Tbsp Instant Freeze Dried Coffee (Optional, it just enhances the chocolaty-ness and adds to the colour)

###Method:

Dissolve coffee in a splash of cream before adding the rest of cream to a large microwaveable bowl or saucepan.
Heat gently until just simmering- be careful not to let it boil as it alters the flavour of the ice cream.
Roughly chop chocolate and cacao butter(or spoon in coconut oil). Place in a large bowl and pour over the cream, allowing it to sit for a minute before stirring to melt the chocolate. Set aside until ready for use. (This will set into a smooth ganache great for making truffles, and will store in the fridge for 2 weeks)
Separate eggs and add yolks to a bowl with sugar and salt. Whisk until pale and frothy- the salt and sugar will act as a cure and will temper the eggs, resulting in a smoother ice cream.
Heat milk to a simmer and add to the egg mixture a little at a time, whisking vigorously to prevent eggs from scrambling.
Pass egg-milk mixture through a fine mesh sieve to remove any unwanted bits.
Gently warm ganache over a double boiler or in the microwave until just softened and add the egg mix to the ganache a little at a time, whisking until smooth until all incorporated.
Slowly bring the custard to a simmer in a heavy-based pot, stirring constantly until slightly thickened. Test by dragging a finger across a bit of the custard on the back of a spoon. If it leaves a clean trail, it's ready.
Decant into a bowl, add vanilla and salt and leave to cool to room temperature before placing it in the fridge.
Leave to chill for at least 30 minutes before pouring into an ice cream churner.
Churn until a thick, whipped cream consistency before placing in a freezer-proof container and freezing for at least 3 hours before serving for hard scoop, or 1 hour for soft-scoop consistency.

Brownie Waffles!:

1 1/2 cups Cake or All-Purpose Flour
1/2 Cup unsweetened Cacao Powder
1 teaspoon Salt
3 teaspoons Baking Powder
3 tablespoons Natural Brown Sugar
3 Eggs, separated
1 cup Buttermilk
50ml Olive Oil
1/3 cup butter, melted
100 Grams Dark Chocolate
50 Grams chocolate chips or chunks (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Extra Butter to grease Waffle Iron

Method

Sift flour, cacao powder, baking powder, sugar and salt into a large bowl.
Add butter, chocolate and olive oil to a microwave-safe bowl and heat in 30 second bursts until chocolate is beginning to melt. Stir until smooth and glossy.
Add buttermilk and stir to cool the mixture before separating the eggs and adding the egg yolks and vanilla.
Beat egg whites separately until stiff peaks form.
Add the chocolate mixture to the flour mixture and whisk to remove any lumps before adding chocolate chips or chunks. Stir in half the whipped egg white before folding in the rest gently.
Grease waffle iron and drop spoonfuls of batter in (I like making them a little smaller than the iron so they're free-form, but you can do the whole thing to make them full-sized and symmetrical).