I usually get random baking ideas right before I go to bed, or at about 2:07 am when I wake up because of our extraordinarily loud neighbors and can’t go back to sleep.
Lately I’ve been on this sweet potato kick for some reason. I use it in a vegan cheese sauce recipe quite often. The other day I made sweet potato gnocchi – sucks up A LOT more flour than normal potatoes, just a word of caution. And then of course you have sweet potato fries, which are really good with some toasted coconut.
Well I had a hankerin – I’m from the south, I can say that – for waffles the other day. I actually just wanted to bake something I think as I caught the never-ending cold going around PDX and had been out of commission for over a week. Anyway… Typically I use some old bananas in my waffles, but sometimes you just don’t feel like a naner. So, as usual, right as we’re going to bed my mind starts whirling with ideas, and what could be better than sweet potato waffles? With brandy soaked cranberries of course. And some walnuts. I know, I know… Genius!
Some friendly advice, PAM is your friend here. I was fresh out of non-stick cooking spray. These little buggers did NOT want to come out of the waffle iron. I had to pry them out with a fork, while demolishing them simultaneously. The ones in the picture were the only ones I could salvage. So, if you’re out of PAM, or SUE or BOB or whatever you call it, butter the damn thing. And maybe use some flour (gf) too.
Sweet Potaffles (vegan & gluten-free)
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- brandy
- 1 medium sweet potato (the orange kind, otherwise known as yams)
- 1/4 cup walnuts
Put the cranberries in a small bowl and pour just enough brandy to cover them. Let them soak for at least 30 minutes.
Peel the sweet potato and chop it into small pieces, the smaller the pieces the quicker it’ll cook. Toss them in a pan, cover with water and boil until soft – about 15 minutes.
Roughly chop the walnuts.
- 1 & 1/2 cups soy milk (or other dairy-free milk)
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
Whisk the milk and vinegar together and set aside to curdle.
- 1/4 cup white rice flour
- 3/4 cup almond flour
- 1/2 cup millet flour
- 1/4 cup tapioca flour
- 1/4 cup potato starch
- 1 T ground flaxseed
- 1 tsp xanthan gum*
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
Blend your dry ingredients together.
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup vegan margarine, melted (I used Smart Balance light)
- 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1/4 tsp maple extract
- 1/2 tsp molasses
This is where you should start heating up your waffle iron.
The sweet potato should be done by now as well. Drain the water and toss it in a large mixing bowl. Mash it well with a fork or use an immersion blender to puree. I recommend the latter. Add all the wet ingredients, including the milk mixture, and mix it well until thoroughly blended – I used a hand blender. Add in the dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in the walnuts and cranberries, including the brandy.
Pour the batter into your PAM sprayed waffle iron and wait impatiently until the little light goes out again. Remove. Cover with maple syrup. Enjoy.
These were probably the best waffles I’ve made in a very long time. Nice and crisp on the outside, fluffy on the inside. My husband gave me this weird look when I told him I was making sweet potato waffles, but he changed his mind after taking a bite. They were quite tasty, and he had no idea they were gluten-free until I told him.
*On the xanthan gum, I just became privy to the fact that some of this stuff is made from whey, so if you’re a strict vegan be sure to check on that. I think you can use guar gum instead, but I’ve never used it so I have no advice there.
