I’ve spent a lot of time making waffles and then telling you that they’re not for breakfast. Well, these are. They hold syrup without becoming heavy or soggy. They have just a touch of outer crispness that gives way to heavenly, spongy, fluffiness inside.

Ingredients for 10 waffles, serving 5

15-20 medium-sized strawberries
4 Tbs granulated sugar, divided, plus more to taste
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
4 Tbs unsalted butter, plus ½-tsp for griddle
3 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs, separated
1 tsp vanilla
5 red bananas
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 Tbs powdered sugar, plus more for garnish
Maple syrup, for serving
3-4 Tbs salted butter, for serving, melted

How to do it:

1. Quarter or halve the strawberries. (Cut them into eighths if there obscenely large.) Sprinkle with 1 Tbs sugar (or more, to taste). Toss to coat. Store in an airtight container, refrigerated, overnight.
2. Use a large balloon whisk to mix the flour, remaining 3 Tbs granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
3. Preheat the waffle maker to setting 4 (of 7).
4. Melt the butter and stir it into the buttermilk. Whisk the yolks and vanilla into the buttermilk mixture, then whisk the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients, just until blended.
5. Whip the whites to stiff peaks. Still using the balloon whisk, gently fold the whites (in a single addition, without lightening the batter first) into the batter just until fully blended.
6. Use a 1/2 cup of batter per waffle (see notes). Meanwhile, proceed with remaining directions.
7. As each batch of waffles finishes, allow them to cool on a wire rack.
8. Slice the bananas into rounds. Set aside.
9. Strain the strawberries and reserve their juice. Set aside.
10. Whip the cream (to soft or stiff peaks, according to your tastes) with 1 Tbs of powdered sugar. Set aside.
11. To assemble, complete these plating instructions in batches of as many waffles as your maker holds at once. My maker holds four, so I’ll use that as an example: return four waffles to the iron. Close the lid and let them rewarm for 10 seconds. Move two of them to warm, dry plates, leaving the other two in the maker with the lid open. Drizzle a tablespoon of strawberry juice, a tablespoon of syrup, and a teaspoon of melted butter over each plated waffle. Top them with the waffles remaining in the maker, and do the same with the strawberry, syrup, and butter, adding more to taste. Top with each plate of waffles with bananas and strawberries. Dust with powdered sugar and garnish with whipped cream. Serve immediately.

Obviously, best fresh. However, surprisingly serviceable left over – and I mean, really surprisingly! Once fully cooled, store waffles in a resealable plastic bag in the refrigerator. Toast them on setting 4 (of 9). They’ll crisp up and be a bit chewier than they were when fresh, but definitely worth sitting down for on a weekday morning before you rush out the door. Or, spread one with Nutella, fold it in half, and eat it out of hand on the way to work. I’m quite shocked at how much I enjoyed them this way, to the point that I now look forward to making them on the weekend so that I can enjoy them leftover during the week.

Notes:

If you substitute milk for the buttermilk, even if you use the vinegar or lemon juice workaround, use about 1/2 cup less milk. The resultant waffles may stick slightly to the iron.

Once you’ve whipped the egg whites, if the waffle maker isn’t yet preheated, wait until it is before you fold the whites into the batter.

If you whip the eggs whites too stiffly, it will be difficult to incorporate them into the batter. Take them just to the point of stiff peaks and no further.

The amount of batter that it takes to make a waffle will vary from one maker to another, and hence you may produce more or less waffles. I used a Belgian-style waffle maker, but it’s not required.

The waffles will soften as they cool. Returning them to the waffle maker will not only reheat them, but crisp them up – and this second round of crispness will persist even as the waffles once again cool.

Of course you can use yellow (Cavendish) bananas. Red bananas are softer, creamier, sweeter, and have a berry-like, floral note to their flavor profile that makes them a delicious match for strawberries. If you’re unfamiliar with red bananas, you should know that unripe ones are horrifying. When they’re ripe, they’ll feel soft when you gently squeeze them – in fact, they’ll feel like overripe yellow bananas. They’re also a bit harder to peel than yellow bananas. I start by cutting off the stem end with a knife, and then I gently work the peel open and pop the banana out.

American Breakfast Waffles

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