This waffle cake with browned butter and mascarpone whipped cream is so delicious and different from any other cake I have ever had.
Delicious fluffy waffles are made with nutty browned butter then slathered with creamy mascarpone frosting and sprinkled with strawberries for a shortcake kind of vibe.
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Why you will love this browned butter waffle cake
This is a cake that is, in all actuality, not a cake in the traditional sense at all. My kids and husband are just not cake people (say what???!) so they are always requesting something different for their birthday dessert, and this waffle cake is one of those different cakes that is in the repertoire.
You are going to love how the brown butter waffles collide with the creamy mascarpone whip and the fresh berries really take it to another level! It almost turns out more like a shortcake when you add strawberries to it.
Tips
Many of the other recipes for waffle cake that I have seen out there say that you can refrigerate it and not serve it fresh.
I would beg to differ. I think this cake is best served as soon as the waffles are cool enough to frost.
Ingredients
There are a few things that really stand out in this recipe: the browned butter and the mascarpone cheese.
We are taking the extra step of browning the butter so that we can get that rich nutty flavor infused into our waffles.
We don’t just want plain old waffles when we are making a waffle cake. You want to really enrich this recipe where it counts!
The process of browning butter is not hard or scary either. You will notice as you brown the butter that it lets off an amazingly rich aroma as the milk solids begin to toast up.
When it comes to our whipped topping, we are also going to be enriching it by using mascarpone cheese. Mascarpone is a creamy and mild cheese that can be used in savory or sweet recipes.
Many Italian pastas call for using mascarpone cheese and mascarpone cheese can be used in creamy dips as well as in desserts. Some people even use it in cheesecakes.
I personally love using it to make Mascarpone frosting and filling and frosting this lemon berry cake with it.
When we make this mascarpone whip, it turns out like a whipped cream but has a little more structure to it. The consistency falls somewhere between whipped cream and frosting.
These are the ingredients for making waffle cake with browned butter and whipped mascarpone:
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Buttermilk
- Powdered sugar
- Butter (salted)
- Salt
- Half and half
- Vanilla extract
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Eggs
- Strawberries (or other berries of choice)
How to make a waffle cake
We are going to start off with browning the butter. Don’t be scared! It’s easy!
Take your salted butter (I never buy unsalted butter) and place it in a medium size saucepan over medium heat.
After the butter has melted all the way it is going to begin to bubble and sizzle. Stir it constantly at this point and after about 3 minutes you will begin to smell the toasty smell of the butter browning.
It almost smells like roasting nuts. As soon as you begin smelling the aroma, it is almost done. Turn the heat down, and take a good look under all the bubbles to see if it is browning. If you see little brown bits, it is done.
Remove it immediately from the heat so that you don’t burn it! It goes from browned to burned rather quickly and we don’t want it burned!
You will notice that the brown bits settle to the bottom of the butter. That is totally fine. It’s not going to matter once you incorporate it into the waffle batter.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl then add them to the dry ingredients along with the buttermilk, vanilla extract and melted butter.
Mix it together with a spoon until it is just combined and most of the lumps are gone. There will still be some lumps left. Don’t worry about that.
Heat up the waffle iron. If it is a non-stick waffle iron you don’t need to use cooking spray. Spray it if you think it will stick though.
Once it is heated, ladle the waffle batter onto the waffle iron until the batter is about ½ of an inch from the edge. Follow the manufacturers instructions for using the waffle iron and cooking times.
I cook it until the waffles are browned on both sides.
Carefully remove the waffle and set it on a plate to cook and continue making the other waffles. This might make 6 waffles, but we are only going to use 5 for our cake.
You can eat the other one or freeze it for later.
While the waffles are cooling, we will make the whipped mascarpone frosting. Make sure your half and half and mascarpone cheese are cold.
Place them in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment along with the powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Turn the mixer on to medium speed and let it whisk for about 2-3 minutes or until stiff peaks form.
When you first add the ingredients, it may seem runny, but it will come together quickly. When the waffles are cooled down, layer them on top of each other by spreading a few dollops of the whipped mascarpone topping on each layer.
Add the rest of the mascarpone frosting on top and top it with cut strawberries. Enjoy!
Variations
Kick the whipped cream up a notch by adding several tablespoons of Bailey’s Irish cream or Kahlua. Just don’t use it for a kids birthday though…
Serving Suggestions
Serve this waffle cake while it is still fresh (but cooled down). You can refrigerate it and serve it later, but I personally like to serve it shortly after the waffles have cooled off.
Equipment
- Electric mixer
- Waffle iron (~ 7 inch)
FAQ’s
Does waffle batter need to rest?
Many recipes state that waffle batter needs to rest for at least 30 minutes, however I don’t ever do that. As long as your baking powder is not expired and your ingredients are fresh, you don’t need to rest your waffle batter.
I rest it just long enough to get my other ingredients ready (maybe 10 minutes max) and the waffles turn out just fine.
What kind of flour is best for waffles?
I personally like to use all-purpose flour when making waffles. Some people opt to use a mixture of wheat and white flour and that is fine, you may just need to test out what is the best ratio.
📖 Recipe
Browned Butter Waffle Cake
Equipment
- electric mixer
- Waffle iron (~ 7 inch)
Ingredients
For the waffle batter:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 5 ½ tablespoons butter salted
- 2 eggs
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
For the whipped mascarpone topping:
- 8 oz. mascarpone cheese cold
- ¼ cup half and half cold
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Garnish:
- 1 cup sliced strawberries for serving
Instructions
- Begin by placing the butter into a medium size saucepan and turn the heat to medium.
- Once the butter melts all the way and begins to bubble, stir it constantly for about 3-4 minutes until you begin to smell the butter solids toasting and getting brown. It will smell almost nutty.
- Once the butter browns, remove it immediately from the heat. It’s ok if the brown bits settle to the bottom of the butter.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, salt, granulated sugar, baking soda and baking powder together. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs.
- Add the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and melted brown butter to the dry ingredients and stir it with a spoon until combined and most of the lumps are gone. It’s ok if some lumps still remain.
- Preheat the waffle iron according to the manufacturer's instructions and spray it with cooking spray if necessary. Ladle the waffle batter onto the hot iron and cook according to the instructions. Carefully remove the waffle once it is browned on both sides and set it on a plate to cool. Repeat until all of the batter is used up.
- While the waffles are cooling, place all the ingredients for the whipped mascarpone into a mixing bowl of a stand mixer. With the whisk attachment whisk the ingredients on medium speed for 2-3 minutes until stiff peaks form.
- After the waffles are cooled, it is time to plate. Place the first waffle on the cake plate and a few dollops of the mascarpone whip on it. Spread the whipped topping to the edges and then layer with more waffles and whipped mascarpone. You should layer 5 waffles, six if you are feeling zealous.
- Put the rest of the whipped mascarpone frosting on top and garnish with sliced strawberries. Serve immediately and enjoy!
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