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    Home » Recipes » Waffles

    Chocolate Waffles

    Published: May 10, 2024 · Modified: Sep 30, 2024 by Maria Doss · This post may contain affiliate links · 15 Comments

    pinterest image.

    Chocolate Waffles topped with cinnamon tres leches sauce - Perfect for indulgent breakfast or brunch, this waffle recipe is guaranteed to be a crowd-pleaser - No buttermilk!

    Jump to Recipe
    a hand pouring white sauce on top of three brown chocolate waffles placed on a black plate.

    Typically, homemade breakfast waffles are made with mostly healthy ingredients and served with maple syrup, like the almond flour waffles.

    However, today we're making an exception by whipping up chocolate waffles and indulging with a decadent tres leches sauce. It's the ultimate Mother's Day brunch recipe or for the holidays.

    What are chocolate waffles? They are a decadent variation of traditional waffles, with cocoa powder or melted chocolate is added to the batter to infuse it with rich chocolate flavor.

    This results in waffles that are indulgent with a darker color compared to regular waffles.

    They can be served with a variety of toppings such as strawberries, ice cream, whipped cream or in this case, a tres leches sauce.

    This sweet milk sauce not only adds a visually appealing color contrast but also provides a sweet and creamy complement to the fluffy waffle!

    Jump to:
    • Why you'll love this?
    • Ingredients for chocolate waffles
    • Substitutions & Variations
    • How to make chocolate waffles?
    • Ingredients for tres leches sauce
    • How to make tres leches sauce?
    • Serving suggestions
    • Make ahead & Freezing
    • Helpful tips
    • More brunch ideas
    • Chocolate Waffles

    Why you'll love this?

    • No buttermilk
    • Ready in about 30 minutes including the sauce
    • Freezer friendly
    • Make ahead
    • Light and fluffy texture
    • Waffle for two
    • The most amazing tres leches sauce
    • guaranteed to be a crowd-pleaser.

    Ingredients for chocolate waffles

    Scroll down to the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and amounts.

    ingredients needed to make chocolate waffles.
    • Flour - Before measuring all-purpose flour, gently fluff it up in the container to ensure you're adding the right amount and not accidentally using too much.
    • Cocoa powder - I reduce all-purpose flour in my mini waffles recipe and replace some of it with cocoa powder. Looking for more ways to use cocoa powder?
    • Baking powder - 2 teaspoons of baking powder for a good lift and fluffy texture.
    • Sugar - White sugar cuts down the bitterness from cocoa powder.
    • Milk - These are made without buttermilk, so you can whip them up at home without needing to rush to the store.
    • Egg - This recipe skips the step of beating eggs as in the Belgian waffles, simplifying the process and making it incredibly easy to prepare.
    • Butter - Melted butter to add some richness and moisture.

    Substitutions & Variations

    • Mix in some ground cinnamon or vanilla extract
    • Mix in ¼ cup of chocolate chips for more decadence

    How to make chocolate waffles?

    You can find full printable recipe below, but here is a quick overview of the procedure along with step-by-step photos.

    white flour and brown chocolate powder in a glass bowl.
    Step 1 - Add flour, cocoa powder and sugar in a bowl.
    a hand whisking brown flour mixture in a glass bowl.
    Step 2 - Add baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine.
    a hand pouring wet ingredients into a glass bowl.
    Step 3 - Pour in beaten egg, milk and butter.
    a hand mixing brown chocolate waffle batter.
    Step 4 - Mix gently until the batter comes together.

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    a waffle iron is filled with brown chocolate waffle batter.

    Step 5 - Pour batter in a pre heated waffle iron and cook for 5 to 6 minutes.

    Ingredients for tres leches sauce

    Scroll down to the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and amounts.

    ingredients needed to make tres leches sauce.
    • Milk - Use whole milk or skim milk and not fat-free. I have not tested this tres leches sauce with vegan milks such as almond or oat milk.
    • Heavy cream - For richness
    • Condensed milk - One of the main ingredient in the three milk of a tres leches cake.
    • Cornstarch - Just a teaspoon of cornstarch adds some viscosity to the sauce.
    • Flavorings - I used ground cinnamon and vanilla extract. You can skip the ground cinnamon and use almond extract for variation.

    How to make tres leches sauce?

    You can find full printable recipe below, but here is a quick overview of the procedure along with step-by-step photos.

    a hand mixing white milk along with cinnamon in a white saucepan.
    Step 1 - Add the three milks, cornstarch, cinnamon, vanilla and salt into a saucepan.
    brown sauce cooking in a white saucepan.
    Step 2 - Bring to simmer over medium heat and whisk constantly for 1 to 2 minutes.
    a hand pouring brown sauce on top of a strainer placed on a glass measuring cup.
    Step 3 - Remove from heat, cool the sauce and strain it.
    a black spoon full of brown sauce over a glass measuring cup.
    Step 4 - Straining the tres leches sauce gives it a smooth consistency.

    Love tres leches cakes? Try our tiramisu tres leches cake or the rasamlai tres leches cake.

    Serving suggestions

    Although I love to serve them hot of the waffle iron with any this most amazing tres leches sauce, here are a few other ways to serve it!

    • One or two scoops of vanilla ice cream
    • Whipped cream
    • Fresh strawberries
    • Sliced bananas
    • Nutella ganache as I used in the churros recipe.
    • Store bought chocolate sauce
    • Chocolate sauce
    • Caramel sauce

    And don't limit yourself to pairing the tres leches sauce solely with these waffles. It's equally fantastic with a variety of desserts like bread pudding, pancakes, or chocolate cake.

    Make ahead & Freezing

    • Make ahead - If you are making it for a brunch party and like to make a big batch for a crowd, then place cooked waffles on a wire rack-lined baking sheet and keep in 200-degree oven until serving time.
    • To freeze - As all homemade waffles recipes, these are great to make head and freeze. Place cooled waffles in freezer safe zip lock bag, seal well and freeze for up to a month.
    • To reheat - My favorite method is to pop one or two frozen waffles in a bread toaster for 1 to 2 minutes, until thawed and hot.
    • To make sauce ahead - Cook, cool and strain tres leches sauce. Place in the refrigerator until serving time or up to 2 days in advance.

    Helpful tips

    • I used Hershey's 100% cocoa. If you're using a different brand of cocoa powder, keep in mind that it may slightly alter the intensity of the chocolate flavor.
    three brown chocolate waffles along with a fork and knife on a round black plate.

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    white sauce being poured on top of three dark brown chocolate waffles.

    Chocolate Waffles

    Chocolate Waffles topped with cinnamon tres leches sauce - Perfect for indulgent breakfast or brunch, this waffle recipe is guaranteed to be a crowd-pleaser - No buttermilk!
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Breakfast
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 13 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 16 minutes minutes
    Resting time: 8 hours hours
    Total Time: 8 hours hours 29 minutes minutes
    Servings: 7 waffles
    Calories: 199kcal
    Author: Maria Doss

    Equipment

    • Waffle maker

    Ingredients

    Tres leches sauce

    • ½ cup Milk
    • ½ cup Sweetened condensed milk
    • ¼ cup Heavy cream
    • 1 teaspoon Cornstarch
    • ½ teaspoon Vanilla extract
    • ¼ teaspoon Cinnamon
    • ¼ teaspoon Salt

    Chocolate Waffles

    • ¾ cup + 1 tablespoon All purpose flour
    • 3 tablespoons Cocoa powder
    • 2 tablespoons Sugar
    • 2 teaspoons Baking powder
    • ¼ teaspoon Salt
    • 1 Egg, large
    • ¾ cup Milk
    • 3 tablespoons Unsalted butter, melted
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    Make sauce

    • Add all sauce ingredients, except vanilla into a medium sauce pan. Place over medium heat and cook, whisking constantly until it comes to a gentle boil.
    • Lower the heat to medium-low to prevent the milk from boiling over.
      Keep cooking and whisking constantly for an additional 1 to 2 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly.
    • Take the pan off the heat and strain the sauce to remove any cinnamon or cornstarch lumps. Let it cool while you prepare the waffles.
      Tip: Sauce can be made ahead and stored in the fridge for up to 2 days.

    Make waffles

    • Preheat your waffle iron according to manufacturer's instructions.
    • Whisk all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
    • Add the egg, milk and melted butter into a seperate bowl or measuring cup and whisk to combine.
    • Pour in over the combined flour mixture. Mix to combine, making sure not to over mix.
    • Grease waffle iron with cooking spray. Make using about ⅓ cup batter for each waffle. Cook according to manufactures instructions. It took 5 to 6 minutes per waffle in my waffle iron.
    • Serve waffles hot with tres leches sauce!

    Notes

    I used Hershey's 100% cocoa. If you're using a different brand of cocoa powder, keep in mind that it may slightly alter the intensity of the chocolate flavor.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1waffle | Calories: 199kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 59mg | Sodium: 382mg | Potassium: 199mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 438IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 197mg | Iron: 1mg

    Nutritional information, based on third-party calculations, should be seen as estimates, not guarantees, as various factors like product types, brands, processing methods, and more can alter the nutritional content in recipes.

    Did you make this recipe?Mention @KitchenAtHoskins or tag #kitchenathoskins!

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    Comments

    1. Kelly @ Kelly Lynns Sweets and Treats

      September 26, 2017 at 1:30 pm

      You have combined two of my favorite things to make the ultimate breakfast (or dessert?!!). Yum!! I need these in my life 🙂 xoxo

      Reply
      • Maria Doss

        September 27, 2017 at 4:44 am

        Thank you dear:)

        Reply
    2. Patrick

      September 26, 2017 at 6:00 pm

      Holy cow, I better loosen my belt for these babies!

      Reply
      • Maria Doss

        September 27, 2017 at 4:44 am

        Ha ha, thanks Patrick:)

        Reply
    3. Ashika | Gardening Foodie

      September 26, 2017 at 9:49 pm

      OH MY GOODNESS...this is an amazing breakfast Maria...saving for the weekend!
      Absolutely love it!

      Reply
      • Maria Doss

        September 27, 2017 at 4:45 am

        Thank you dear 🙂

        Reply
    4. Kelsie | the itsy-bitsy kitchen

      September 27, 2017 at 3:03 pm

      I'm craving these so much right now! DELISH!

      Reply
      • Maria Doss

        September 27, 2017 at 4:27 pm

        Thank you so much Kelsie:)

        Reply
    5. heather (delicious not gorgeous)

      September 27, 2017 at 5:28 pm

      maple syrup is tasty and all, but tres leches sauce sounds so exciting!

      Reply
      • Maria Doss

        October 03, 2017 at 11:27 am

        Right? Thanks dear:)

        Reply
    6. Deepika|TheLoveOfCakes

      September 29, 2017 at 3:52 pm

      That condensed milk sauce sounds so yummy! Even better with those churro waffles!! Love these waffles!!

      Reply
      • Maria Doss

        October 03, 2017 at 11:28 am

        Thank you so much Deepika:)

        Reply
    7. Jenny| The Baking Skillet

      October 03, 2017 at 12:45 pm

      These waffles look incredible! crunchy, chewy, deliciousness!

      Reply
      • Maria Doss

        October 03, 2017 at 6:26 pm

        Thank you Jenny, they really are:)

        Reply
    8. Rita

      February 06, 2021 at 5:12 pm

      This was super good! I added a pinch of sugar and a bit of cinnamon to the waffle batter and it turned out fantastic!

      Reply
    5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

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