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

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

• 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.

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.