.Recipe of the week.

I love brunch. It is by far my favorite meal with it's combination of sweet and savory and a light little drink and it's always so social. Going through my recipe box today I notice that so many of my recipes are either for brunch or holidays - since we're not close to a holiday I thought I would share a brunch recipe. I have been making this waffle recipe from Williams-Sonoma for ages and I always get rave reviews. It is by far my favorite waffle recipe and I hope that you give it a try and love it as much as I do!

Waffles with Honey-Caramelized Peaches & Crème Fraiche

Ingredients

For the waffles:

3/4 cup crème fraîche
1 Tbs. honey
3 eggs, separated
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3 Tbs. sugar
For the honey-caramelized peaches:
1/3 cup honey
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground ginger
1 cup hot water
4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
5 ripe peaches, halved and pitted
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

Directions:

1. Have all the ingredients (except the hot water) at room temperature. Preheat an oven to 200°F. Preheat a Belgian waffle maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

2. In a small bowl, stir together the crème fraîche and honey until well combined. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

3. In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Whisk in the buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla. Over a sheet of parchment paper, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Add the flour mixture to the yolk mixture and whisk until smooth.

4. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, fold half of the egg whites into the batter, then fold in the remaining whites. Ladle a heaping 1/3 cup batter into each well of the waffle maker and cook according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer the waffles to a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven. Repeat with the remaining batter.

5. To make the honey-caramelized peaches, in a bowl, stir together the honey, cinnamon, ginger and hot water until the honey is dissolved; set aside.

6. In a large nonstick fry pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the peaches, cut side down, and cook until browned underneath, about 10 minutes. Pour in the honey mixture and cook, turning the peaches over occasionally, until they are tender and caramelized and the liquid is syrupy, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat. Transfer the peaches to a plate and stir the lemon juice into the syrup.

7. Serve the waffles warm, topped with the honey-caramelized peaches, syrup and sweetened crème fraîche.