25th March: Day of Waffles (Våffeldagen)

This day is very celebrated in Scandinavia, but no places more than in Sweden where it is seen as a great excuse to have more waffles than normal! (In Norway, it is also celebrated, but to be fair, in Norway, every day is waffle day, so…. Norway will always win when it comes to waffles). It is also celebrated in Churches, as it is Our Lady’s Day – in Swedish, this is called Vårfrudagen – and this apparently got misunderstood once upon a time – so it became Våffledagen (Waffle Day) – an easy mistake to make, but now we get to celebrate both on the same day.

Scandinavian waffles are made in a waffle iron that is heart shaped – usually 5 little hearts make up one waffle. You can buy these waffle irons online and in places such as Clas Ohlson

If you have a different waffle iron, by all means, you can use this too but your yield and cooking time will be slightly different, so apply logic when cooking if you use different size waffle irons.

There are hundred of different waffle recipes. Literally. This one is from Bronte’s book Fika & Hygge and comes via her Mother-in-Law Eva who makes these when they are all together in the cottage in the North of Sweden, skiing over the winter months. It is a simple recipe – containing no sugar or egg – and you get wonderfully crispy waffles. Be warned, though, the waffles need to be eaten straight out of the waffle iron or they go soggy.

One recipe makes around 7-8 waffles. We usually double the recipe. Or triple. Can you ever have too many waffles?

Basic Frasvåfflor recipe

150g melted butter
300g plain flour
250ml whole milk
250ml water
2 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt

Method
Mix ingredients together to form a smooth batter. Turn your waffle iron on and make your waffles. Depending on your waffle iron you may need to brush the waffle iron with a bit of butter (but most these days are completely non stick). Bake until brown and crispy.

Enjoy straight out of the waffle iron with your chose toppings. We think the very best is a good dollop of cloudberry jam and some vanilla whipped cream or ice cream. Actually, any kind of jam will do.