We recently celebrate the birthday of one of my very favorite people – my Aunt. She’s such a huge presence in my life and so much fun to be with, I wanted to come up with an idea that would really surprise her. I just purchased a waffle maker, so it only took a few pinterest searches to decide that we were, in fact, going to do a waffle bar birthday party! One of the best things about a Waffle Bar Party: almost everything can be prepared ahead of time. I had the entire table assembled long before any batter hit the waffle iron. I had made the batter ahead of time, so as guests began to arrive I was able to quickly quickly churn out the waffles and bacon. I made two kinds of waffles: Belgian and Chocolate (you can find my Belgian Waffle recipe below!) – both were a huge hit!
I picked up a cheap paper tablecloth ($1 at the $1 store) and used some sharpies to decorate it. The great thing about a waffle bar is how easy it is to customize. Some of our topping ideas:
Fresh fruit:
- strawberries
- blueberries
- blackberries
- rasberries
- cinnamon apples
- peach blackberry jam
- Blueberries in Lavender and Vanilla Bean Syrup
Sweets:
- chocolate chips
- sprinkles
- ice cream
- melted chocolate
- whipped cream
Spreads:
- Pancake syrup
- chocolate syrup
- strawberry syrup
- butter
Everyone went to town, creating their perfect waffle (or two or three!)..
And of course we had birthday cake! I made a devil’s food cake filled with chocolate buttercream and topped with fresh berries and powdered sugar. Since we were eating a lot of sweets on our waffles I wanted to avoid a too-sweet cake. This was perfect, the chocolate buttercream was just sweet enough to make it a satisfying dessert without going into sugar overload! Who am I kidding, we are clearly way past sugar overload here!
We had a great night, the waffle bar was so much fun and by preparing the waffle batter ahead of time and keeping it in the fridge,it was really easy to get everything on the table quickly!
What toppings would you serve up on the perfect waffle bar?
- 4 Cups all-purpose flour
- 5 Tablespoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 cups butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 3 Cups milk
- 4 eggs, separated
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- In a large bow combine flour, baking powder and sugar.
- In another bowl gently beat yolks, then add butter, milk and vanilla extract. Stir into dry ingredients until just combined.
- Beat eggs whites into stiff peaks, then fold into batter.
- Follow manufacturers direction to bake until golden brown in your waffle maker.
- Beating egg whites to stiff peaks take a while, especially if you are doing it by hand, but the end result is worth it!
[…] Waffle Bar Party via The Shady Lane I know I already shared another waffle party above, but I loved this one too. What was very cool is that they wrote directly on the tablecloth with the steps! Very clever! […]