Cardamom Sour-Cream Waffles with Gin

This morning a friend of mine on Facebook posted that she was making Eggo waffles. I had been intending to make khao thom for breakfast using last night's leftover rice, but instead I thought, "Mmmmmmmm, waffles." Not Eggo waffles, but homemade waffles. Not just any homemade waffles, Cardamom Sour Cream Waffles from a recipe I got from ImportFood.com (which they, in turn, got from Gourmet, February 2008.) Yummy.

I warmed up the waffle iron, started getting my ingredients together, and began toasting cardamom seeds. There on the counter was a bottle of gin. Last night I made a martini nightcap and hadn't put the bottle away. My brain said "No! Don't do it! Go back! It's a trap!" All the while my hands were adding one jigger of gin and then another to the batter.

To my surprise, even with two jiggers of gin, the juniper flavor was surprisingly subtle. Then I had the insight to sprinkle more gin on the cooked waffles. Shazam! [Note: one only wants a light sprinkling – too much makes the waffles, and the diner, soggy.] These are not waffles that I would feed to my neighbors’ kids; the elements of sour cream, cardamom, and juniper are not likely to appeal to children (not to mention the alcohol.) But for adult friends I think I have a new crowd-pleaser.

My recipe, a modified version of the Gourmet Magazine original, follows:

Ingredients:

• 1.5 C all-purpose flour 
• 1.5 tsp baking powder 
• 3/4 tsp baking soda 
• 1/4 tsp salt 
• 3 Tbs sugar
• 1+ tsp ground cardamom (preferably, start with cardamom seeds (not the whole pod), dry toast in a pan, then fresh grind in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle.
• [optional] 2 or 3 juniper berries, dry toasted and ground as above.
• 1 C whole milk 
• 1 C sour cream 
• 2 whole eggs, slightly beaten
• 3 Tbs unsalted butter, melted
• 2 jiggers gin for batter plus extra to sprinkle on top.
  [I wasn't sure what the alcohol would do to the structure of the waffles, but it seems that its rapid evaporation actually made the waffles lighter.]

Method:

Preheat a waffle iron. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar and cardamom.
Mix remaining ingredients in another bowl, then blend into the flour mixture until just combined.

Cook waffles according to manufacturer’s instructions.
Serve with butter and maple syrup and sprinkle with gin to taste.