The Great Cake Waffles Experiment: Chocolate and Vanilla

I love making cake, but the problem I have with making most desserts is that I don't typically have tons of people to share the dessert with. So when I make a large number of cupcakes, cookies, or just a big cake, Mr. Coconut and I end up gorging on all of it within 2 days or some of the dessert goes bad.

My solution came in the form of my waffle iron. Genius, pure genius.

I've seen/read/heard of other folks using waffle irons for cooking things other than waffles. I also know I am not the first person to think of cake batter in a waffle iron, but nonetheless it was a delicious experience.

I used Cherrybrook Kitchen brand cake mix in vanilla and also chocolate. Cherrybrook Kitchen is an awesome brand of cake, cookie, and other baking mixes that are allergen free, which makes all of their products vegan. They also have a decent line of gluten-free mixes. These are available at Whole Foods, Super Target, and local co-ops in my area.

It took a while to get the timing and amount just right. I used my Belgian waffle iron, which made for some extremely delicate pieces that fell apart easily. A regular waffle iron with smaller squares or pockets, whatever you want to call it, would probably be better for a more sturdy piece of cake. I sprayed the waffle iron with non-stick spray, ladled in what I figured out to be the perfect amount, closed the waffle iron and waited. My iron has a self-timer with a green light that indicates when you should pour in the batter and a red light which indicates when it is done. I found I had to wait for a minute or two after the red light came on in order to get the cake in one piece.

All in all, light, fluffy cake was done within minutes. I was able to store the pieces in the fridge in an airtight container for a lot longer (and a lot easier) than a whole cake. I used some frosting from Pillsbury that is "accidentally" vegan and decorated with sprinkles. I couldn't frost easily because I was too impatient to soften up the frosting enough to spread on the delicate pieces -- so no photo of the frosted end result.

Here's a shot of the vanilla pieces in the waffle iron: