Waffles with Warm Cherry Sauce

Have I mentioned my slight obsession with German food?  I make German and Mexican food so often that my wife has suggested I write a German/Mexican fusion cookbook (with recipes including Kale and Potato Enchiladas and Five Alarm Goulash).  It's partly an interest in the foods of my wife's childhood and heritage, but it mostly has to do with the fact that German food is mostly butter and cream (see also: my obsession with French food).

My wife has been asking me to recreate this dish for some time.  In Northern Germany, pastries are an art and an essential part of life.  Most afternoons, friends and family gather at bakeries or in each other's homes around cakes stuffed with marzipan or prune butter (everything topped with whipped cream, obviously).  If you happen to be out for a walk along the beach, you need a mobile sweet afternoon snack.  For this, you have several choices: ice cream, crepes, or waffles.  The latter is often topped with warm berries, known as rote grutze (literally red porridge, or similar).  Since the cherries are going crazy right now, I thought it would be a good time to give this Northern German treat a go.

The tricky thing about this particular dish is that you can't just go and dump some normal cherries on normal waffles.  German cherries are sour, and German waffles are so incredibly light (nothing like what sits next to  your bacon and sausage, waiting to be topped with maple syrup).  They are thin, airy, and crispy, resembling the delicate cookies known as eiserkuhen.

I had to adapt for my American kitchen.  The cherries were not sour, the waffles perhaps not so thin.  But they were delicious and were granted approval from the expert who has eaten waffles in Germany for many years.  I had the pleasure of spending some time in Germany two years ago (which is good, since these islands may not exist in a few decades).  I miss the wind worn landscape, the cold North Sea, the green meadows, and the endless beaches.  But mostly I miss the pastries.  So making these waffles is a little like bringing some of Germany home, so I can close my eyes, smell the salt, feel the wind, and taste the butter.

German Waffles with Warm Cherry Sauce (Rote Grutze)
Serves 4

For the rote gruzte:

1 c cherries, pitted and chopped
2 c water
2 T corn starch
dash red wine (optional)
sugar

Place cherries and water in a saucepan over medium heat.  Bring to a boil, and cook for half an hour, stirring occasionally.  Add wine a few minutes before the half hour.  Dissolve corn starch in a little water, and add it to the mixture.  Stir until there are no lumps.  Add sugar to taste (I need a few tablespoons).  Remove from heat, and let cool slightly before serving.

For the waffles:

1/3 c water
2/3 c flour
2 eggs
1/3 c sugar
1/2 c melted butter
1/2 t baking powder

Mix all ingredients well, stirring until there are no lumps.  Heat your waffle iron, and cook waffles according to your iron.

Serve waffles topped with rote grutze and powdered sugar.