These traditional waffles make a delicious healthy breakfast but with a few indulgent accompaniments they can also be a decadent dessert! When you close the lid, be careful not to clip the latch shut. This machine needs to give the waffle a little wiggle room to rise and somewhere for the steam to escape. You might notice the lid lifts slightly as the waffle cooks. The waffles only took about 2-3 minutes to cook and I’d say they were near-perfect. They had the right amount of crispiness on the outside and fluffiness in the middle. I was also very impressed with how neat they looked. Once heated you will need to brush or spritz some fat on the trays before adding your batter. The manual doesn’t advise on quantity but I found two cups to be enough. If you do overfill, the handy drip tray will save you from messing up your work top. I'd imagined a waffle maker might be awkward to use and fiddly to clean but it was actually much simpler than I'd expected. You heat it up, pour the batter into the middle of the tray, close the lid and then in about 5 minutes the waffles are ready. You just wipe it clean afterwards, rather like a toasted sandwich maker. For evenly filled waffles, pour the batter onto the centre of each grid and gently spread out to the edges.

There is a variable temperature gauge which allows you to cook them how you like – if you like crisp and crunch then crank up the dial to max or if you favour a lighter texture just lower the heat. A few trial runs and you will know what works best for you. This machine is very user friendly with an intuitive design. When you plug in, a green light will come on which indicates the machine is heating up. This only took about 3-4 minutes. Once the machine is up to temperature an amber ready-to-cook light will come on. It recommends about 75ml of batter. I found that it could take closer to 90ml to properly fill the squares. This achieves a fatter waffle. Don’t panic, mess is easy to avoid with the overflow channel that will catch any excess batter. We chose and bought bestselling waffle makers widely available at UK retailers from the most popular brands. Build quality and storage The most important factor when it comes to selecting a waffle maker is that it cooks your waffle evenly. Some might be plagued by hot spots – the perfect waffle has a consistently light and airy centre with a crisp and golden edge all over. 2. Speed matters If you love circular waffles, the Sage the No-Mess Waffle Maker is perfect for you. It's got a dial that goes up to seven levels of darkness, so even the most discerning waffle lover will enjoy a treat that's perfectly suited to their preferences.The ready light will make sure you don't add your waffle batter before it's time to cook, delivering a perfect sizzle. That edge channel is useful too. On some waffle makers you'll have to deal with waffle batter overflowing from the edge of the machine, but the channel will catch any excess and make it easy for you to remove while you serve up a perfectly round waffle. Waffles that were evenly browned and had a crisp outside and a fluffy inside scored highly, and undercooked or uneven waffles were given lower scores.

Once the batter can easily be lifted off the griddle pan with a spatula, flip the waffle batter over and give it another five minutes of heat. The rotating function is a unique addition and ensures an even and consistently cooked waffle. This is operated manually which means you can’t really walk away but the process is actually quite therapeutic and forces you to not forget about them.The waffles themselves are slightly crisp on the outside but soft inside. The recipe is perfect as a basic simple waffle recipe that you can then jazz up with special toppings. How many people do these waffles serve? With its easily interchangeable sandwich, grill and waffle plates you can whip up fluffy waffles, crispy toasties or grilled goodies all with one handy countertop appliance. The total baking time is a bit longer than the other models tested – approx. 5 -10 minutes and it was hard to ascertain when to flip. The instruction manual suggests part-way through so it will take a few practice runs to get the timing just right. You will need to peek at your waffle from time to time to see what is going on (but make sure you leave them alone for the first few minutes).