What's not to love about a waffle? They're quick and easy, endlessly customisable, the perfect receptacle for syrups and honeys and can be topped with anything your heart desires (just look at the popularity of fried chicken-topped waffles in the US!). They've come a long way from their French and Belgian origins, and are now a key staple of breakfasts and brunches.

To make them at home couldn't be simpler, provided you have a waffle iron – an affordable bit of kit that transforms simple batters into Instagrammable bases for all sorts of toppings, to be enjoyed for brunch, lunch and dessert. We think they're far more interesting and provide buckets more wow-factor than bog-standard pancakes, despite both being made from almost exactly the same batch of store cupboard ingredients.

If you’ve made pancakes before, you already know what to do. The key to a good waffle is in a smooth batter – adding the wet ingredients slowly and carefully means you won’t have any lumps, and that makes all the difference once you ladle the batter into the grids of your waffle maker.

Waffles also give you the chance to add other ingredients into the batter itself as well as the topping. You can whisk in anything from cheese and herbs to chocolate chips and citrus zest before you bake them, and the flavours really shine through in the final product. We often consider waffles as a sweet snack, but they work equally well in a savoury context.

If you’ve just invested in a waffle maker or you’re eyeing up a purchase, check out a few of our simple waffle recipes below.

Belgian waffles are famously light and fluffy, often made with a larger waffle iron which gives them much deeper pockets. Rather than buying a specialist bit of kit to achieve this, substituting the more common baking powder with dry yeast results in a wonderfully light Belgian waffle batter. We opted for berries, syrup and whipped cream, but chocolate spread is just as good.

Waffles are usually doused in honey, fruit, whipped cream and chocolate and served with a coffee or at the end of a meal. However, they’re a very versatile medium that suit savoury flavours just as well. These cheddar and chive waffles are a perfect example of that – cheddar, chives and whole milk give the batter a rich, savoury flavour, making these the perfect brunch base upon which you can pile eggs, bacon, sausages or Parma ham.

You’ve had chocolate chip pancakes and chocolate chip cookies. Well, allow us to introduce you to chocolate chip waffles! The theory that chocolate makes everything better is proved once again with these delightful chocolate orange waffles, which can be whipped up in just half an hour if you find your sweet tooth needs something to snack on. Throw on a few orange segments and a bit of whipped cream and you’re in business.

Pining for tropical beaches and a bit of sun? These coconut, lime and pineapple waffles will transport you to a breakfast underneath the palms. The waffle batter is made with coconut milk, lime zest and desiccated coconut, giving these dairy-free waffles a lovely smooth texture, perfectly accented by charred pineapple and mint.

Big on peanut butter? You’ve come to the right place. Adding just a couple of tablespoons of smooth peanut butter to your waffle batter gives the final result a lovely nutty flavour, but also an amazingly silky texture. Cook until crisp and pile them up with sliced banana, honey and toasted peanuts for a decadent breakfast.