It’s unclear when it happened, but locals have turned the universal Cuba libre into something that is now inherently part of Philippine drinking culture.
A bottle of good old Tanduay rum and cans of Coke will share a table with a bucket of ice cold San Miguel beer on any given night, when locals are at their regular haunt, gathering over the drunken dishes of the night. The Filipino rum and coke is a simple concoction that brings on immediate, down-the-hatch, inebriated satisfaction. The sweet notes of each beverage come together to make a drink that is almost confection-like on the palate.
Here’s the dessert version of the ever-reliable libation: crisp waffles aerated with Coke, which has the light and lingering presence of the soda, and a dangerously addictive rum syrup that’s as thick as caramel, and as boozy as last night’s drink.
Ingredients
Rum Caramel
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed lightly
- ½ cup butter
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ⅓ cup dark rum
Coca-Cola Waffles
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup Coke
- ¾ cup milk
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tbsp white sugar
- 3 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
Make caramel: Combine butter, sugar, and cream in a saucepan over medium heat. Allow mixture to boil and thicken, about 5 minutes. Stir in rum and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
Make waffle batter: Beat eggs in a large mixing bowl until pale and fluffy. In a separate bowl, combine all wet ingredients and whisk until combined. In a third bowl, combine all dry ingredients, also mixing until combined. Alternately add the dry and wet ingredients into the egg mixture. Whisk until everything is just incorporated, but do not overmix.
Cook waffles: Preheat and grease a waffle iron. Once warm, pour batter and cook until golden brown. Serve warm with rum caramel.
