The Real Belgian Waffles
Belgium has two types of waffles, one from Brussels and one from Liege. Brussels waffles are thinner, and have no sugar. They are also wider. Liege’s are smaller but thicker, have yeast, and also “pearled sugar”, a speciality from Wallonia (famous for its sugarbeet). It’s basically small balls of sugar, the size of a pea. When added to the waffle dough, it melts in the waffle oven and makes the waffle caramely and sweet.
Recipe #1 – Brussels Waffles (makes approx. 10 waffles). This recipe is an adaptation of the original recipe, from Philippe Caudelier in 1874.
- 125g plain flour
- 5 eggs (four whites and five yolks)
- 1 tbsp of white sugar
- 25cl of milk
- 75gr of butter
- a pinch of salt
- one vanilla bean.
Melt the butter slighlty, it has to be melted but not hot.
Separate the eggs, beat the 4 whites to firm.
Split the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds with a knife (don’t get any fibre).
In a large bowl, pour in the flour, mix five egg yolks, the sugar, the vanilla seeds, salt, milk and the butter. You will get a nice runny dough. Mix well until there are no lumps.
Slowly add the egg white, and let it sit for 45minutes with a clean cloth. The dough should be less runny than crepes.
When the dough has rested for 30-45 minutes, it’s time to heat up the waffle oven. Slighly grease the plates with a nob of butter, and cook your waffle. Pour about a 2/3rd of a ladle of dough per waffle. They need to be firm outside, tender inside and have a nice golden-brown color.
Serve with powdered sugar, or cassonade if you have some.
Recipe #2 – Liege Waffle (maxes approx. 10).
Historically, this recipe was invented by the Prince of Liege’s head chef, in the 18th century).
- 250g plain flour
- 5g bread yeast
- 2 eggs
- 15cl of milk (room temperature)
- 100g butter (soft, room temperature)
- 100g pearled sugar
- one vanilla bean
Split the vanilla bean and scrape the beans off with a knife (don’t get any fibre).
In a large bowl, mix in the milk and yeast, let it rise for 5 minutes. Add the flour, eggs, vanilla seeds and the butter.
Mix this dough with your hands like you would knead bread (it’s a stickier than bread, but less runny than the Brussels waffles). Let this rest for 25-30 minutes with a cloth in a warm corner of the kitchen.
Add the pearled sugar, mix with a wooden spoon and let it rest for another 25-30 minutes.
Heat the waffle oven, you’ll need a little butter to grease the plates. Pour in about a large tablespoon of dough per waffle. The waffles will have an almost crispy outside, but not too much so the inside is still soft. Make sure you clean the plates often as the pearled sugar will end up burning.