Belgian Waffles

Since I spent 12 years of my life in Belgium, my wife is Belgian and today it is Belgian independence day, I thought it would be appropriate for me to share with you a killer recipe for the REAL Belgian waffle.

The success of Belgian cuisine in America never fails to surprise me. Don't get me wrong, I think Belgian cuisine and beers are probably the only good thing that Belgium has going for it. Belgian food is amazing, and Brussels and Antwerp have some of the best restaurants I have ever eaten in. But the reason why a cuisine which is (wrongfully) ignored in the rest of Europe is so successful in America escapes me.

Now, in every restaurant in the States you will find "Belgian waffles" offered for breakfast. These are good, but they are what in Belgium are known as "Brussels waffles", i.e. the soft kind that you actually DO NOT eat for breakfast, and that you can find aplenty sold at the shops and cafes around the Grand Place in Brussels.

But there is another kind of waffles, which is actually more ubiquitous in Belgium, and yet seems to be unknown here in the US (although in New York there is a food truck selling just that), which is called "Gaufres de Liege", waffles from Liege. These are much thicker in texture, much tastier if you ask me, and have a sublime crunchiness due to the use of pearl sugar. Pearl sugar is actually what makes these little beasts amazing, although there is a trick in case you don't find it. (Read on).

Waffles from Liege with pearl sugar

So, if you really want to eat your weight in Belgian waffles today, while sipping a Kriek, here is what you ought to do.

Waffles from Liege (Sugar waffles): makes 10
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This recipe is based on my wife's grandfather's recipe. You will not find it in books, and it is as authentic as it gets. So mark it down and just make it. You will need to prepare two different batters, which sounds like a lot of work. But Rome wasn't built in a day, right? And still, it is a nice looking city, I would say (although I would never live there, because it is a freaking mess, but this is another story, and these waffles are NOT as messy as Rome. Ok?)

Batter 1

• 2 1/2 packages of active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup of warm water (60ml)
• 1 cup all purpose flour (120g)
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 large egg beaten
• 1/3 cup warm milk (not boiling)

Batter 2

• 9 tbsp unsalted butter (130gr), at room temperature
• 6 tbsp of all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1oz (25gr) of vanilla sugar (you can make your own by adding vanilla pods to normal sugar...)
• salt (a pinch)
• 1/2 cup pearl sugar (100-120gr) (*) 

(*) Pearl sugar is used in many Belgian pastries. Its main feature is to remain crunchy after baking. You can find it on Amazon (here is a list). If you don't find it, or want to make this recipe today, you can "make" your own pearl sugar by taking sugar cubes and crashing them in pieces of approximately the size of a pistachio. It won't be the same thing, but it won't be too far off. The important thing is not too crush the pieces too small.

How to make it

Batter 1: dissolve the yeast in the warm water in a bowl, adding 1 tablespoon of flour and the sugar (NOT the pearl sugar, the regular one). Let it rest for a few minutes, until it foams. 
Sift the remaining flour into a large bowl. Make a volcano crater in the center and add the yeast foamy mixture, the eggs and the milk. Mix everything together until you have a smooth batter. Cover it and let it rest until the batter has doubled or tripled in volume. This may take some time, depending on the temperature in your kitchen. Or you can take the shortcut (which is what we do, and the results are amazing): you heat an oven up to 150F -200F (70-100 C), turn it off, and then put the bowl in it, with the door closed. The batter will rise in 15 minutes...
Batter 2: mix the butter, the flour, the salt, the vanilla, the baking powder, the vanilla sugar, the cinnamon, the normal sugar, the pearl sugar until all the elements are well incorporated. 
Incorporate Batter 2 into Batter 1 with your hands, until they form a well mixed single batter. Shape the dough into 10 balls and flatten them so that they have the same size of a slider burger. Dust the patties with flour. 
Bake the balls in a waffle iron for 3-4 minutes, until they are golden brown (see photos). We have a 11$ waffle iron we bought at Target, and it works perfectly.
Put the waffles to cool on a rack and serve them either lukewarm or at room temperature. They will keep for a few days in a tipper ware, if - for some mysterious reasons - you will not devour them. 

The final product: you can very well see the white pearl sugar that will crunch when you bite it...