I have come down with a cold, so yesterday I amused myself by making Gaufres de Liege, known to me as Belgian sugar waffles. These are amazing, and have left me uninterested in most all other waffles. They are made from a yeast dough and studded with big coarse sugar that melts and caramelizes as it cooks. They are so, so good.
I had my first one of these at Arosa cafe here in Seattle. (If you live in Seattle you can read more about Arosa's two locations and Hans, whom everybody loves, here at Voracious.) Even when not fresh (I brought it home and heated in the oven for a moment) it was delicious. I tracked down a recipe over at The Kitchn and had a go.
First I needed to find pearl sugar (though the recipe calls for turbinado sugar and only pearl sugar "if you choose"). I know I'd seen it in the Scandinavian Specialties import store in Ballard, the stuff I had seen resembles the large, opaque salt you see on soft pretzels. I ended up finding some at my nearest Red Apple Market:
This brand had two kinds, Swedish Pearl Sugar (like described above) and this Belgian Pearl Sugar which is far larger than I was expecting:
But, right there on the back of the box is a recipe for Belgian Sugar Waffles:
I don't know if you need sugar this large, but it certainly seemed to work well. You can also find this Lars Own Belgian Pearl Sugar at Amazon, along with hail sugar, the small kind, which is sold by Chef Shop (whose physical location just happens to be in Seattle). You can also find the Lars Swedish sized pear sugar occasionally at Ikea.
The recipe calls for 140 grams of sugar, which for me worked out to just over 3/4 cup, but I didn't use all of it because the dough seemed so crammed with sugar.
You divide the dough into 12 parts, let them rise a bit more and put them in your waffle maker:
These aren't meant to fill the space in your waffle maker, they are meant to be oddly shaped. The sugar bits melt, so if you have an older waffle maker you might want to use that one:
Here is my DIRE WARNING. The molten sugar bits will burn your fingers when you remove them from the waffle maker. So don't pluck them from the waffle maker with your bare fingers (ow ow ow stupid ow), and don't lift them from the waffle maker with tongs but place your bare hand protectively beneath it as the hot sugar will drip onto your lower hand (unexpected ow). Use tongs to pluck it out of the waffle maker, and a spatula beneath to steady it on it's way to the cooling rack. You have been warned.
What emerges will be so good you almost won't mind the amount of work it will be to clean out your waffle maker.
The waffle maker pictured here is on it's way out and I suspect our next waffle maker will be chosen specifically with Gaufres de Liege in mind. Smaller, deeper squares and with temperature settings. (If you're wondering what happened to the waffle maker I mentioned earlier, I returned it. It made a disturbing and obviously not right click when one closed it, something was catching and we couldn't figure out what. Also, it seemed to only under or over cook waffles and for as much as it cost I wasn't too pleased about that. I'd much rather have the 1/5th of an ottoman that it was worth.)
One last note, the recipe below calls for a low temperature setting for your waffle maker. Mine just has On and Off and yet the waffles turned out just fine. I just checked to see if the outside was dark enough for me, they all seem to have cooked through just fine (I, um, ate half of them so it was a good sample). You can heat them in the toaster, but be aware of the molten sugar warnings above and if you are going to just eat it by hand wrap it in parchment paper instead of a paper towel (which will stick to the caramelized sugar exterior).
Recipe by Chichi of My Chalkboard Fridge, by way of Doc Doughtery, and was found here at The Kitchn. Presented here with a few notes by Megan from NotMartha.org.
Gaufres de Liege
makes 12 waffles
- 6 tablespoons warm milk (no hotter than 110°F)
- 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 1/2 cups (230 grams) bread flour, sifted
- 1 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 medium egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 cup (4 oz) unsalted butter, at slightly cooler than room temperature
- 140 grams turbinado sugar, or pearl sugar if you choose (I went with 3/4 cup. It's worth seeking out Lars Belgian Pearl Sugar if you can find it.)
- Cooking spray
Dissolve the sugar in the warm milk; then add the yeast. Make sure that the milk is not too hot, lest it kill the yeast instead of promoting its growth. Place a plate or some kind of cover on top of the bowl with the milk, sugar and yeast. Set aside for about five minutes. When you check on it, the yeast should have bubbled up, looking light brown and spongy.
Meanwhile, mix the sifted bread flour with the cinnamon, vanilla extract, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Pour in the yeast mixture; then add the whole egg and egg yolk. Mix on medium speed until it is fully combined. The dough will be yellow and stiff, yielding only slightly to a poke.
Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest in a warm place for about thirty minutes. (I always find the top of my fridge is the best spot in my house.)
Beat in the butter piece by piece; you do not have to wait for the prior piece to be fully incorporated before adding the next. When the dough has incorporated about half of the butter, the mixture will be like a very thick, somewhat broken-up paste. If you keep engaging the mixer on medium-high speed, the dough will eventually become a cohesive whole, looking smoother and more feeling more elastic. Scrape the sides of the bowl if needed.
Kneading very gently, incorporate the sugar crystals just enough to get them evenly distributed. Work quickly so as not to soften the buttery dough too much.
Divide the dough into a dozen equal pieces, gently forming them into balls.
Place the balls of dough on a cutting board in a warmish place for fifteen minutes or so. During the last two minutes of this resting time, preheat your waffle iron until it is very warm, but not hot.
Spray the griddles with cooking oil. Place each ball of dough in a whole square or section of the waffle iron. (I could fit two in my smallish, round Belgian style waffle maker.) Like regular waffle batter, the dough will start to puff up. Cook the waffles until the surface is golden to dark brown. Be sure that the waffle iron you are using is appropriately deep, or else the interior of the waffle will not be cooked through. If you are using a vintage stovetop waffle iron, flip the iron every thirty to forty seconds, lifting the iron to check the rate of browning. The browning should be gradual to allow the interior to fully develop.
(Be careful when you lift them from the waffle maker! Very hot sugar can drip from the waffles and, trust me, it burns.)
Set the waffles on a cooling rack as they come out of the iron to promote a crispy exterior. Serve immediately with a sprinkling of powdered sugar.
Any leftover waffles, if they are not dark brown, can be carefully re-cooked in a toaster for approximately thirty to sixty seconds. (Again, beware hot molten sugar.) Leftover waffles may also be kept in an airtight container between sheets of parchment paper, for up to three days.
56 responses so far ↓
1 Dot // Nov 20, 2009 at 7:20 am
This sounds sooo good. Would there be any way to make ahead the dough? Because I could see making the dough the night before then cooking it up in the morning, more than I could see actually cooking all this before my coffee has set in :)
2 Bird Crafts // Nov 20, 2009 at 7:30 am
Hi there,
I have found your site via an article written in the British Telegraph paper in March 2008!
What a yummy post to find on my first visit :)
I have already bookmarked you and put a link from my blog to your site. Hope this is ok with you. I talk about crafty and handmade things, tutorials and much more. The link is here:
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Thanks
3 Eileen // Nov 20, 2009 at 8:55 am
Dot - I have not made this *exact* recipe (YET!), but I have always had good luck making yeast-recipes the night before. Just use all-cold ingredients (don't warm the milk) and put it in the fridge right after mixing. Then in the morning take out the dough and let it sit for 20-30 minutes to warm up.
I am totally making these this weekend.
4 Sarah // Nov 20, 2009 at 9:25 am
You get those here in London at all the waffle vans. I actually don't like them at all! Too sticky-chewy. I prefer light fluffy waffles.
5 The Go Green Blog // Nov 20, 2009 at 9:36 am
MMMM...These look to die for!
6 {kms} // Nov 20, 2009 at 9:52 am
so lovely! must get waffle maker immediately.
7 air casebier // Nov 20, 2009 at 10:17 am
Lars products can be purchased here. Great products.
http://www.larsown.com/
8 Seanna Lea // Nov 20, 2009 at 10:40 am
Om, nom, nom. I don't think I would want to use my good waffle iron for this, but maybe the one I use for fun sandwiches... possible.
9 Diigo bookmarks 11/20/2009 « Jill’s Place // Nov 20, 2009 at 11:31 am
[...] Gaufres de Liege, the waffle that has made me forget about all others [...]
10 Laurie // Nov 20, 2009 at 11:41 am
I don't have a waffle maker but this recipe makes me want to buy one NOW! Oh how yummy they look and sound. I wish I could smell them.
11 nazilam // Nov 20, 2009 at 12:42 pm
I love these things. Hot from the truck in Brussels or cold in the bag from Monoprix. Now, with this recipe, I will never have to leave Seattle again (kidding). However, I will be on the lookout for gaufre sugar when I am in Brussels next.
12 megan // Nov 20, 2009 at 1:22 pm
Nazilam - Next time you're in First Hill stop in Arosa and have a waffle from Hans, I'd love to know how they compare to those in the actual country.
13 wendy // Nov 20, 2009 at 1:24 pm
oh. my. gosh.
you are wicked.
i love you.
14 fert // Nov 20, 2009 at 2:00 pm
megan,
i emailed that a.t. recipe to my waffle-obsessed fiance when i first saw it. gonna have to try this out, now! your pictures are making me drool.
the swedish guy sitting behind me also wants to know where this swedish imports store is...
15 megan b. // Nov 20, 2009 at 2:01 pm
thanks for this, Megan. Makes me yearn for the Belgian fellow with the waffle cart that I would frequent daily at the Monterey Jazz Festival every year. His cart was called Le Waf, I believe.
16 fert // Nov 20, 2009 at 2:11 pm
oh and what do you think of possibly using 'sugar in the raw' which is turbinado sugar but relatively small crystals... i wonder how small chunks of rock sugar (which is cheap and available at asian supermarkets) would fare in this recipe, too...
17 ivonne // Nov 20, 2009 at 2:30 pm
there is a waffle chain in japan that makes them looking just like these. I want to say they're called Manneken Waffle and OMG. I ate a whole box by myself. If you ever go I highly recommend them!
18 megan // Nov 20, 2009 at 2:51 pm
Fert - There was on on 15th just north of 65th, aka just north of Ballard high. Here it is, Scandinavian Specialties:
http://www.scanspecialties.com/about.php
As for sugar in the raw I think it would work out fine. One of the features of this type of waffle, I've read, is the little pockets of sugar. You might not get those as much with the sugar in the raw, but I think it would work out. As for rock sugar I don't see why not. Do you think hard crystal sugar would melt as easily as the opaque sugar I had which, when eaten by itself, is a bit softer and easier to crush. I suspect it might take more heat (energy) to melt clear sugar crystals but my high school chemistry fails me at this point.
19 sheista // Nov 20, 2009 at 4:03 pm
omg, that ain't right! yum!
20 megan b. // Nov 20, 2009 at 6:59 pm
Thanks. Went to Arosa today. Waffles were magic, as was the hot chocolate. Looking for reasons to go back now.
21 Sarah, Maison Cupcake // Nov 21, 2009 at 4:31 am
I so want a waffle iron now. I am tidying up space in my cupboards as we speak.
22 charli // Nov 21, 2009 at 6:13 am
you can make your own pearl sugar-- its not hard. http://www.instructables.com/id/SKEGKTLF6B7SSPE/
making them as i type!!!
23 justJENN // Nov 21, 2009 at 10:14 am
Sugar waffles are the BEST. Le Pain Quotidien makes a good one too.
24 Joanna // Nov 21, 2009 at 12:01 pm
King Arthur flour makes pearl sugar -- it's available in the catalog and on the Web site.
25 megan // Nov 21, 2009 at 2:40 pm
Thanks Charli!
26 Jessica // Nov 21, 2009 at 7:08 pm
This looks amazing!
27 Karen // Nov 22, 2009 at 1:38 pm
These were great! The teenagers who roam from house to house on weekends were here this AM and devoured them. I figure I could make the dough the night before and refrigerate it. In the morning I would make the 12 rolls and let them rise - that's what I will try on Christmas morning. Thanks for the recipe!
28 MXJ // Nov 23, 2009 at 8:04 am
I believe you can get the pearl sugar at IKEA as well.
29 April // Nov 23, 2009 at 9:26 am
Holy schneikes! Those look amazing. I need a waffle iron right now! :)
30 t marie // Nov 23, 2009 at 12:42 pm
For those trying to make it the night ahead, I made the mistake of adding the turbino sugar the night before. Sadly, the long sit gave the sugar a chance to dissolve, creating a puddle of dissolved sugar at the bottom of the bowl and my final product had less sugar in direct contact with the waffle iron. Clearly, I should have given taken the rest before adding the butter and sugar step.
31 Beth Rang // Nov 24, 2009 at 1:45 am
Was it hard to clean your waffle iron after making these? They look yummy, but messy!
32 Felicia Escalante // Nov 24, 2009 at 4:53 am
Me and my family is stationed in Germany (hubby is in the Air Force) anyway last month we went to Belgium while my parents were here to celebrate my 6 year old sons birthday and instead of birthday cake we had real belgium waffles....oh my gosh is all I can say. I think every little town we went to we had to get waffles in Brugge, Brussels, and Ghent. They are sooo amazingly good! These look just as good!!!
33 Dorthy // Nov 24, 2009 at 8:55 am
Love your blog. Great pictures. The recipe looks fantastic. My husband would love it but I can't eat sugar.
34 sherah // Nov 24, 2009 at 9:27 am
Funny! We just moved from Israel to Germany and we live on the Belgian border. We do most of our grocery shopping in Belgium and this was one of the first "Belgian" things we tried. I loved it, but my husband was disturbed when he bit into the sugar. They also have waffle cookies with a brown sugar mixture in the middle which are quite good. My kids call them falafel (the closest word they know to waffle) cookies and beg for them all the time
35 jubliant cerise // Nov 25, 2009 at 8:38 pm
I am so excited about this recipe because I'm going to combine Mark Bittman's bacon waffle recipe into it: add the Gaufres de Liege batter to the waffle iron, throw in a couple of cooked bacon slices (spaced out so they batter cooks around the bacon), close the lid to proceed with cooking and voila! - deliciousness...
36 Ewa // Nov 26, 2009 at 3:05 am
Hi!
Hmmm I'm sorry but that doesn't look like real swedish pearl sugar! It's much, much smaller than that. Swedish children ( and adults too! ) often makes chocholateballs ( mix oatmeal, sugar, cocoa, butter, coffee, vanilla and a half teaspoon of salt in a bowl. Make small balls and roll them in pearlsugar.) because it is a very easy way to "bake".
Please let me know if you want to find the real stuff, I can help you with that.
Have a great day.
37 Ewa // Nov 26, 2009 at 3:14 am
Oh sorry! I read too fast. Apperently you are aware of this! Haha!
38 SaRaH // Nov 28, 2009 at 3:40 pm
They are the best! when I go to Brussel I can't resist to buy one at the train station because the smell is so strong. They serve it just cook ( still soft in the middle) and I can't eat them without burning the tip of my tong...
It's just TOO good.
arrrg I'm starving, now!
39 Jessica // Nov 28, 2009 at 5:41 pm
My husband is ch'ti (Northern French) and we have these all the time when we go visit his family. I was telling him yesterday how I craved them, then found out about the new restaurant in downtown, but I decided to try making them myself. Batter is resting right now - can't wait to see how they turn out!!
40 Diana // Nov 30, 2009 at 8:26 pm
I just made the pearl sugar from scrath- via the Instructables link given above. It was fast and easy! Way cheaper and saves that trip to IKEA.
41 Paula // Dec 3, 2009 at 8:19 am
I just made these this morning for breakfast. My son kept asking for more! Delicious! However, my sugar never melted and caramelized... I set the waffle maker to a lower heat setting, but the waffle itself began to burn so I took them out. I used the smaller pearl sugar available at IKEA. Any thoughts or suggestions?
42 megan // Dec 3, 2009 at 11:16 am
Paula - Was the sugar from Ikea the same Lars brand as I show above? Does your waffle maker have adjustable temperatures?
43 Lorraine // Dec 6, 2009 at 11:46 am
These waffles were a highlight of our honeymoon in Brussels (along with ale and chocolate!) Thanks for posting the recipe and info on the pearl sugar, I'll have to try it out soon.
44 Free Stuff! Mighty Girl Xbox Giveaway | Mighty Girl // Dec 8, 2009 at 9:05 am
[...] Breakfast with a plucky Reese Witherspoon. It’s hard to resist a smart movie about high school politics where Ferris Bueller plays the teacher. This movie pairs well with bite-sized waffles. [...]
45 The Hungarican Chick // Dec 21, 2009 at 11:13 am
Having grown up in Belgium, and being subjected to the temptation of REAL Belgian waffles every time the metro doors opened at the Newman stop in Brussels, I can appreciate your stance that you've been ruined for all other waffles. I've lived here since 1990 and I have yet to eat a waffle described as 'Belgian' and find it even remotely near what I enjoyed through my younger years. Thank you for sharing the recipe. I wonder if I can find those pearls in Portland? If you're feeling adventurous, and you really want to try something that is uniquely Belgian (and insanely delicious)... look for a recipe for "Mattentaarten". It's cheesecakey curd numminiess on puff-pastry that is TO DIE FOR. There are a few things I MUST have when I go home... waffles fromt he subway kiosk cooked on hot irons over the fire, and mattentaarten are on the top of my list... after stuffing myself with frites, mussels and paté of course. :)
46 The Hungarican Chick // Dec 21, 2009 at 4:52 pm
Oops, I meant Schumann metro stop... ::argh:: it was a long time ago.
47 thelawgoddess // Dec 22, 2009 at 9:15 am
I am so happy my friend forwarded this link to me. I also grew up in Brussels and have been disappointed by nearly every waffle I've had since. I say nearly because in October I happened upon a waffle cart on the waterfront in Victoria, BC that was selling the real thing ... and for the few moments it took me to eat one I was in heaven. I truly look forward to finding this special sugar and trying the recipe at home. :-)
48 Alison // Dec 30, 2009 at 7:56 am
I am so HAPPY about this! Thank you! When I went backpacking in Belgium the train stations were a delight.
QUESTION: Would smashed up sugar cubes work? I bought some 'pearls' but think they may be too small...they certainly aren't big as yours!
I was so excited about your recipe my Dad bought me a Seasame Street waffle machine for Xmas. Yay! A gooey Elmo!
49 megan // Dec 30, 2009 at 11:32 am
Alison - You might first try making your own pearl sugar, there is a how-to at Instructables. But honestly I think the small pearl sugar you bought should work out just fine. The recipe also calls for turbinado sugar.
50 IN THE KITCHEN: Overnight Yeasted Waffles « vermontography // Jan 1, 2010 at 2:36 pm
[...] which was a combination of The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook and a recipe for Gaufres de Liege. Gaufres de Liege are the sweet, yeasted Belgium waffles similar to the ones from Taste of [...]
51 Helen // Jan 13, 2010 at 10:33 pm
I just made these and they turned out beautifully!
We have a cheapo Belgian waffle maker (probably from Wal-mart?), and I was able to fit four balls in the iron at the same time. Thanks for the recipe!
52 The Real Deal: Gaufres de Liege > amy a la mode // Jan 28, 2010 at 3:41 pm
[...] This is *very* close to what I remember from our trip to Belgium a couple years back. Extra tips at not Martha. My eternal thanks to Rebekah for posting this recipe! DELICIOUS!! January 28th, 2010 | Tell me [...]
53 Suzanne // Jan 30, 2010 at 10:40 am
Well, I bought a case (CASE) of sugar and was all ready to roll this morning. Everything was going great...and then the dough burned out the motor on my KitchenAid. It was at the point you beat in the butter. With in 5 rotations of trying to beat in the butter the motor gave a horrible roar and died a terrible death. I tried to hand knead the butter in...but it doesn't look good. Fingers crossed!
54 megan // Jan 30, 2010 at 11:33 am
Suzanne - Oh no, that is awful! I hope Kitchenaid will repair your mixer.
55 Michelle // Feb 1, 2010 at 7:40 am
I was an exchange student in Belgium and this makes me miss it terribly. FYI, we used to make them the night before and take them as a snack the following day. They're good even cold. I am going to have to make these!
56 oregoncoastgirl // Mar 9, 2010 at 7:04 pm
Portlanders can find both Lar's Own Belgian (big) & Swedish (small) Pearl sugars @ Zupan's. I've read a couple of places that Whole Foods carried it; I tried 3 stores & none had it.
Waiting for my dough to rise right now....
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