Friday, August 13, 2010

Liege Waffles


Believe it or not, there is actually a waffle under that big mountain of goodness. Here is the story behind this waffle.

The other night my husband and I were watching the Travel Channel where they were featuring all of the most unusual fast food joints in the country. One of them was a "waffle cart" where genuine Belgium waffles were sold, some as breakfast waffles, and others as dessert waffles.

If I remember right (and feel free to correct me), the traditional Belgium waffles that we're used to is from Brussels and is light, fluffy and has the thin batter. That is the waffle that is usually served for breakfast. And then there is a waffle that we don't see quite as much, from Liege, in southern Belgium. The batter is much thicker, more like a sticky dough that has much more sugar. This waffle, while I'm sure would still be delicious covered in syrup (what isn't?), is much better as a dessert, covered in things like chocolate, ice cream and...stuff like that.

About two and a half minutes after watching this special, my husband had a printed recipe in his hand and a smile on his face. Needless to say, we enjoy the famous Liege waffles at home that night, and they are delicious! Much sweeter, denser and cake-like, they are the perfect pallet for any embellishments you want to add. This would be a lot of fun to entertain with, especially if your guests had a nice choice of toppings. Either way you should give it a try. It's a fun new way to use that waffle iron!

Liege Waffles
Source Unknown

Ingredients

2 cups flour
1 cup pearl sugar (regular granulated is fine)
1 cup melted butter
3 eggs
1 (1/4 ounce) package yeast
1/3 cup lukewarm water
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar (add some vanilla sugar)
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Take the lukewarm water and mix in yeast, 1 1/2 tablespoon sugar and salt. Let the yeast develop for 15 minutes. In the meanwhile you can melt the butter, but be careful - do not burn it.

2. Now take a large bowl and put in the flour, make a hole in the middle, pour in the yeast that you made in step one. Also add eggs and melted butter and knead until you get nice and even dough. Then let it rest so the yeast does it's magic and the dough doubles.

3. Now take pearl sugar and gently mix it in.

4. Again, let it rest for 15 minutes, in the meanwhile you can turn on the waffle maker so its nice and hot.

5. All there is left is to pour the waffle dough into the waffle maker and bake for 3-5 minutes (it's going to be thick and sticky, so there's going to be less pouring and more scooping). Because we mixed in the sugar late in the process it will melt and caramelize and give that special Liege waffle taste. Just be careful when you take them out of the waffle maker, caramelized sugar can make them sticky.

22 comments:

The Blonde Duck said...

All I heard was waffle. I'm hooked.

Heather S-G said...

Tongue hanging from mouth.... YUM! It never fails, whenever I kick back and watch a travel show that has anything to do w/ local food...I instantly want it, too!!! =)

Shelby said...

yum! I think its neat how your hubby got the recipe himself! lol

Julie said...

Sign me up...I'll take one! Was this the same episode where they showed the waffle stand you could ski up to in Vermont? I love that (not that I ski!)

Jennifer said...

Nice, I am a super duper breakfast person and I cannot wait to try this! p.s. I am having a giveaway!

chow and chatter said...

this is a cool story and what a fun evening have a great weekend

Rebecca

Joanne said...

I rarely have waffles and so when I do. I go all out. Liege style. These look fantastic.

♥peachkins♥ said...

looks fantastic!



The Peach Kitchen
peach and things
blowing peachkisses

Reeni said...

That's so cool that you went and recreated this. It looks absolutely scrumptious!

Barbara Bakes said...

I said yum as soon as I saw your picture pop up on the screen. What a fabulous treat!

theUngourmet said...

How fun! My daughter loves waffle cones for her ice cream so I know she'd love these!

Sophia Lee said...

Oh!! Thanks for clearing this up for me! I went to a dessert cafe once, and they had both Belgium and Liege waffles, and I was wondering what the difference was. I forgot to google it when I came back home, though!

Pam said...

The word waffle hooked me! It looks incredibly delicious! When's breakfast?

MaryBeth said...

YUMM-O Teresa...I would love to be served this dish on a hot summer night, or any night really.

Kim said...

I know the show that you're talking about because it made me crave liege waffles something fierce too! Love that you all went directly in the kitchen and made them! They look terrific all dressed up with sweets:)

Krista said...

Your picture is awesome! YUM! So these are like a fluffy, delicious waffle cone with all of the fabulous stuff on top rather than in the cone. I like it.

Sook said...

Wow, that is one tempting dish!! I would love it for breakfast every morning..... :)

Anonymous said...

I think I would prefer your version! That looks amazing. Glad my husband isn't the only one who prints out recipes to make!

He loves watching America's Test Kitchen!

Happy Monday!

Erica said...

Um I think the natural response to this post is owwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww....I want one ;) We have a waffle maker- I must try this deliciousness. Josh and I love watching shows like that too

Jean-Francois Flechet said...

If you're in Cincinnati or Columbus, OH and want to try a Liège (Liege) waffle made in the purest tradition, stop by Taste of Belgium located at Findlay Market and North Market, respectively.

also online www.authenticwaffle.com
and www.facebook.com/tasteofbelgium

The Blonde Duck said...

I hope you have a magical Monday!

Ingrid_3Bs said...

LOL, that's hilarious about your hubs getting the recipe for you! Thanks for sharing it with us!
~ingrid