Liege Waffles

Can I just say, we made homemade ice cream for this Sunday dinner and it was delish!

I have never had a waffle on the streets of New York, or at a cute little vendor in Belgium, but my fabulous neighbor got me intrigued with these lovely little delights this summer.  Every June my neighbor takes a group of local high schoolers on a Fashion Trip to New York.  She teaches Fashion Merchandising  for the local applied technology college.  The trip is a whirlwind of hitting Broadway shows, shopping, going to different fashion houses, and all the other wonderful things of New York.  On her last trip I asked if she would Instagram some of their adventures so I could see all the fun they were having. Of course the particular Instagram that caught my eye was of the waffle she had for breakfast one day.  It was a picture of this waffle in a paper tray, loaded with ice cream, tons of fresh raspberries, a drizzle of honey, and a dollop of cream.  She posted that it was the best thing she had ever eaten in her life!  Immediately I had to have one of these waffles.  Preferably with the berries, ice cream and honey.  As I was searching recipes my kids informed me there's a great waffle joint in SLC,  Bruges Waffles and Frites, that they frequent every time they visit their favorite bike shop.  I'm just the mom.  I know nothing I've decided of my kids whereabouts! Next visit to the big city will take me to this place, but since I'm not headed that direction for a bit I made my own.

I actually purchased the pearl sugar that the waffle calls for. We have a local specialty store that carries it.  Or you can use sugar cubes all busted up.  Go to town with your rolling pin and bash out all your frustrations.  The pearl sugar is about the size of rock salt, and they melt in the waffle iron into a gooey wonderfulness.  The waffle batter isn't a batter at all.  More of a bread dough.  A Brioche dough actually. (Brioche (/ˈbrioʊʃ/ or /ˈbriɒʃ/; French: [bʁi.ɔʃ]) is a pastry akin to a highly enriched bread of French origin, whose high egg and butter content give it a rich and tender crumb. It is "light and slightly puffy, more or less fine, according to the proportion of butter and eggs") Lots of eggs and butter in addition to the regular bread ingredients.  I made the waffles on a beautiful Sunday afternoon and by Sunday evening we had waffles for dinner!  The waffle itself was really sweet due to the large amount of pearl sugar.  But with the addition of ice cream and honey as the toppings or dinges as the Belgium's call them, the waffle was dessert.  The next time I make the waffles I'm only going to add 1/2 c. of the pearl sugar.  I think that will be just right. You can top the waffle with all sorts of treats.  Nutella or better yet, Biscoff Spread.  Bananas and berries, or you can just have syrup if you want.  

So my call to action for this post is this:  If you've ever had a Liege Waffle on the streets of anywhere, try this recipe and let me know how it compares.  Was it close?  Not even?  I would love to hear your thoughts.  And trust me, the next time I'm in a big city I WILL have a waffle!!  

Liege Waffles

recipe courtesy of Allrecipes.com

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast (1 scant T. yeast)

 1 1/2 tablespoons white sugar

 3/4 cup lukewarm milk

 3 eggs

 1 cup melted butter

 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

 3 cups flour

 1/2 teaspoon salt

 1 1/2 cups pearl sugar (such as Lars' Own®)

(I would only add 1/2 c. and if you don't have pearl sugar use raw sugar or bust up some sugar cubes.  It will totally work.)

Directions

Sprinkle the yeast and white sugar over warm milk in a small bowl. The milk should be no more than 100 degrees F (40 degrees C). Let stand for 15 minutes until the yeast softens and begins to form a creamy foam.

Whisk the eggs, melted butter, and vanilla extract into the yeast mixture until evenly blended; set aside. Stir together the flour and salt in a separate large bowl, and make a well in the center. Pour the egg mixture into the well, then stir in the flour mixture until a soft dough forms. Cover with a light cloth and let rise in a warm place (80 to 95 degrees F (27 to 35 degrees C)) until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes. Gently mix in the pearl sugar.

Preheat a waffle iron according to manufacturer's instructions.

Place a baseball-size ball of dough on the preheated waffle iron. Cook waffles until golden and crisp, about 2 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough. Allow waffles to cool for 2 to 3 minutes before serving.