In the world there are a huge number of options for the preparation of Belgian sweet desserts, but the recipe for Liege waffles occupies a leading position. Wafers were especially popular at the beginning of the last century, but the recipe was invented by cooks even earlier.
A bit of history
The chef of the Belgian prince invented them in the distant 17th century. He experimented with sugar, adding it directly to the lumps of dough. It is believed that waffles were invented long before the advent of kings and princes. Even ancient people fried lumps of dough on stones, flattening them with wooden rollers.
A feature of this dessert is its unusual taste and non-standard size. Classic waffles are soft and thin, while Liege waffles are quite thick, crunchy and with pieces of sugar, which is also called “sweet pearls”.
For the first time, the world learned about them at the exhibition of desserts and sweets in Brussels. Since then, many restaurants and cafeterias offer their visitors to taste wonderful Liege wafers with pearl sugar. The recipe for cooking is very simple, but there are several secrets and tricks that we will share with you today.
List of Essential Ingredients
We will need:
- 210 g margarine;
- 190 g of granulated sugar;
- 160 ml of milk;
- 420 g of wheat flour;
- 4 g vanilla sugar;
- 3 eggs;
- a pinch of salt;
- almost two tablespoons (teaspoon) of dry yeast.
How to cook?
The recipe for Liege waffles for a waffle iron begins with the preparation of the necessary ingredients. Boil half the milk on the stove or heat in the microwave. Pour yeast into milk, add half a teaspoon of sugar and the same amount of flour. Stir well and leave for a while to “approach”.
The second is often poured milk into a bowl for whipping. We break eggs there. Now a pinch of salt. Stir into a homogeneous mass with a hand whisk or blender. In a separate bowl, knead the butter (margarine), add the flour and carefully begin to stir. Gradually introduce the contents of two plates: sugar with yeast and milk with eggs. The recipe for Liege wafers does not require excessive efforts from the hostess, kitchen equipment is involved everywhere. Therefore, the dough is made using a mixer (minimum speed). It turns out to be slightly fluid, but viscous and sticky. Cover the container with foil and put it in a warm place. 35-40 minutes will be enough.
Pour a little flour onto the desktop. Knead the dough lightly. You should not knead a lot, otherwise the dough will collect too much flour, but this is not necessary. Now divide the lump into two halves. We sprinkle granulated sugar on a large plate and roll these two balls of dough in it. Bake in a waffle iron for 3-6 minutes. By the way, this recipe for Liege waffles can be suitable for ordinary baking in the oven on a baking sheet. But with the help of a special kitchen assistant, of course, the process will go much faster, and the shape of the waffles will turn out familiar.
Cinnamon
Now we will prepare more aromatic and piquant Liege waffles. The recipe is simple, clear and quick to prepare. In order to make delicious fragrant cinnamon waffles, you need the following set of products:
- 480 g flour;
- 190 ml of milk;
- 30 g dry yeast;
- 2 eggs;
- 270 g of sugar;
- 15 g vanilla sugar;
- dry orange peel;
- cinnamon;
- Belgian "pearl" sugar (if you can buy);
- 270 g butter;
- a pinch of salt.
Features of the dessert
Butter is preliminarily extracted from the bowels of the refrigerator. He needs to be given time to defrost slightly, to become soft and supple in work. Knead it, gradually adding flour. Now break the eggs, mix in the dough. As in the previous recipe for Liege waffles for an electric waffle iron, in a small amount of milk we breed dry yeast and let them come up. As soon as the characteristic “hat” appears on the mug with yeast, you can add them to the dough.
Knead the mass with a mixer at the lowest speed. Add all other ingredients. If possible, it would be nice to put a few spoons of "pearl" Belgian sugar. If one is not available, then we will dispense with the usual one. You can also break pieces of refined and use them in the test. Dry orange zest can be replaced with fresh. This will only enhance the aroma. Cinnamon is added at the discretion of the hostess. Someone likes a light aroma, while others prefer a strong smell of this seasoning.
Remove the kneaded dough in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. We get it, divide it into several identical parts. Roll each ball in sugar (or “pearl”), put on a heated baking sheet or in an electric waffle iron. A sweet dessert is prepared for no more than 3-5 minutes.
You can serve Belgian waffles with berry jam, maple syrup, your beloved grandmother's jam, sweet fresh berries, whipped cream, ice cream, etc. You can even make a cake out of Liege waffles if you put them one on top of the other and put a delicious whipped cream between them . A sprig of fresh mint will not be superfluous in the decoration of the dessert.