Central Europe · Volume 22, Herring, Beer and a Coastline Three Nations Share
Gaufre de Bruxelles
Brussels
Illustration
- Time
- 20 minutes
- Researched
- 9 sources cited
The first written recipe appears in 1874, in Philippe Cauderlier's Pâtisserie et confitures, but an essentially identical recipe for a "gaufre à la flamande" appears far earlier, in 1751, complicating any tidy invention date. English-language sources routinely collapse this dish and the Liège waffle into one undifferentiated "Belgian waffle," or even reverse which is denser; they are genuinely different products by structure, not just by shape.
As tradition built it
Makes about 6. About 20 minutes.
Ingredients
- 250 g plain flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- a pinch a pinch of salt
- 3 eggs, separated
- 300 ml milk
- 100 g melted butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Method
- Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together.
- Whisk the egg yolks with the milk, melted butter and vanilla, then combine with the dry ingredients to a smooth batter.
- Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks, and fold gently into the batter, keeping as much air in as possible.
- Cook in a rectangular Brussels waffle iron, 3 to 4 minutes, until pale gold, crisp at the edges, with deep, even pockets.
- Serve immediately, dressed with whipped cream, fresh fruit or a dusting of icing sugar rather than eaten plain, unlike its Liège cousin.
What a modern chef changes
The batter's own aeration protected properly, and the dressing given real thought rather than treated as an afterthought
Kit note, not tied to a numbered rung
Method
- Whisk the egg whites to a genuine soft peak and fold them in with real care, in two additions rather than one, since this dish's whole lightness depends on retained air that an aggressive fold or an overworked batter destroys.
- Rest the batter briefly, 10 to 15 minutes, before cooking, to let the flour hydrate fully and the baking powder begin working evenly, for a more consistent rise across the whole iron.
- Treat the dressing as a real component, not a garnish: a quenelle of properly whipped cream and fruit macerated briefly in its own sugar and lemon, rather than a tinned-cream-and-icing-sugar afterthought, is what actually distinguishes a good Brussels waffle from a mediocre one, since the base itself is deliberately plain.