We Belgians love our waffles and we make many different varieties. As soon as I got home, I got cracking with a batch using the family recipe. When I was done, I proudly posted a picture on Facebook and was offended by the comments that came back. "What do you serve with it?" or "Send me some, I already have the ice cream" (sorry Jo and Lizzie!). My waffles are best eaten on their own. In fact most Belgian waffles are! Time for a little lesson.
What Brits and other non-Belgians usually qualify as Belgian waffles are in fact Liège waffles. They're thick and have caramelised lumps of sugar in them. They are best eaten warm. And despite your culinary customs, they are best eaten on their own! Ok, sometimes they are nice dipped in chocolate. But that's as far as we go. In Belgium, Liège waffles are street food, you find them on every corner and they're delicious on a cold winter's day.
The only waffle we Belgians serve with garnish is the Brussels waffle. It's a large, crispy and light waffle. It doesn't have much taste on its own but it is delicious with some fresh strawberries and chantilly cream and/or ice cream.
The waffles I've made are commonly know as Namur waffles. They are made from a cake like batter so they are sweet and tasty and again best eaten on their own. You can eat them warm as they come out of the waffle iron but they are usually stored in a tin and eaten cold as a tea-time snack. Making them brought back one of my best childhood memories. When my grandmother would make waffles, my sister and I would stand at the ready with a teaspoon and we'd sneak behind her back to try and eat as much of the batter as we could. Hubby is a new convert to the delights of waffle batter :-)
The next batch I'm planning to make will be Ardennes waffles. They're not as sweet as the Namur waffles and a whole lot stodgier because they are made with fresh yeast and left to rise before going in the waffle iron. I'm looking forward to it already!
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