Gaufres de Liège (Belgian Liège Waffles)

Gaufres de Liège (or Belgian Liège Waffles) are the ultimate sweet Belgian treat! These pearl sugar waffles are decadent enough for dessert, yet simple enough for an afternoon snack.

Prep time: PT35M

Cook time: PT35M

Total time: PT790M

Rating

4.8 stars (10 reviews)

Keywords

brunch recipes, waffles

Ingredients

¾ cup milk (warm (between 110°F and 116°F))
2 tablespoons raw sugar, brown sugar, or honey
1 packet (7 grams or 2 ½ teaspoons) active dry yeast
2 large eggs (at room temperature)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
460 grams (3 ⅔ cups) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
200 grams (14 tablespoons) unsalted butter (at room temperature (softened))
200 grams (1 ⅓ cups) Belgian pearl sugar

Cuisine

Belgian

Steps

To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, add the warm milk. Add the sugar and yeast and stir to combine. Set aside for 5 minutes until the mixture is foamy.
Whisk in the eggs and vanilla, then stir in all but about 1 cup (125 grams) flour using a spoon or the dough hook of the stand mixer. Once the flour is mostly combined, stir in the salt.
With the stand mixer running on medium-low speed, add the butter, a little at a time, thoroughly kneading in each addition. Scrape down the bowl as needed between additions of butter until all the butter is mixed in smoothly.
Finally, add the remaining flour and mix with the dough hook on low speed for 5 minutes, or until the dough is stretchy and glossy. It will be quite soft. Transfer the dough to a clean, large, lightly greased mixing bowl to proof. You can let the dough rise two ways, first at room temperature and then in the fridge, or vice-versa.
For room temperature first, cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature (in a slightly warm, draft-free place) for 1 ½ to 2 hours, or until doubled in size. Punch down the dough to deflate, re-cover with plastic wrap and let chill in the fridge overnight, or up to 24 hours.
For fridge first, cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and leave it in the fridge overnight, or up to 24 hours. The dough will not look fully doubled when you take it out. The day you want to the make the waffles, bring the dough back to room temperature for 1 hour, punch down to deflate, and let it rise again for another 1 ½ to 2 hours until doubled in size.
When you're ready to cook the waffles with either proofing method, knead in the pearl sugar. If you just took it out of the fridge, the dough will be fairly hard at first because the butter it contains has hardened in the fridge, so you'll need some elbow grease here. You can do this in a few additions by flattening the dough, topping with some of the sugar, then folding it into the dough, and then repeating several more times until you've added all the sugar and it becomes a homogeneous dough.
Divide the dough into 16 pieces (roughly 70 grams each) and shape them into slightly rectangular or oval discs (shaping into balls is fine too, but I find giving them a head start by pressing them slightly flat before cooking helps). If the dough is warm and greasy at this point, you can return the dough to the fridge until you're ready to cook them.
Heat your waffle iron, preferably a deeper Belgian-style one, over medium heat. No need to oil or butter if it’s nonstick and in good condition. Place the first disc of waffle dough on the grid and cook according to the waffle maker’s instructions.
Note: Depending on your waffle iron, you may be able to cook several waffles at once–mine has a capacity for two rectangular waffles. If you have a round waffle iron, you can also fit two or more of these smaller waffles at a time, although the rectangular waffle iron shape is more authentic to this style waffle.
Cook until deeply golden all over, which will take approximately 4 to 5 minutes, then carefully transfer with tongs or a fork to a cooling rack. Remember to be careful, they're very hot and full of molten sugar! Repeat with the remaining discs of dough, adjusting temperature of waffle iron as needed to get the color you want. You’ll likely find that the waffles look more caramelized and glossy as you go on, because the melted sugar left behind in the grids will caramelize onto the later batches of waffles.
Keep waffles warm in a 200°F oven if you plan to eat them right away. As the waffles cool, they will harden (that’s all the melted sugar firming up), but will soften again when you rewarm them. These waffles should be eaten warm.

Nutitrion

Serving Size: 1 waffle
Calories: 264 kcal
Carbohydrates: 37 g
Protein: 4 g
Fat: 11 g
Saturated Fat: 7 g
Cholesterol: 51 mg
Sodium: 136 mg
Sugar: 15 g

Reviews

Jane on 2025-03-10 (5 stars):
Tried them! Came out absolutely great. Just remember that this kind of waffle comes out really sweet. Not sure how much less sugar you could add to have them less sweeter and still get that carmelisation on the outside. For us they were great just they were, didn't need any kind of toppings.
Benne on 2024-12-05 (5 stars):
To clean the iron afterwards, pour a mixture of cornstarch and water when the iron is hot. This will pick up the caramel/sugar leftover. Once completely white, remove like a waffle. Do both sides the same with an open iron.
Abier on 2024-06-05 (5 stars):
Best recipe thnx they turned out amazing
Wiktoria on 2024-05-19 (5 stars):
Hi, I made the recipe and it’s really quite good, thank you for sharing! I’ll make it again, but with less sugar in the last step - I used the substitute (crushed sugar cubes) and they came out much sweeter than ones I had in Belgium (though my guests didn’t complain;)). So if you use the substitute sugar, I’d suggest to dial down the amount. Also great tips for cleaning the waffle maker.