Les Gaufre

Waffles. Delicious, crusty, light-as-air, warm Bruxelles waffles. There is a little nook of a shop in a tiny corner of Salt Lake City, UT called "Bruge." It is run by a man named Pierre (of course), and it is named after his home town in Belgium. They sell traditional Belgian waffles, both Bruxelles style and Liège style. They also sell home made Pomme Frites (French Fries) with your choice of homemade mayonaise to dip them in. Unfortunately, I discovered this little gem right before I moved away from Salt Lake, and now I can only long for it from afar. In an attempt to satisfy my waffle cravings, I have become obsessed with finding a recipe to re-create these waffles. I've tried several, and I have finally found one that does a pretty good job of imitating the Bruxelles style waffle.

I can't help but think, though, that I'm not the only one who would be under the spell of these waffles if they only had the chance to taste them. I want to bring authentic Belgian waffles to the world! I swear, if I could figure out a way to do that, I would be a millionaire.

You see, Bruxelles waffles are not like any waffle you have ever tasted in the U.S. They are inclredibly crispy while at the same time having a delicate tender flake on the inside and big fluffy puffs of air throughout making it terribly light and easy to devour. Not only that, but true Bruxelles waffles are made with yeast which also gives it that wonderful yeast-y flavor you would get from a hot buttered roll or a doughnut. Add fresh whipped cream and strawberries, and these waffles are the bomb, to say the least.

The Liège waffles are a whole different animal altogether. While they still have that yeast-y quality, they are much more dense, as though someone took a handful of dinner roll dough and placed it on the waffle iron. But, instead of just plain delicous buttery dinner roll, they have tossed in handfuls of this special sugar called "pearl sugar." It's sugar that's, well, about the size of a pearl. They stir it into the dough - not batter, dough - they stir it into the dough, and because it's so large it doesn't dissolve. The ensuing reaction with the sugar and the hot waffle iron is a delicious gooey mess. The heat of the iron melts the sugar, leaving you with little carmelized pockets of sugar throughout your dense yeasty waffle.

In Belgium, (so I hear. I've never been there.) they, then, sprinkle them, either kind - Bruxelles or Liège - with powdered sugar and you eat it right out of your hand on a piece of pastry paper. It is traditionally eaten as a dessert-y street food, not for breakfast as we do here in America. Although, the thought of one of them with a mimosa and some bacon on the side is kind of making my mouth water.

There is no place to get these waffles in all of Los Angeles. What is a girl to do, but open a waffle shop?! I promise you if I presented these to the people of Los Angeles, there would be a demand for them. Pierre is from Belgium. He uses his Belgian grandmother's family recipe. How can I compete with that? Well, I shall find a way. I just gotta make the waffles.