Sunday, August 7, 2011

The Ideal Belgian Waffle



I'll just preface this post by saying that, technically, this post has been in the works since last tuesday. I took the "ingredients" photos on tuesday afternoon because I'd planned to make the waffle for dessert that evening but dinner was too big and it just wasn't possible.



It wasn't until thursday night that I took a photo of the finished product and my goodness was this one of the best desserts I've ever put together (Yes, I know it's hard to tell from the bad angle and yellow lighting of the photos). I didn't even need to make or bake anything; it was just a matter of composing various fantastic ingredients.



These belgian waffles are the most authentic tasting Belgian-style waffles that I've had outside Belgium. I was, naturally, skeptical about their claim to authenticity when I bought them, even though they looked fairly close to the real thing with visible crystals of sugar embedded in the waffle. I knew they would need to have that perfect slightly chewy texture, with the toasty taste of caramelized crust to really bring back the memories of standing on the cobblestone street in front of Manneken Pis, with my freshly made Belgian waffle.



We tried the first of the waffles in it's plain state with only a little scoop of dark chocolate ice cream on the side to balance out the sweetness, but the second time around I really went all out decorating the little waffle. I had found this really fun dessert topping at Trader Joes on Tuesday afternoon and I desperately wanted to try it out.



I will say, the coffee bean, chocolate and sugar topping goes perfectly over most anything; I even sprinkled some of it over hot buttered toast with excellent results, so I was in no way surprised by how delicious it was over the hot, toasted Belgian waffle topped with dark chocolate ice cream and whipped cream. But, basically, the coffee/chocolate/sugar grind took this humble waffle to a whole new level of gourmet. It's a fun and extremely easy way to fancify any dessert.

4 comments:

Lunette Gleason Fleming said...

I think this might be something the folks in Southern Oregon might like to try. Better bring some on your next visit.

Lynnea said...

=) I already bought four to bring up to Oregon! I think you'll like them.

Christy said...

Where did you get the waffles? I dream about those magical sugar crystals. I ate one at every breakfast in Amsterdam--I didn't realize they were so authentically Belgian.

Lynnea said...

Christy, aren't they the best and yes, those delicious, crunchy bits of sugar really make them the perfect treat. I found these ones at Boney's in Coronado. Of course, as long as they continue to carry the waffles it is very easy for me to pick some up while I'm shopping and give them to you as a bribe for letting us come visit Hamilton.