Cookbook Recipes

Cookbook Make ahead

Overnight Liège waffles with cane sugar and cassonade crust

Yeast-risen Liège waffles made with dough chilled overnight and rolled in a blend of cane sugar and cassonade instead of pearl sugar.

Prep
30 min
Cook
40 min
Total
1 h 10
Yield
Makes 8 waffles
Steps
12

This is the make-ahead version of a Liège waffle with a crust of cane sugar and cassonade. The dough is mixed and risen once in the evening, then chilled overnight. The next day, only dividing, resting and cooking are left.

There is no pearl sugar. Each ball of dough is rolled in a blend of cane sugar and cassonade just before it goes in the iron. The cane sugar is coarse and dry, so it stays crunchy. The cassonade melts into a caramel that adds flavor and color. Together they give a crisp, golden shell.

Allow about 25 minutes the evening before, including 10 minutes to activate the yeast, then 1 to 1.5 hours of rising and an overnight chill. The next day, plan on about 1 hour from fridge to finished waffles. Reheat leftovers in a toaster, not the microwave.

Method 12 steps

  1. Activate the yeast 10 min

    Warm the milk to about 40°C / 105°F. In a small bowl, stir the yeast and a pinch of the dough sugar into the milk. Leave it for 5 to 10 minutes, until the surface is foamy.

    Foam shows the yeast is alive. If nothing happens after 10 minutes, the yeast is old or the milk was too hot or too cold, so start again. Milk above about 46°C / 115°F can kill the yeast.

  2. Whisk the dry ingredients 2 min

    In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the flour, salt and the rest of the cane sugar from the dough list. Keep the coating sugars separate.

  3. Mix in the wet ingredients 4 min

    Add the foamy yeast mixture, eggs and vanilla. Mix on low for 3 to 4 minutes, until a shaggy, sticky dough forms.

  4. Knead in the butter 10 min

    With the mixer on medium-low, add the butter a few small pieces at a time, letting each addition absorb before adding more.

    Knead for 8 to 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth, glossy and soft, and pulls away from the bowl.

  5. First rise

    Cover the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm spot until doubled, 1 to 1.5 hours.

  6. Chill overnight

    Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough overnight, for 8 to 12 hours.

    Chilling after the first rise leaves only dividing, resting and cooking for the next day.

  7. Divide the dough 5 min

    The next day, gently deflate the dough and divide it into equal balls of about 100 g each, a little bigger than a golf ball.

    All-purpose flour makes a softer dough than bread flour. If it is still too sticky to shape, knead in 1 to 2 tbsp more flour.

  8. Rest and preheat

    Cover the balls loosely and rest them for 15 minutes. Preheat the waffle iron to medium during this time.

    Cassonade caramelizes and burns faster than plain sugar, so keep the iron on medium and let it heat fully before the first waffle.

  9. Coat a ball in sugar 1 min

    In a shallow dish, mix the cane sugar and cassonade for the coating, rubbing out any lumps. Just before cooking, roll one ball in the mix, pressing so a thick, even layer sticks.

    If the sugar will not stick, brush the ball lightly with milk first. Coat only right before cooking, because sugar left on the dough draws out moisture and turns wet, and cassonade does this fastest. For a crunchier shell, use 80 g cane sugar and 40 g cassonade.

  10. Cook the waffle 4 min

    Place the coated ball in the center of the iron, close it gently and cook for about 4 minutes, until deep golden brown and the sugar has melted into a glossy shell.

    Cassonade browns faster than plain cane sugar, so treat the first waffle as a test. If it darkens too fast, lower the heat. If it is still pale, add 30 seconds.

  11. Cool on a rack

    Lift the waffle out with a fork or silicone tongs and set it on a wire rack, not a plate. Leave it for about 2 minutes.

    The sugar is molten hot, so do not use your fingers. The rack lets the shell set and stay crisp. Do not stack or cover the waffles, since trapped steam softens the crust, and the cassonade softens it faster.

  12. Wipe the plates and repeat 30 min

    Carefully wipe any melted sugar off the plates, then coat and cook the remaining balls the same way. To keep a batch crisp, hold finished waffles on the rack in a 100°C (200°F) oven.

    Melted sugar left on the plates burns and sticks to the next waffle. Cassonade burns faster than cane sugar, so wipe the plates between every waffle.