Stroopwaffles with Ice Cream

OH lord I must say I am VERY devastated that today marks our final instalment from Eat This Food!  A big THANKYOU to Pat, Sean and Jess for their amazing 'Tasty Tuesday' contributions this month.  Don't forget to bookmark and re-visit their blog to continue on their foodie adventures...

Stroopwaffles with ice cream.  Recipe – Pat Breen, Photo – Sean Fennessy, graphic design / art direction – Jess Lillico

Criminally underrated and unbeknownst to many in our food loving community, Stroopwaffles might just be the Netherlands' best kept secret! So for this final installment of October’s 'Tasty Tuesday' section, we’d like to throw the spotlight onto Holland’s favorite snack, cause we reckon the Stroopwaffle deserves a lot more attention around these parts than it’s currently getting! Don’t let the appearance of these circular waffles deceive you, they are equally delicious as they are humble in appearance. Fantastic with ice cream, coffee or tea, or just plain on their own. If you want to get serious, stroopwaffle irons can be purchased from here, otherwise a regular waffle iron will suffice. For additional stroopwaffle related info, check out The Good Batch for some excellent artisan stroopies being produced in New York. These ones are also available at the amazing Smorgasburg food flea market, held in Brooklyn most weekends.

Pat's stroopwaffle irons.  Photo – Sean Fennessy

ingredients

For the waffles 4 cups plain flour ½ tsp cinnamon ½ cup of castor sugar 220g unsalted butter, melted 7g active dry yeast ½ cup of lukewarm water For the caramel ¾ cup brown sugar ¾ cup white sugar 220 g unsalted butter 1 tbsp cinnamon 1 tbsp glucose To Serve vanilla icecream

METHOD

Begin by dissolving the yeast in the water. Set aside. In a stand alone mixer, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon. Mixing on a medium speed, add the water/yeast mixture and the butter. Mix until the dough has come together and is smooth. Take the dough out and put it in a clean bowl with a tea towel covering the top, and leave to rise for 45 minutes. Once this has happened, knock the dough back into a ball, and break off pieces of about 60g or so. Roll into little balls and leave to rise for 10-15 minutes. In the meantime, heat up your waffle iron nice and hot, and have some melted butter on hand to brush the inside of the iron down before cooking the waffles. This interim period is also a great opportunity to prepare your caramel sauce in advance. In a heavy based saucepan, heat all the caramel sauce ingredients until they read 120 degrees on a candy thermometer. Take off the heat and cool slightly until use. To cook the waffles, put the dough in the waffle iron, and cook over a hot stovetop burner for around 2-3 minutes or until done.  (Alternatively, if you have access to an electric waffle maker, pour your mixture into this contraption, which makes multiple waffles in minutes). Once the waffle is cooked, while still warm, slice in half, and spread the inside with the caramel mixture.  Serve immediately with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream. For more inspired recipes from this talented trio, head to the Eat This Food blog!

Stroopwaffles with ice cream.  Recipe – Pat Breen, Photo – Sean Fennessy, graphic design / art direction – Jess Lillico