For 30 large (8cm ø) or 60 small (5.5cm ø) stroopwafels
For the dough
A splash of lukewarm milk50 g fresh yeast (or two sachets dried yeast)
250 g melted butter
150 g white caster sugar
1 egg
500 g wheat flour
1 pinch of salt
¼ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
Some extra butter to grease the waffle iron
For the syrup
250 g treacle
100 g butter
200 g caster sugar (white or brown)
2 g ground cinnamon
1 pinch of salt
Several vanilla pods (optional)
Extra: electric waffle iron (e.g. Cloer 261 ) and a metal cookie cutter (8 cm of 5.5 cm ø)
Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm milk. Beat the egg. Mix the melted butter (not too hot!), the caster sugar and the egg into the milk with yeast. Mix the flour with the salt and the ground cinnamon. Add the butter-egg mixture and mix into a smooth dough. Cover the dough with a warm, damp cloth and leave to rise for 1 hour somewhere warm (for example, in a sunny spot in the house, or next to a radiator).
Meanwhile, make the syrup. Melt the treacle, butter and caster sugar in a small saucepan until the sugar completely dissolves. Allow to boil, removing the excess liquid, so that the syrup thickens. Add the salt and the cinnamon and stir well. Be careful: boiling syrup is 170 ˚C, so never try it straight away—always allow it to cool down first. If the syrup has become too hard to easily smear on the waffles or biscuits, heat carefully until it reaches the correct consistency. If you like the taste of vanilla, then store the caster sugar with several vanilla pods for a few weeks in a closed jar before using for the syrup. The sugar will then take on the vanilla flavour.
From the dough, make small balls weighing about 30 grams (for a large waffle) or 15 grams (for a small waffle) and lay them in a dish or on a baking tray, not too close to each other, to prevent them touching each other as they rise. Cover them once again with a warm, damp cloth and leave them to rise for 10 minutes. Grease a waffle iron with a little bit of butter and bake the balls into golden-brown waffles (about 2 minutes). If required, cut out a circle with a strong, metal cutter. Save the cuttings in a container. Not cutting the waffles gives them a more ‘traditional’ appearance. Carefully cut the waffles as quickly as possible after baking with a sharp knife, horizontally through the middle. Smear one side with syrup, put them back together and press lightly. It’s a bit of trial and error to see how much syrup you need. Use too little and the waffles will be too dry; too much and the syrup will run out of the sides.
Preparation time: about 90 minutes (including the rising).
Baking: about 2 minutes/waffle.
