Fair Waffles with Brown Beer
Golden, crispy waffles, the batter lightened with brown beer and perfumed with cinnamon, dusted with sugar. The hot treat eaten standing in the street, to the sound of village fairs.
Golden, crispy waffles, the batter lightened with brown beer and perfumed with cinnamon, dusted with sugar. The hot treat eaten standing in the street, to the sound of village fairs.
Ha! This takes me back to the kermesses of Antwerp, when I was a lad. You could hear the waffle irons sizzling in the squares, and the sweet smell pulled you by the nose. The batter is thinned with brown beer so it puffs nicely, baked between hot irons, and sprinkled with sugar. You eat them hot, standing, burning your fingers — no ceremony here, it's common folk's pleasure.
- •Wheat flour — as needed (base)
- •Eggs — a few (binder)
- •Melted butter — generous (richness)
- •Brown beer — to thin (leavening and signature)
- •Sugar — in batter and on top (sweetness)
- •Cinnamon — a grating (perfume)
Fair Waffles with Brown Beer
Golden, crispy waffles, the batter lightened with brown beer and perfumed with cinnamon, dusted with sugar. The hot treat eaten standing in the street, to the sound of village fairs.
Why this dish? Waffles were sold at kermesses and markets in Flemish cities, including Antwerp, Van Dyck's hometown. Painted by Bruegel and his followers, these popular festivals were part of the painter's Flemish childhood landscape: the smell of hot irons and sweet batter in the squares.
Ha! This takes me back to the kermesses of Antwerp, when I was a lad. You could hear the waffle irons sizzling in the squares, and the sweet smell pulled you by the nose. The batter is thinned with brown beer so it puffs nicely, baked between hot irons, and sprinkled with sugar. You eat them hot, standing, burning your fingers — no ceremony here, it's common folk's pleasure.
Ingredients (period version)
- Wheat flour — as needed (base)
- Eggs — a few (binder)
- Melted butter — generous (richness)
- Brown beer — to thin (leavening and signature)
- Sugar — in batter and on top (sweetness)
- Cinnamon — a grating (perfume)
Ingredients
- Flour — 250 g (base)
- Eggs — 2 (binder)
- Melted butter — 100 g (richness)
- Brown beer — 20 cl (leavening and signature)
- Milk — 10 cl (hydration)
- Sugar — 60 g (+ for dusting) (sweetness)
- Baking powder — 1 tsp (leavening)
- Cinnamon — 1/2 tsp (perfume)
- Pinch of salt — 1 (balance)
Method
- Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
- Incorporate eggs, melted butter, then thin with brown beer and milk to a flowing batter.
- Let the batter rest 20-30 min.
- Heat and butter a waffle iron, pour in a ladle of batter.
- Cook until waffles are golden and crispy.
- Dust with sugar and enjoy immediately, very hot.
How it was made : Waffles (wafels) baked between two long-handled irons are a very old tradition in the Southern Netherlands, sold at kermesses and religious festivals. These irons and vendors appear in 16th-17th century Flemish painting. Beer, ubiquitous, often served as a leavening agent before yeast became widespread.
The contemporary twist : Stack them in a small tower dusted with powdered sugar, served in a paper cone like 'kermesse street food'.
Sources : Iconography of Flemish kermesses (Pieter Bruegel and his school) · Tradition of wafels in the Southern Netherlands
Anthony van Dyck · Charactorium