Stroopwafel

the syrup waffle of Gouda: a thin yeasted waffle pressed until crisp, split whilst hot with a knife, and filled with a dark caramel of sugar, butter, and cinnamon that softens over a cup of coffee

Origin: Netherlands

From the journey of Sugar Cane.

Amsterdam was the sugar capital of northern Europe. Antwerp had refined the Atlantic sugar of Madeira and São Tomé through the sixteenth century, and when the city fell to Spain in 1585 its refiners and their capital moved north; by the middle of the seventeenth century Amsterdam held sixty or more refineries and dominated the European trade, and Dutch merchants held the Brazilian sugar coast at Pernambuco for a quarter of a century to feed them. Cheap refined sugar and a great deal of imported spice are the foundation of the whole Dutch and Flemish sweet tradition, from speculaas to the stroopwafel. The waffle is a thrift dish by origin, credited to a Gouda baker at the end of the eighteenth century who is said to have swept up the crumbs and offcuts of the bakery, bound them with syrup, and pressed the result between waffle irons; the earliest versions were sold to the poor. It is now the Dutch national biscuit, sold by the stack in every supermarket and made fresh at market stalls, and there is a settled ritual for eating it: the waffle is laid across the rim of a hot cup of coffee or tea so the steam softens the caramel inside before the first bite.

Ingredients

Waffle

  • 250 g plain flour
  • 125 g unsalted butter, softened
  • 60 g soft light brown sugar
  • 5 g fast-action dried yeast
  • 1 whole egg
  • 60 ml warm whole milk
  • 0.5 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 pinch fine salt

Syrup Filling

  • 200 g dark brown sugar
  • 150 g golden syrup
  • 100 g unsalted butter
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 pinch fine sea salt

Method

  1. Rub the softened butter into the flour, brown sugar, yeast, cinnamon, and salt, then work in the egg and warm milk to a soft, slightly sticky dough. Knead briefly, cover, and leave in a warm place for 1 hour.
  2. Make the filling: warm the dark brown sugar, golden syrup, butter, cinnamon, and salt together over a low heat, stirring, until smooth, then simmer for 3 to 4 minutes until slightly thickened. Keep it warm over the lowest possible heat.
  3. Divide the dough into 14 balls of about 35 g. Heat a stroopwafel iron, or a thin pizzelle iron, and press each ball for 45 to 60 seconds until golden and crisp.
  4. Working immediately whilst the waffle is still hot and pliable, lay it flat and split it horizontally through the middle with a long serrated knife held parallel to the board, opening it into two thin discs.
  5. Spread a tablespoon of the warm syrup over the cut face of one half, press the other half back on, and set aside to cool and firm. Trim the edges with a round cutter if you want the bought look.

Notes

A dedicated stroopwafel iron gives the authentic fine honeycomb pattern and the right thinness; a pizzelle iron is the usual substitute and works well. Without either, press the balls between two heavy baking sheets in a very hot oven for 6 to 8 minutes, which gives a flatter, plainer biscuit that still splits. Golden syrup stands in for the Dutch stroop, which is a dark cane or beet syrup and is sold by Dutch grocers under that name if you want the authentic flavour. The splitting defeats most people first time, and there is no shame in the shortcut used by many home bakers of pressing two thin waffles separately and sandwiching them. Speculaas, made from the same tradition of cheap refined sugar and colonial spice, is its natural companion.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route
Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control
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