Belgian Liège Waffles with Cherry Sauce

Decadent Belgian Liège Waffles made into ice cream sundaes with vanilla ice cream and boozy cherry sauce. I love waffles and these are now my new favorite way to eat them!

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Belgian Liège (pronounced Lee-ege with a very soft g sound almost like zh sound) waffles are such a treat, crunchy and soft, melt in your mouth, golden yeasty waffle goodness with flecks of caramelized pearl sugar. They are amazing on their own, extra decadent as a waffle ice cream sundae. And the cherry sauce? Literally the cherry on top.

This was inspired by my gingersnap sundaes and my many waffle recipes. Goes great with a hot cup of coffee and a good book. These would be great for a brunch treat or dessert. Or just whenever you feel like having a sweet, delicious waffle snack.

There are a ton of Liege waffle recipes online, all with slight variations. I decided to make the recipe from my bag of Waffle Pantry's Belgian pearl sugar.

Belgian Liège Waffle Ingredients:

• Flour (pastry flour, all purpose flour or half all purpose half bread flour)
• Yeast - Instant or active dry - active dry needs to be proofed in warm water or milk, instant does not need proofing
• Brown sugar - light
• Kosher salt
• Milk - whole
• Eggs - large
• Vanilla extract
• Butter - unsalted

See recipe card for amounts

Cherry sauce ingredients

• Dried Tart Cherries
• Sugar
• Water
• Vanilla
• Kirsch

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions:

Making the waffles is a little more involved than a traditional Belgian waffle made with baking powder since the dough rests for a while for the yeast to do its magic. You can make these waffles the same day or let rest overnight in the refrigerator for even more yeasted flavor.

• Mix together the flour, sugar, yeast and salt in a mixer bowl. I suggest using a stand mixer since you will be using the dough hook to do all the kneading work for you.
• I whisk the eggs then add the vanilla and milk and stir that together before adding to the flour mix.
• If you are using active dry yeast not instant, sprinkle the yeast over the warm milk to proof it. Then add in the eggs and vanilla.
• The dough is quite fluffy and sticky, it will seem like it isn't kneaded enough but then you add in the butter and knead until its a much softer, but still sticky dough.
• Have patience with add in the butter in. This step will take a while but it is worth it.
• The dough then gets rested until more than doubled in size. I put plastic wrap over the bowl tightly then I cover with a towel.
• When more than doubled, add in the Belgian pearl sugar and stir well. Let the dough rest another 15 minutes then they are ready to cook.

Cook the waffles:

• I use a food scale to make evenly sized pieces of waffle dough balls. You can make 10 larger waffles like I did here, or 12 slightly smaller ones.
• You don't want the waffle iron too hot or else the outside will get way too dark before the middles are cooked. I have a cuisinart Belgian waffle maker and I set it between 2-3 for these waffles.

Make Belgian Liège waffle sundaes:

To make into a sundae, I place one waffle on a plate or bowl.

Top with vanilla ice cream

Spoon cherry sauce over the top

Eat and enjoy!

Hint: You can serve with either warm or cool cherry sauce. I went with cool since I didn't want my ice cream to melt too fast.

Equipment

Equipment can have a big impact on how a recipe turns out. Stone bakeware takes longer to heat up than metal pans, and also retain heat for longer, which could make the recipe more watery, or burnt on the outsides.

Tell your visitors what equipment you use and how to adjust the recipe if they use something different, and link to your affiliate link to purchase the equipment.

Storage

Once all the waffles are made, you can keep warm in an oven to keep crisp if serving right away. If not they store well in an airtight container for a few days. They will get softer but easily crisp back up in a toaster or oven.

What is a Liège waffle?

A liège waffle is a type of Belgian waffle that is smaller, think made at street vendors to be eaten handheld. They are much sweeter with the addition of the pear sugar and a bit crispier. I say they are a cross between a glazed donut and a crispy Belgian waffle.

More waffle recipes:

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

Belgian Liège waffles recipe:

Belgian Liege Waffles with Cherry Sauce

Shanna

Makes 10-12 waffles, 1 cup of cherry sauce

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 hours hrs

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

dough rising time 4 hours hrs

Ingredients

  

• For the waffles:
• 500 g flour, pastry flour preferred, can also do all all purpose or half all purpose, half bread flour
• 75 g light brown sugar
• 7 g instant or active dry yeast
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 large eggs
• 200 g milk, lukewarm
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 300 g butter, unsalted, very soft cut into cubes
• 225 g Belgian pearl sugar
• Additional butter for brushing on waffle iron
• Cherry sauce:
• 60 g sugar
• 120 water
• 300 g dried cherries
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon Kirsch
• Vanilla ice cream
• Equipment needed:
• Stand mixer with dough hook
• Large bowl
• Belgian or deep waffle iron
• Brush for butter

Instructions

 

• For the waffles:
• In a stand mixer bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, instant yeast and salt. If using active dry yeast, mix it with the lukewarm milk to proof for 5 minutes. Instant yeast doesn’t need proofing.
• Place the mixing bowl on the mixer and attach the dough hook. Start the mixer. Whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla. Add this to the flour mixture while the mixer is on low. Stopping every now and then to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix until the dough is a cohesive ball. Add in the butter, and mix again until all the butter is fully incorporated. This will take a bit for the butter to be completely mixed in. The dough will be soft but a little sticky.
• Remove the bowl from the stand mixer, as well as remove the dough hook, cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap placed tightly over the top and then a towel. Set aside to rise, 3-4 hours until more than doubled in side.
• For the cherry sauce:
• While the dough is resting make the cherry sauce.
• Bring the water and sugar to a simmer, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Add in the dried cherries and let simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the cherries soak for 10 minutes. Strain the cherries out leaving the liquid in the pan. Add in the vanilla and bring the sauce to a boil for another 5-7 minutes to thicken to a syrup. Add the cherries and the kirsch then turn off the heat to cool. Transfer to an airtight container and cool in the refrigerator a couple hours until cooled and thickened. Can be reheated to serve warm.
• Once the dough has doubled, gently deflate the dough then add the pearl sugar. Mix in the sugar. Let the dough rest another 15 minutes. This can be done in the bowl then divided into dough balls or shape the dough balls first then rest for 15 minutes. Either way works.
• Preheat your waffle iron. I like the setting to be between 2-3 for these waffles.
• Brush melted butter in the middle of the iron if using a round Belgian waffle iron or two squares if using a square Belgian waffle iron
• Place one of the balls in the middle on top of the melted butter and cook until the waffle iron beeps. Check to see if its a beginning to be a deep golden brown. Once done, transfer to a wire cooling rack and repeat with the remaining dough balls.
• Place one waffle in a bowl or plate, top with a scoop of ice cream and a few spoonfuls of the cherry sauce for a liege waffle sundae.
• These waffles are best served warm. They easily reheat in a toaster or toaster oven.