Waffle

Sweet

Waffle

A waffle is a batter of flour, eggs, milk and butter cooked between two honeycombed plates, and it earns its place at Christmas markets because it is made to order: it comes off the iron hot, is eaten standing up and is topped however you like, with sugar, whipped cream or chocolate. From northern France to Belgium, each town makes it a little differently.

Liège waffle or Brussels waffle: which one to order at the stall

The Liège waffle is made from a yeast-risen dough flavoured with cinnamon, with pearl sugar that does not melt during cooking. It is dense, slightly caramelised and needs no topping. At the stall it is sold ready-made and then reheated, which it takes without any trouble.

The Brussels waffle is rectangular, light and crisp, and not very sweet. It is cooked to order and takes toppings well: fresh fruit, whipped cream, icing sugar. Eat it straight away, because once cold it loses its texture and cannot be reheated.

In northern France and Flanders, the brown sugar filled waffle is another family altogether: thin and soft, split in two and filled with a cream of butter and brown sugar. You will also find the galette bressane, made with cream, next to the waffles at the Bourg-en-Bresse market.

Where to eat a waffle at a Christmas market

In Belgium, Mons serves waffles in the chalets of its three markets, and in Tournai the town’s restaurateurs prepare them in the chalets on the Grand-Place. In northern France, every town has its own style: northern-style waffles in Boulogne-sur-Mer, buttered waffles in Dunkirk, thick waffles in Douai.

In the mountains, Chamonix offers old-fashioned waffles. In Stockholm, the Skansen market serves them around wood fires. Elsewhere in France, from Dole to Bourges, the waffle shares a chalet with crêpes, and in Le Mans, Poitiers or Limoges it goes with the mulled wine.

With children, it is often the simplest break of the visit: a waffle with icing sugar can be eaten while walking. Our guide to Christmas markets with children lists it among the things children ask for.