Lacquemant

Ingredients

Waffle

• 250 gplain flour
• 2eggs
• 80 gbutter, melted
• 150 mlmilk
• 50 gsugar
• 5 gfresh yeast
• a pinch of salt

Syrup

• 400 gsugar
• 200 mlwater
• 2 tbspglucose syrup
• 2 tbsporange blossom water
• 1 tsprose water
• 1 tsplemon juice

Equipment

• a waffle iron with fine shallow squares
• a long thin knife

Directions

1. Make a smooth batter with the flour, eggs, melted butter, milk, sugar, yeast and salt, and rest it an hour. The batter must be thin, closer to a crêpe batter than a Brussels waffle batter, because the finished wafer has to be thin enough to split.
2. Make the syrup: boil the sugar, water, glucose and lemon juice to about 110°C (230°F), then take it off and stir in the orange blossom and rose waters. The glucose stops it crystallising, and without it the syrup sets hard inside the waffle and cracks it.
3. Add the flower waters off the heat, because their aroma boils away in seconds. Keep the syrup warm and pourable.
4. Heat the waffle iron and cook thin waffles for 2 to 3 minutes, until pale gold and cooked through but still flexible.
5. Take them out while they still bend. Let each waffle cool just enough to handle.
6. Lay the waffle flat and slide a long thin knife horizontally into one edge, working it through the middle to open it like a book. Split it while it is still warm and pliable, and go slowly.
7. Press it closed and let the syrup spread through the squares. Serve immediately, warm, wrapped in paper.

Technique

• It is a quite different thing from the Liège waffle, which is a brioche dough with pearl sugar.
• The syrup should soak into the squares rather than sit as a filling.
• Some stalls sell them cold and pre-filled, which is not the same experience at all.

Substitutions

• Golden syrup with orange blossom water, in place of the made syrup.
• A pizzelle iron, which gives a thinner wafer that splits more easily.

Variations

• With more rose water and less orange blossom.
• Served cold, as the packaged version.
• Gaufre de Liège, the entirely different sugar waffle.

History

Sold at the Liège October Fair since 1903, named after Désiré Smidts who introduced it there.

Frequently asked questions

What is Lacquemant?

Lacquemant is a street food from Belgium: thin waffle wafer split and filled with orange-blossom syrup. Sold at the Liège October Fair since 1903, named after Désiré Smidts who introduced it there.

How long does Lacquemant take to make?

Lacquemant takes 30 min plus 1 hr resting of preparation and 25 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 12. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Lacquemant?

Yes, within limits. Golden syrup with orange blossom water, in place of the made syrup. A pizzelle iron, which gives a thinner wafer that splits more easily.

What is the most important thing to get right in Lacquemant?

Make a smooth batter with the flour, eggs, melted butter, milk, sugar, yeast and salt, and rest it an hour. The batter must be thin, closer to a crêpe batter than a Brussels waffle batter, because the finished wafer has to be thin enough to split.