A stroopwafel (English translation: syrup waffle or treacle waffle) is a waffle

Waffle

A waffle is a batter- or dough-based cake cooked in a waffle iron patterned to give a distinctive and characteristic shape. There are many variations based on the type and shape of the iron and the recipe used....

 made from two thin layers of baked batter with a caramel-like syrup filling in the middle. They were first made in Gouda

Gouda

Gouda is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Gouda, which was granted city rights in 1272, is famous for its Gouda cheese, smoking pipes, and 15th-century city hall....

 in the Netherlands, in 1784. Large versions are sold in the streets as a snack.

Ingredients

The stiff batter for the waffles is made from flour, butter, brown sugar

Brown sugar

Brown sugar is a sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown color due to the presence of molasses. It is either an unrefined or partially refined soft sugar consisting of sugar crystals with some residual molasses content, or it is produced by the addition of molasses to refined white...

, yeast, milk, and eggs. Medium sized balls of batter are put on the waffle iron

Waffle iron

A waffle iron is a cooking appliance used to make waffles.It usually consists of two hinged metal plates, molded to create the honeycomb pattern found on waffles...

. After the waffle has been baked, and while it's still warm, it's cut into halves. The warm filling, made from syrup, brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon, is spread between the waffle halves, gluing them together.

History

The stroopwafel originates from Gouda in the Netherlands. It was first made during the late 18th century or early 19th century by a baker using leftovers from the bakery, such as breadcrumbs, which were sweetened with syrup. One story ascribes the invention of the stroopwafel to the baker Gerard Kamphuisen, which would date the first stroopwafels somewhere between 1810, the year when he opened his bakery, and 1840, the year of the oldest known recipe for syrup waffles. In the 19th century, there were around 100 syrup waffle bakers in Gouda, which was the only city in which they were made until 1870. After 1870 they were also made at parties and in markets outside the city of Gouda. In the 20th century, factories started to make stroopwafels. In 1960 there were 17 factories in Gouda alone, of which four are currently still open.

External links

• How stroopwafels are made. (video), schepsbakeries.com
• How to Eat a Stroopwafel (video), rikomatic.com
• Dutch Stroopwafels (recipe), dianasdesserts.com
• Association of Stroopwafel Addicts at Meta-Wiki