Sugary treats
Gaufres de Liege are crispy, caramelized sugar waffles. In Belgium, sugar waffles are street food. They are neat and portable, and not at all like the fluffy, whipped cream and fruit topped waffles on your hotel room service cart.
Here, you can get real waffles at Mr. Crepe in Davis Square (617-623-0661). Ingrid Heyrman and her business partner , Peter Creyf, both from Antwerp, Belgium, brought sugar waffles to New England at their 17 Waffle Haus log cabin huts -- slope side, seasonal waffle shacks at ski resorts in Vermont, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. The duo has also recently reopened Mr. Crepe in the former Someday Cafe spot.
Sugar waffles are irregularly shaped and crispy from pearl sugar -- the magic ingredient, which Mr. Crepe sells in 2-pound bags for $9. Pearl sugar, made in Belgium and Germany from sugar beets, doesn't completely melt during the baking process. The yeast-based dough for the Mr. Crepe and Waffle Haus waffles is made in Rutland, Vt. , and shipped frozen to the various locations. Balls of dough are defrosted and proofed, then baked to order on a slow waffle iron. "Most electric waffle irons go too fast," says Heyrman. "Remember, this is not a batter like most people are used to. It's a dough and it needs to bake at least 3 minutes or else it will burn."
Heyrman likes her waffles plain. "Gaufres don't really go with a topping," she says. "It's not a breakfast or a dessert. It's a snack." In Belgium, she says, gaufres are most popular in winter. "In the summer people eat ice cream just like everywhere else," she says. -- JONATHAN LEVITT 