Last year, when I was trying to cut down the amount of refined sugar that I was eating, I made these Refined Sugar Free Liege Waffles. They were good, in a refined sugar free kind of way, but waffles really need sugar, don’t they? These Nutella Stuffed Waffles have the caramelized crunch of a Liege Waffle as they contain pearl sugar but are also oozing with melted Nutella. How great is that! They are a bit of a sugar overload but they’re a real treat. I had one (or maybe it was two 
) for breakfast yesterday which just happened to be National Nutella Day.
Proper Liege waffles contain Belgian pearl sugar. The pearl sugar creates a sweet crunchy bite throughout the waffle and they caramelize on the surface to turn the waffles a gorgeous golden brown. Pearl sugar can be a bit difficult to get hold of. You can find it on Amazon or in specialist online stores but I have yet to find it in supermarkets in the UK or USA. I picked up the sugar for these waffles from a supermarket when I was last in France and I am so pleased that I did. I just wish I had brought more of it. Oh well, a good excuse to go back to France soon!
Pearl Sugar
I have seen some online tutorials for making pearl sugar but to be perfectly honest I am yet to be successful in making my own. Maybe I just don’t have the patience.
Even though getting your hands on pearl sugar might be a bit difficult, do persevere as it really is worth it. The crystal sugar turns a standard waffle into a crunchy caramelized piece of heaven! They don’t really need any embellishment but stuffing them full of Nutella was something I wanted to try and I am so pleased that I did! Wow, totally decadent but worth doing if you are wanting to spoil yourself 
It is pretty unlikely that you will eat all 16 waffles in one sitting (I would think!) but they freeze very well. I would suggest that you freeze any left overs as soon as possible and then you can take them out one by one when you want a treat. Defrost them and then warm them up in a moderate oven for best results.
Nutella Stuffed Waffles
- Prep Time: 12h
- Cook Time: 1h 20m
- Yield: 16 waffles
- Category: Desserts, Waffles and Pancakes
Ingredients
- 120 millilitres luke warm milk
- 60 millilitres luke warm water
- 1 heaped tablespoon of sugar
- 7 grams active dry yeast or 21g of fresh yeast
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 460 grams all purpose flour
- 200 grams salted butter (softened to room temperature)
- 300 grams pearl sugar
- 16 teaspoons Nutella
Instructions
- Place the warm milk and water together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the sugar and yeast and stir. Set aside for the yeast to become foamy.
- Once the yeast is foamy add the vanilla extract, eggs and 3/4 of the flour. Add the salt and mix using the dough hook attachment of your stand mixer.
- Once this mixture has come together start adding the butter bit by bit, making sure that each bit is combined into the dough before you add the next bit. This will take some time to do but persevere as this will make the best dough.
- Once all the butter has been added you can add the remaining flour and leave the mixer to knead the dough for another 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and shiny.
- Cover the bowl with cling film and place in the fridge for 8 hours (or overnight). The dough will rise but will not as much as it does if left to prove in a warm environment (so don't panic when you get it out).
- Remove the dough from the fridge and bring to room temperature (1 1/2 - 2 hours). Stir the dough to deflate it, recover and leave to rise for another hour.
- Tip out the dough on to a lightly floured surface and knead in the pearl sugar. Cut into 16 equal pieces.
- Heat the waffles iron to a medium high heat.
- Take one piece of dough and stretch it into small square. Place a heaped teaspoon of Nutella into the middle of the square and pull the sides up over the Nutella so it is encased in the middle of the dough ball. Place the dough in the middle of the waffle iron and cook till golden all over. This will take approx 4 - 5 minutes. Very carefully remove from the waffle iron as they are extremely hot and place on a cooling rack. Whilst you wait for one waffle to cook you can prepare the next waffle.
- As these waffles are best eaten warm, you can place them in a moderate oven to keep soft and warm whilst you finish cooking the rest of the batch.
- I have successfully frozen these waffles on the day of baking. It is just a matter of taking them out of the freezer defrosting them and warming up in a moderate oven on the day that you want to serve them.
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