Stroopwafels (Caramel Syrup Waffles)
Stroopwafels
Two wafer-thin waffles pressed hot and sandwiched with molten caramel syrup — the Gouda market treat, best warmed over a cup of coffee until the middle goes soft.
VIIISweets & Baking- Prep
- 40 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Serves
- 12
- Level
- Advanced
The stroopwafel was born in Gouda in the late eighteenth century, and the tidiest version of its origin story has a thrifty baker pressing scraps of dough and leftover crumbs, then binding them with syrup. Whatever the truth, the result is one of the great small pleasures of the Dutch day: two paper-thin, cinnamon-scented waffles glued with warm caramel stroop, sold fresh and floppy from market carts where the smell alone stops traffic.
Warm from the cart
A factory stroopwafel is a fine thing, but a fresh one — still warm, the syrup barely set — is another category entirely. That is what this recipe chases. It is genuinely advanced home baking, not for the speed of any single step but for the choreography: pressing, splitting and filling all have to happen while everything is hot.
The ritual of the mug
However you make or buy them, there is only one correct way to eat a stroopwafel: balanced over a steaming cup of coffee until the rising heat softens the wafer and loosens the caramel within. Then, and only then, do you take the first bite.
“The whole art is speed and heat. Have your knife, iron and syrup all ready at once — a wafer that cools before you split it will crack.”
Ingredients
Serves 12
The waffle dough
- 250 gplain flour
- 125 gbutter — softened
- 75 glight brown sugar
- 1egg
- 7 ginstant yeast
- 60 mlwarm milk
- 1/2 tspcinnamon
The syrup filling
- 200 gdark brown sugar
- 150 ggolden syrup or stroop
- 75 gbutter
- 1 tspcinnamon
Method
- 1
Make the dough
Rub the butter into the flour, sugar, yeast and cinnamon. Mix in the egg and warm milk to a soft dough. Cover and leave to rest 45 minutes.
- 2
Cook the wafers
Heat a stroopwafel iron. Press small balls of dough and cook 40–60 seconds until golden. Work fast — the wafers must be split while hot.
- 3
Split each wafer
As soon as each comes off, lay it flat and, with a thin serrated knife, slice it horizontally through the middle into two thin discs. This is the fiddly, essential step.
- 4
Make the syrup
Gently melt the brown sugar, syrup, butter and cinnamon together until smooth and pourable. Keep it warm and spreadable over low heat.
- 5
Fill and press
Spread hot syrup over one disc, cap with its partner, and press gently. Work quickly before both wafer and syrup set.
In the kitchen
The tools that make this recipe easier.
- SpecialistStroopwafel iron ↗
Thin waffle iron to press wafers before splitting and filling.
For the sweet table
Coffee-time (koffie met wat lekkers) is its own small ceremony.
- Koffie — strong filter coffee, one biscuit alongside
- Slagroom — whipped cream for poffertjes and tompouce
- Roomboter — good butter on the warm koek
Questions from the kitchen
Do I really need a stroopwafel iron?+
For the authentic thin, gridded wafer, yes. A pizzelle iron is the closest substitute; a standard waffle iron makes them too thick to split.
How do I eat one properly?+
Rest it over the rim of a hot mug of coffee or tea for a minute. The steam softens the wafer and melts the syrup centre — the true Dutch way.
How long do they keep?+
Several days in an airtight tin, though they firm up. A few seconds of gentle warmth brings back the soft, molten middle.
Paint the rest of the meal
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