WINTER TRADITIONS IN BELGIUM WITH STEFANIE
We cannot speak Dutch at all but have heard about Belgium's famous Christmas markets and delicious chocolates. Wishing to learn more, we asked Stefanie to take us on a winter trip to her homeland. Mother of a little Chloé, she is a dreamer at heart!
Christmas time in Belgium is a magical period. It is filled with the best food, quality time with our family and best friends and the most enchanting twinkly lights in every town and city. The famous saying "It's the most wonderful time of the year!" takes all its meaning.
Each year, we enjoy gathering together at the Christmas markets. They pop up all over the country during winter time. We love to indulge in mountains of Brussels' waffles and moats of Belgian hot chocolate and “jenever” (our Dutch term for a kind of Flemish gin) to keep warm. This year will of course be different due to the covid...
Nevertheless I am determined to make this December a beautiful month in a creative and coronaproof way.
There are no Christmas markets but our country sparkles with lights and Christmas decorations so why not enjoy the beauty of it all this during a walk? One of my favorite cities in Belgium is the picturesque city of Bruges…
During the Christmas month, this premier medieval town feels so romantic and magical. Hundreds of Christmas trees and thousands of lights give it such a wonderful winter glow. Shops are all decorated with the prettiest of Christmas decorations and the cobblestone streets are filled with the sound of Christmas music. For us Belgians, Bruges is like an escape from the real world, a wonderland!
All the restaurants and coffee houses are closed by the Belgian government so
one of the things we like doing during our walks is to bring our own food and
drinks to have a little picnic along one of the pretty canals enjoying the view
of the gabled red brick buildings and little stone bridges.
While waiting to be able to welcome you to Belgium, here’s my recipe for Belgian waffles with chocolate (because you all know one of our best products is our chocolate and Bruges is well known for all their chocolatiers):
Ingredients (for 4 persons)
- 250 gr of flour
- 75 gr of butter
- 5gr of baking powder
- 3 eggs
- 100 gr of sugar
- 250 ml of milk
- 5 gr of vanilla sugar or vanilla extract
- 75 gr of fondant chocolate chips or chocolate crushed into little pieces
Instructions
*Mix the flour, egg yolks and the milk and add the baking powder. Melt down the butter, mix it together with the sugar and add it to the dough.
* Chop some chocolate into little pieces or use chocolate chips and mix it together in the bowl with dough.
*Whip the egg whites (tip: with the vanilla sugar) until they are foamy. Carefully add the whipped egg whites to the dough. If you haven’t used the vanilla sugar, you can add some of the vanilla extract in this step. This step is crucial and allows the dough to become airy.
*Heat up the waffle iron and bake the waffles. You can use butter or oil to grease the waffle iron in between the baking so the waffles don’t stick.
*Don’t forget to make your own hot chocolate milk to drink with the waffles. One of my favorites is made with soy milk, pure chocolate and a bit of cinnamon.
Follow Stefanie on Instagram : @stefanie_ds
Learn more about Bruges at Christmas
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