Prep: 45 mins + 30 mins resting: – Makes 25 – A little effort

Put the eggs into a bowl and whisk together with the sugar and vanilla sugar. Add the melted butter, whisk again, then add the flour, salt and sesame seeds and beat to a smooth batter. Set aside to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. This will make the batter less runny.

After 30 minutes, switch on a round waffle iron. Butter the iron, then pour a heaped teaspoon of batter into the centre. Close and bake the waffle until golden (every waffle maker is different, it can take between 30 seconds and 2 minutes, just open it from time to time to peek inside).

Now you need to work quickly: remove the waffle with a spatula, and transfer to a cooling rack. Place a fortune in the centre of the waffle. Quickly fold the waffle in half, then fold the two edges towards each other so that you get a crescent shape. This needs to be done really fast because the cookie will harden and become brittle within seconds.

Place the folded fortune wafer into a muffin tin so it hold its shape as it cools. Leave to cool completely, then store in a tin for up to a week.

TIPS

• The diameter of a traditional Wäffelchen is about 15cm. As these are fortune cookie wafers, you’ll want the wafer to be on the small side. The diameter I aim for is about 12cm, as the wafers are easier to fold when they’re small.
• It’s very likely that you’ll burn your fingers while shaping the fortune cookies… My solution is to wrap both my thumbs and index fingers in tin foil so I can’t feel the heat. It may look very odd, but it is a very handy trick indeed!
• You can find plenty of printable fortune cookie messages online
• Black sesame seeds are available in Asian supermarkets. They are a bit crunchier than white sesame seeds, but their taste is very similar.. I use black sesame seeds when it’s contrast and colour rather than taste I’m after in a dish. You can of course use white sesame seeds in this recipe.