VIII

Chapter · Zoet & Gebak

Sweets & Baking

Stroopwafels pressed hot, poffertjes dusted white, speculaas, tompouce, and the tall Frisian sugar loaf.

The East

Suikerbietenstroop (Sugar-Beet Syrup)

Suikerbietenstroop

The dark, bittersweet beet syrup of the Dutch larder — boiled down from sugar beets, spread on rye bread and stirred into stews, and a lifeline in the war.

270 minAdvanced

Ontbijtkoek (Dutch Spiced Breakfast Cake)

Sweets

The East

Ontbijtkoek (Dutch Spiced Breakfast Cake)

Ontbijtkoek

The dense rye-and-honey spice loaf the Dutch eat at breakfast — no butter or egg, deeply moist, sliced thick and spread with cold butter or nothing at all.

75 minBeginner

Zeeuwse Bolus (Cinnamon-Sugar Coiled Bun)

Sweets

Zeeland

Zeeuwse Bolus (Cinnamon-Sugar Coiled Bun)

Zeeuwse Bolus

Zeeland's sticky coiled bun — a rope of soft dough rolled in cinnamon sugar and wound into a spiral that bakes into a dark, caramelised, chewy whirl.

50 minIntermediate

Bossche Bol (Den Bosch Chocolate Cream Puff)

Sweets

Noord-Brabant

Bossche Bol (Den Bosch Chocolate Cream Puff)

Bossche Bol

Brabant's giant choux puff — a tennis-ball of pastry stuffed with barely-sweet whipped cream and dipped whole in a thick coat of dark chocolate.

85 minAdvanced

Arnhemse Meisjes (Sugar-Crusted Biscuits)

Sweets

Gelderland

Arnhemse Meisjes (Sugar-Crusted Biscuits)

Arnhemse Meisjes

Gelderland's crisp oval biscuits — thin rounds of yeasted puff dough rolled in coarse sugar that caramelises into a shattering, glassy crust.

60 minAdvanced

Sweets

Friesland

Oranjekoek (Frisian Almond Cake)

Oranjekoeke

Friesland's flat celebration cake — a dense almond-and-spice base under a bright layer of icing, ginger and glacé cherries, cut into generous squares.

60 minIntermediate

Sweets

Friesland

Fryske Sûkerbôle (Frisian Sugar Bread)

Suikerbrood

Friesland's tall enriched loaf shot through with pearls of sugar that melt into sweet caramel pockets — sliced thick, buttered, and eaten with coffee.

70 minIntermediate

Sweets

Limburg

Limburgse Vlaai (Limburg Fruit Tart)

Limburgse Vlaai

The great open fruit tart of the Catholic south — a soft yeast-dough base filled with cherries or apricots and finished with a woven lattice top.

75 minIntermediate

Sweets

Holland

Banketstaaf (Almond Pastry Log)

Banketstaaf

The festive Dutch pastry log — a length of puff pastry wrapped around dense almond spijs, glazed, and cut into slices for the Sinterklaas and Christmas table.

65 minIntermediate

Sweets

The Indies at Home

Pisang Goreng (Fried Banana)

Pisang goreng

Ripe banana in a crisp batter, fried golden and eaten hot — the Indonesian sweet snack that became a beloved close to the Dutch-Indo meal.

30 minBeginner

Pepernoten & Kruidnoten (Sinterklaas Spice Nuts)

Sweets

Holland

Pepernoten & Kruidnoten (Sinterklaas Spice Nuts)

Pepernoten & Kruidnoten

The tiny spiced nuggets scattered by the handful at Sinterklaas — crunchy kruidnoten and the chewier true pepernoten, both built on speculaaskruiden.

40 minBeginner

Spekkoek / Lapis Legit (Layered Spice Cake)

Sweets

The Indies at Home

Spekkoek / Lapis Legit (Layered Spice Cake)

Spekkoek

The many-layered spice cake grilled one thin layer at a time — an Indo-Dutch showpiece rich with butter, egg yolk, cinnamon and clove, striped like bacon.

130 minAdvanced

Sweets

Friesland

Boterkoek (Dutch Butter Cake)

Boterkoek

A single flat round of pure butter, sugar and flour — dense, chewy and deep gold, cracked across the top and barely set in the middle. Frisian at heart.

45 minBeginner

Sweets

Holland

Tompouce (Pink-Glazed Cream Slice)

Tompoes

The Dutch pastry impossible to eat with dignity — two sheets of puff pastry, a thick slab of crème pâtissière, and a lid of glossy pink fondant.

70 minIntermediate

Sweets

Holland

Gevulde Koeken (Almond-Filled Cookies)

Gevulde Koeken

The bakery-window classic — a fat round of buttery dough packed with almond spijs, glazed with egg and crowned with a single blanched almond.

65 minIntermediate

Sweets

Holland

Speculaas (Spiced Windmill Biscuits)

Speculaas

The deep-brown spiced biscuits pressed into carved wooden moulds for Sinterklaas — dense with speculaaskruiden, snapping crisp, scented of the VOC.

50 minBeginner

Sweets

Holland

Hollandse Appeltaart (Dutch Apple Tart)

Appeltaart

The tall, deep Dutch apple tart — a buttery cinnamon crust packed with spiced apples, raisins and a lattice top, baked in a springform and served in wedges.

110 minIntermediate

Sweets

Holland

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.

70 minAdvanced

Sweets

Holland

Oliebollen (Dutch New Year's Doughnuts)

Oliebollen

The deep-fried yeast dumplings the Dutch eat to see out the year — studded with raisins and apple, rolled in icing sugar, best eaten by the frozen canal.

60 minIntermediate

Sweets

Holland

Poffertjes (Little Puffed Pancakes)

Poffertjes

The tiny yeasted pancakes of the Dutch fairground — puffed in a dimpled iron, turned with a fork, and buried under butter and a snowfall of icing sugar.

45 minIntermediate