Name: Silvia Maulini
Class Year: 1980
Country of Residence: The Netherlands
Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory?
The birthday of Sinterklaas, also known as St. Nicholaas, is a magical day for anyone living in the Netherlands or the Flanders, especially when small children are around. The celebration takes place on the evening of 5 December and families prepare for weeks ahead, wrapping presents in creative packages (called “surprises”), writing small poems to accompany the gifts… and eating traditional sweets rich in spices and almond paste. Sinterklaas visits children (and adults) and delivers much coveted presents and sweets, leaving the country the next morning to travel back to Spain, where he lives for the rest of the year, at least according to the legend. Gevulde Speculaas is one of the most popular Sinterklaas sweets and it can normally be found in the shops only between early October and 5 December. My family loves this rather spicy cake and so a few years ago I started baking my own Gevulde Speculaas, willing to please all year around. Needless to say, I received no complaints when I offered it along a cup of coffee in mid-February and I now keep a few slabs of it in the freezer for every occasion.
Gevulde Speculaas (stuffed speculaas cake)
Makes 8 large cookies. Takes approx. 15 minutes + 1 night rest + 45 minutes
Ingredients:
For the dough
80 gr dark brown sugar
70 gr butter (soft)
10 gr water
A pinch of salt
140 gr flour
10 gr speculaas spice mix (see recipe below if you cannot find this in a store in our area)
½ teaspoon baking powder
For the filling
200 gr almond paste (NOT marzipane)
Cold water (a few teaspoons)
1 egg
Almond flakes (or a few blanched almonds)
some butter
If you wish or need to make your own speculaas spice mix
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground anise seed
¾ teaspoon ground white pepper
¾ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
Mix all in a small bowl and store in a closed container. Note that this will make more than what you need for one cake.
Instructions:
For the dough – day 1
Mix the softened butter with the water, the sugar and the salt using your hands or with a pastry cutter. Add the flour mixed with the baking powder and the speculaas spices and knead briefly to create a soft and pliable dough. Wrap the dough in cling film and let it rest in the fridge for one night. This will allow for the dough to absorb the spices.
Making the cake – day 2
Take the dough out of the fridge and let it soften a bit. In the meantime mix the almond paste with ½ beaten egg and some water to make a soft paste.
Line the bottom of a baking tin with parchment paper (I use a 16 x 16 cm tin with a removable bottom) and lightly grease the sides with some butter. Roll half of the dough, spread it evenly on the bottom of the pan and cover with the almond paste. Press well to cover the bottom evenly. Roll the rest of the dough and place it on top of the almond paste. Press well on the sides. Brush the top of the cake with the remaining beaten egg, decorate with some almonds and then brush again before putting the cake in the over.
Bake at 180 C for about 20 minutes – until the top is golden brown. Cool on a rack and slice in large (or small!) slabs – beware, this cake is deliciously mighty! You can freeze some slabs if you wish.
Source: Cake: De Banketbakker, Cees Holtkamp, De Kookboekhandel, 2010
Speculaas spices mix: Sweet, Yotam Ottolenghi & Helen Goh, Ebury Press, 2017
