Not just for breakfast but also very nice as a 4 o’clock pick me up!
Klik hier voor de Nederlandse versie van dit recept
Dutch people are all very familiar with something called ‘ontbijtkoek’ (breakfast cake) which is a spiced cake containing rye and honey. It is usually eaten with a thick layer of butter.
The original recipe involves making a cooked preferment with some of the old cake in it (a bit of a chicken and egg situation if you have never made it before).
This recipe is very easy to make and after serving it to many people I can tell you that a lot of them thought they were having ‘ontbijtkoek’ only smoother and less sticky.
Since December last year I have made this recipe many times and tried out many different versions. The version you will find in the recipe is the one that will appeal to anybody who is a fan of speculaas (speculoos), gingerbread and pumpkin spice sweet baking. These spices are all part of the same family. Although they come in different compositions and some ingredients are left out or put in, they are all part of similar festive baking rituals and traditions.
I have also made this cake with rye flour only and I do like the result. Just be aware that the structure will be a little more compact. No rye at hand? Making the cake with all purpose /plain / wheat flour only will also give a very tasty result.
Enjoy!
Before you start
It is, I find, the most rewarding to make your own spice mix for this recipe. You can find some suggestions for speculaas spice mixes in our recipe for speculaas. Please make sure your spices are fresh. I use an old coffee grinder to grind the spices to a powdery consistency. You can also use the old pestle and mortar of course, like I did before I found my grinder.
Ingredients Speculaas Gingerbread
Makes 1
125 g fine rye flour
125 g all purpose flour / plain flour
1 tsp / 5 g baking soda
pinch of salt
65 g melted butter
110 g honey
110 g sugar
2 tsps / 4 g speculaas spices or gingerbread /pumpkin spices
1 egg
200 g buttermilk
Making the Speculaas Gingerbread
Preheat your oven to 190° C / 375° F for a conventional oven.
Prepare a 20×20 cm / 8×8 inches baking tin by spraying it with oil or rubbing it with butter or line it with baking paper. In a bowl, combine the sugar, honey, speculaas spices and melted butter and give it a quick whisk. Beat in the egg. Combine the flour with the baking soda and a pinch of salt. Now sift in the flour in about three stages and alternate with the buttermilk. Whisk until you have a smooth batter.
Pour the batter into the tin and make sure it is evenly distributed. Bake at 190° C / 375° F for 25 minutes, then turn down your oven thermostat to 175° C / 350° and bake for another 10 minutes.
Take the gingerbread out of the oven and let it cool in the tin for about 30 minutes. After that you can take it out and wrap it in foil or wrap it in baking paper and store it in an airtight container. This way it stays nice and moist. But please also taste some straight away of course!
Gab says
From where I come from, we use brown sugar instead of sugar and honey. Trust me.. it is magical!
Weekend Bakers says
Thank you Gab, that sounds like something we have to try too!
radhaks says
Thank you so much for posting this recipe…i cannot wait to try it for thanksgiving this year! I was wondering if you have tried to replace half the AP flour with almond flour (to add some almond into the mix)? If not, I will try it and report back. Thanks!
Gary says
I was looking for a gingerbread recipe – something a bit different to the UK style of syrup and ginger as the spice base.
I just made the recipe this evening. I made the spices as per your suggestion – the aroma is fantastic.The whole house smells like a spice emporium – lovely!
The gingerbread came out perfectly and the only problem I had was to stop eating it!
Thank you so much sharing this recipe and the time to describe it so well.
Your website is a real treasure!
Weekend Bakers says
Thank you so much Gary, what a wonderful comment! Spice emporium, must remember that one 🙂
Glad you are able to enjoy our beloved spice mix this way.
Wishing you a most enjoyable baking time this autumn and winter!
Alex says
I finally got around to trying this cake and it is absolutely wonderful. It isn’t an offensive cake – the spice mix is not overwhelming on the palate – but it is such a pleasant treat. I think I will try using molasses next time instead of honey for an even stronger flavour. Thank you!
Weekend Bakers says
Thank you Alex, exactly like we intended and know and love this cake too.
We also know the molasses (in moderation maybe) will work.
Enjoy the cake baking!
Karol says
Hello,
I just made your cake and it was sooo yummy. I made a double batch of the spice to have on hand and adjusted with more anise seed and some other spices. I used to live in the Netherlands and always LOVED the ontbijtkoek. I was back there a few months ago and bought one of the loaves that they sell in the market. When I compare the two I really like the flavor of your recipe but miss the dense cake and the sticky top. My cake was too light. Do you have any suggestions for making it a bit more dense and sticky on top?
Thanks,
Weekend Bakers says
Hi Karol,
Thank you for your wonderful feedback and comment. We do not have an actual recipe for ontbijtkoek. We know what you mean, but we never make the original like you see at bakeries and in supermarkets ourselves. There are recipes to find we are sure, if you google ontbijtkoek or peperkoek. The original version is usually made with pieces of ‘old’ ontbijtkoek and glucose syrup, which also accounts for the sticky in part. We have never gotten round to trying it ourselves this way and at the moment do not have a good recipe to recommend. Hope you can find something to try and it will be close to what you are looking for.
Enjoy your baking!
Sabine says
Maybe like this?
coquinaria.nl/peper…elf-maken/
coquinaria.nl/en/pe…ngerbread/
Weekend Bakers says
Thank you Sabine, this seems to be very close to the traditional methods we have read about more often.
marlon says
Hoi, ik ben van plan de honing door dadelsiroop te vervangen en de suiker door appelstroop. Zou je me aanraden 110 gram appelstroop te nemen of minder?
bvd!
Weekend Bakers says
Hallo Marlon,
We weten niet goed wat het effect zal zijn van deze aanpassingen. Als je de rinse Appelstroop gebruikt dan bestaat deze overigens tot voor 70% uit suiker (Beetwortelsap van bieten). We weten uit ervaring niet wat het effect is op het resultaat van de substantie zelf. Bij vervanging van suiker door een vorm van siroop / stroop neemt men wel vaak 2/3 van het totaal aan suiker, dus wellicht is dat een goed uitgangspunt.
Succes ermee en hopelijk wordt het heel lekker.
Julie says
I’ve made this again a couple of times since my last comment and I’ve used muffin moulds. Doubled the recipe for 12 muffins. Once I used up bags of sugar in cupboard, some dark brown, some coconut sugar, it might have given a bit of a malty flavour, which I love. About 20-25 mins in oven. I used kefir and yogurt when I had run out of buttermilk. Plus I’ve also put some spice mix in milk for a spicy hot chocolate.
Love this recipe!
P.S. I m back on the site here to share it with someone else.
Weekend Bakers says
Excellent Julie,
We love your creativity with the recipe!
Bonita Gille says
Hate to be “The Ugly American”, but what would 200 grams of buttermilk and 110 grams of honey be in cups? (My ancestors were from Holland!) Thank you!
Weekend Bakers says
Hi Bonita,
We understand where you are coming from, but looking for the answer you can maybe understand why we Dutch people love our scales 😉
200 grams of buttermilk is just under 7/8 cups (so minus 1/3 of a tablespoon)
110 grams of honey is slightly over 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon
Also see our baking conversion page: www.weekendbakery.com/cooki…nversions/
Happy baking from Holland,
Marieke & Ed
dede says
Hi Just wondering what you mean by fine rye flour? Can anyone tell me if they have used wholemeal rye flour or white Rye flour which is what we have here in the UK?
Thanks
Dede
Weekend Bakers says
Hello Dede,
Our fine rye flour and your white rye flour is very probably one and the same. So we would suggest using the white rye flour.
Enjoy the baking,
Marieke
David Withers says
Your site is so incredibly wonderful and super duper!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! for making me a hero to my kids 🤓
Dave W
Weekend Bakers says
Hi David,
High praise indeed, that puts a smile on our faces!
Thank you and happy Holidays and a wonderful time baking and sharing with your kids.
Greetings from Holland,
Ed & Marieke
Henk Vandesteen says
Lekker, ontbijtkoek!
Kathleen says
I made this today and it is SO good! This recipe is definitely a keeper. I was looking for a way to use rye flour beyond just for rye bread for, and this is perfection Thank you!
Weekend Bakers says
Hi Kathleen,
Thank you for the lovely feedback! This is exactly what we find so great about it too…plus the wonderful smell while baking of course, especially this time of year 🙂
Happy baking!
Bea says
I can’t wait to try this recipe. Have you ever made it with powdered buttermilk? Do we have to make it today? Thanks. Hope I can make it my blog is still down but I could try to post it on Facebook. Let me know. Looks so delicious. I hate ginger but love gingerbread!
Weekend Bakers says
Hi Bea, hope it works or worked out. We have never heard of powdered buttermilk over here in Holland, but we assume it would be OK to use it, as long as the quantity of liquid you use is the same.
Happy baking!
Trish says
What would happen if I added 50g sourdough to it? Love to try it but to add some sourdough.
Weekend Bakers says
Hi Trish,
I have to be honest, I have never tried this and wonder how sour it would become and how it will interact with the other ingredients. Hope to hear about your result if and when you give it a try!
Monique says
This is absolutely yummy. I have moved to New Zealand 16 years ago and although I don’t miss The Netherlands too much, the food…. oh! the food!. Kroketjes, ontbijtkoek, roze koeken, gevulde koeken…. 🙂 Anyway, this recipe is the closest I have come to ontbijtkoek, so a real keeper. The whole family loves it. I noticed your Rondo/Kano recipe, so that’s next on my list!! Thank you so much for sharing. You’re making a lot of Dutch expats very happy 🙂
Weekend Bakers says
Hallo Monique,
Thanks for your nice comment / Dank voor je leuke bericht!
Ik kan me zo goed voorstellen dat je met name deze dingen mist / Can imagine you would miss these ‘Dutch treats’ I would too. But luckily we can bake our own and come close to or maybe even surpass the original…
Hope the rondo’s will be to your liking (almost certain the will be : )
Happy baking / Veel bakplezier!
Marieke
Monique says
Haha, yes, I don’t think eating them will be the problem 🙂 Thanks so much!!!
julie says
Thanks for this recipe. I’ve been trying to re create a spice cake I often bought from café years ago and I think this is the closest to it. Just made it and it tastes delicious. For me the white pepper sets it apart from other spice mixes. I can’t resist a recipe with honey it too. I’ve now got a batch of the brioche in the fridge for tomorrow. Great website. Thanks again.
Weekend Bakers says
Hi Julie,
Thank you so much for trying our recipes and for your kind words.
Happy baking!
Ed & Marieke
Margaret says
This recipe intrigues me. I want to try it. I would be very interested in having the instructions and ingredients for making the traditional preferment. Is it almost like a “sourdough” for making cakes?
Weekend Bakers says
We are looking into this Margaret, we do not have the experience with the traditional method yet, but we think you are right looking at it that way.
Lizette says
Thank you for your recipe. I came from Scotland 57 years ago. was blessed with a neighbour who was from Holland. Not only did she teach me how to bake, she became my three children’s Grandma. No Grandma could have loved a grandchild more that our dutch Granny loved mine. We lived by a dutch bakery and the baker would sell us Medium Rye flour, by the pound, for our honey cake. Years later I found the flour in the grocery store. We have moved,and so far I cannot locate the medium rye. I tried
Bob’s rye but it was too grainy. By the way, your recipe is the same as ‘our Granny’s”. She is long gone but lives in our heart.
True love never dies. I still use her cookie recipes. At Christmas we get the recipes out and one more time they hear the Granny story. I really am raving on, but reading all of the letters really brought back such lovely memories. Thank you. Back to the search for medium rye flour.
Weekend Bakers says
Hello Lizette,
What a lovely story and what wonderful memories to cherish. Everybody should have a baking Granny!
Hope you will find the right rye flour soon. We only have two varieties here, the whole grain rye and the fine rye flour we use for this recipe. For a medium version we would mix the two maybe or (partially) sift the whole grain?
Happy baking,
Marieke & Ed
Kate Wilkins says
Great recipe, I’ve never seen Speculaas spices in the UK and so had to make my own mix which was a little tricky as the scales aren’t too accurate with such small amounts. However the truth is in the tasting as they say and the final result was really yummy and very popular with my children and so the cake won’t last very long. I will definitely be making this again.
Thanks for the recipe.
Kate
Weekend Bakers says
Hello Kate,
The smell of the fragrant speculaas spices spreading across the globe. How wonderful is that!
Very glad you, and of course your children, like the recipe too.
Wishing you and your family very happy holidays and a wonderful 2013!
Ed & Marieke
Jan says
Hi,
First of all thank you for making this great website and for the amazing recipes you put on here, they have been up to now the best bread recipes I have found and never failed me. When I still lived in Holland ( I’m Dutch by the way ) I loved ‘ontbijtkoek’ just with some butter one it, its a rare treat. Now I live in Thailand and many things we can find easily in our supermarkets in Holland you will not be able to find. Such as it is with ontbijtkoek, speculaas, good bread and cheese etc. As I was lucky enough to bring some speculaas ‘kruiden” with me when I moved I was able to make this wonderful recipe. I just mixed everything together put it in a LOAF pan and put it in the oven, of-course it had to bake a lot longer but boy was it worth it. tasted good after the bake, tasted great the day after ( after cooling wrapped it in alu foil and put in the fridge ) but the day after that was even better, nice and moist little bit sticky and the flavor was more intense. Needles to say I loved it, but what was a surprise to me is that my Thai family liked it alot also, so much that they requested ( I don’t know if this is the correct word, because it was more like they forced me ) to make another one. So on behalf of me an my family THANK YOU
Jan – Chiang Rai – Thailand
Weekend Bakers says
Hello Jan,
This morning I read your words and it got me all emotional. I picture you and your family all the way there in Thailand sitting together and enjoying the results of my recipe. We are always very grateful for receiving kind words and praise for our baking efforts and the things we try to do, but your kind words and the scene you describe give it something extra special.
Hope you have a wonderful December and a ‘Gelukkig Nieuwjaar’ in Thailand and happy baking of course!
Greetings from a cold and dark Holland,
Marieke