Ontbijtkoek can be described as cake like sweet bread because it is denser than cake just like a bread but is sweet like a cake. So it is really upto you what do you want to call it cake or sweet bread. Whatever It is, it’s a delight in every bite.
Breakfast is most important meal, at least in my neck of wood it is! I mostly prefer hot breakfast, unless it is one of these hot and humid days in summers. For these summer days smoothies and overnight oats or some cold sandwich work good for me, because I can’t be bothered to cook. But when breakfast request is for cake { that too from husband who hardly eats anything other than oats for breakfast} I really don’t hesitate to don my baking apron and bake him a cake for the breakfast.
We tasted Ontbijtkoek for the first time for breakfast during a layover at Amsterdam Airport during flight from Delhi to Rome on and I knew this is something I have to bake soon. Fragrant spicy and sweet taste of cinnamon and nutmeg and some honey or molasses a texture like christmasy gingerbread cake, the heady aroma of warm bread with dab of honey and coffee was something that struck a cord and the memory still lingering on. And thats the reason that I needed to bake Ontbijtkoek .
Now 15 days that I am back and almost settled into work routine, this is bread that I baked on a rainy day. Not that some baking and rains kind of romanticism but simply for the reason that weather was little cool so working in kitchen did not seem like punishment 🙂
This sweet dutch cake is not only served for breakfast but it is often served with afternoon coffee as well. It’s perfect on it’s own but I added some blanched and peeled whole almonds too, just like we ate it on the airport. That not only made it more rich but texture wise too it made a difference with bits of almonds in every bite it is a sheer delight. But when I searched exact recipe me to make this dutch breakfast cake from coquinaria blog , there were no almonds in it. Still the ingredient profile looked almost similar to what we had tasted so I went ahead with exact same recipe with half the measurements with addition of whole almonds.
I won’t say it tasted exactly same but this is close enough to what we tried there or may be we were more hungry that day after a long flight . So till I find exact same recipe this is going to be one of my favourite cakes because I am not those creamy frosted types of cake fan, Give me something simple earthy and something real I will be a happy women 🙂
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 50 grams sugar of ordinary
- 140 grams honey
- 25 grams brown sugar
- .6 cups water
- 175 grams rye flour ( or whole wheat flour if you can't find )
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 7 grams baking powder
- 150 g almond blanched and peeled
- ½ teaspoon cardamom powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon powder
- ¼ teaspoon ginger ground
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg black pepper
- ⅙ teaspoon aniseed
Instructions
- In a big mixing bowl mix rye flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.
- Heat up water and mix sugar and honey in the water bring it to a boil. Let it cool down till it is warm but not boiling.
- Now in the mixing bowl make a dough of the rye flour ( whole wheat if you are not using rye) and spice mix with this warm sugar and honey and water.
- After everything comes together, Kneed this dough about 5 minutes more.
- Line a cake tin or bread loaf tin with parchment paper and put the dough in it.
- Tap the tin to spread the dough evenly and let it stand for few minutes.
- Now top it with blanched and peeled almonds.
- Bake the cake in pre heated oven at 180 C for 30-35 minutes. Do check it once after 25 minutes and after that baking time may vary from 5-15 minutes depending on power and brand of your oven.
Nicole
Hello, I wanted to try out this recipe but I am confused - do you add 1/8 a teaspoon of ground nutmeg and black pepper and ground cloves? Then 1/6 a teaspoon of ground aniseed? Just not sure what "1/8 tsp nutmeg black pepper each of cloves" meant.
Thank you 🙂