Ontbijtkoek

It's actually called "breakfast cake", this ontbijtkoek, but Dutch spice bread seems a more appropriate term in English. Favored by young and old, ontbijtkoek is an integral part of the breakfast table in Holland. It also shows up as a quick pick-me-up around four o'clock with a cup of tea, and it performs as the key ingredient for a children's birthday game called "koekhappen", i.e. cake nipping. This is where slices of ontbijtkoek are strung on a piece of wire or string and held above the heads of blindfolded children. Like birds in a nest, they strain their little necks up, mouths open wide, in hope of catching a crumb. The joke for the grownups is of course to lower the cake within reach and then yank it up, so that the kids bite into air instead of a sweet treat. One of the commercials that still has me laughing out loud is this one for a famous ontbijtkoek brand.

Ontbijtkoek, just like that other Dutch favorite, honey cake, is traditionally not baked at home. Not many breads or cakes are any more, unfortunately, and these breakfast beauties are mostly produced commercially. But heck, I wouldn't be Dutch if I didn't at least try, and I am glad to say that the homemade version is close enough, or perhaps even better, than the store-bought version. Go on, have a try! For a gluten-free version, substitute 2 cups (300 grams) of Bob's Red Mill GF flour for the two cups of flour in the recipe.

Ontbijtkoek
1 cup rye flour (150g)
1 cup all purpose flour (150g)
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon each cardamom, ginger, coriander, and ground cloves
1/2 cup dark brown sugar (100g)
1/4 cup dark molasses* (80g)
1/2 cup honey (150g)
1 cup milk (235ml)
Pinch of salt

Mix everything together into a smooth batter. Heat the oven to 325F/160C, grease a 9 x 5 inch (23 x 13 cm) rectangular cake pan, pour the batter in, and bake on the middle rack. Check after 45 - 50 minutes to see if the cake is done - a toothpick in the middle should come out clean. If not, bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, or until done.

Cool on a rack, then wrap and store in plastic wrap for that extra sticky outside crust. Eat sliced with a lick of good butter.




*For readers in the UK and Australia, apparently molasses can be substituted with black treacle. I will be testing this next week, using Tate & Lyle's black treacle, just to make sure.  

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51 comments:

  1. This is exciting! Do you really use coriander in the recipe? And no nutmeg?
    I am looking forward to seeing how it turned out.

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  2. Hi Cisca,
    Yep, coriander works like a charm. I tend to forget about nutmeg because I don't care for the flavor but in mixed spices such as these, I'm sure it would be great!
    Thanks for stopping by!

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  3. I lived in the Netherlands for a short time & loved this cake..I like that your recipe includes rye flour, many recipes omit this but I love the tangy taste of rye. I shall be baking this soon, cheers!

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  4. Hi Phil,
    I'm glad you like the rye too, it just adds that little "something" that makes it so flavorful, doesn't it? Let me know how it turned out!

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  5. Hi Nicole,

    I followed your recipe (almost) exactly...not sure which type of rye flour you originally used, but I used a wholemeal stoneground and the cake turned out marvellous!

    I baked another rye cake at the same time which was equally delish, Dan Lepard's rye apple cake, do try it yourself!

    regards,

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  6. Phil, I'm glad you liked the spice bread! I used a standard bulk rye flour from the store, I am sure that with wholemeal stoneground it must have been amazing! Thank you for the link to the rye apple cake, I've bookmarked it and will try it soon, the rye/apple combi sounds fantastic. I love trying new things!!

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  7. I just made this tonight and it was absolutely delicious! I used all rye flour, replaced the sugar with honey and cut back the milk by 3/4 cup. Thanks for sharing!

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  8. I dreamt of this 'bread' for about 12 years... I used to ate it while I was a kid... I still remember the taste, so clear in my mind. I'll try this recipe as soon as I can... Thank you for sharing!

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  9. I made this the other day and posted it on my blog. I got an overwhelmingly emotional email a few hours later from my great-uncle who lives in South Africa now (he emigrated from the Netherlands shortly after WWII) saying his wife recreated the recipe and it brought back the happy memories of his childhood. So thank you for helping make an old man happy!

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  10. Juls, it pleases me to no end that this recipe made your great-uncle happy, thank you for letting me know!

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  11. Thank you so much for posting this recipe. I made it the other day and it's PERFECT!! I have been searching for a good kruidkoek/ontbijtkoek recipe ever since I moved to the US (from the NL). So excited I found this one!! Thanks again!

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  12. I used your recipe this afternoon, my first time ever making ontbijtkoek, and was nervous about how it would turn out. I have to say, this tastes almost EXACTLY like the ontbijtkoek you would find at the Albert Heijn in the Netherlands!

    Thanks so much for posting this. I'm glad I found your blog! Many more Dutch treats will be made in my household now.

    Oh, and I hope you don't mind if I use your recipe for my blog. I'll give full credit of course. :)

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    1. Lauren, glad you liked it! It's one of those breads that no substitute will do if you're craving it, and I'm glad the recipe delivered once again. You are welcome to use the recipe for your blog, and I appreciate you asking, thanks for the credit. Love your photography, by the way, it's fantastic!

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  14. Well, first of all, I'm happy to have found your blog (as I was born in Amsterdam and have fond memories of Dutch breakfasts on visits with my grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins) and have also liked the facebook page.

    This recipe I have been looking for. I shall try it today. I like a slice of ontbijtkoek with gouda cheese.

    And I see you also have a recipe for Zeeuws bolus, which my aunt served with tea on the afternoon of an informal memorial service and tree planting for my parents in Wolfaartsdijk nearly 18 years ago. My dad was from Zeeland and my mother was from New Jersey!

    Thanks for your wonderful blog.

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  15. Dit is een geweeldig recept! Vorheen gebruikte ik een ander recept wat ook erg lekker was, maar het was meer cake dan ontbijtkoek.
    Dit recept, met roggemeel is gewoon perfect. 't is echt ontbijtkoek en ik zit nu lekker te smullen met een laagje boter erop en een kopje koffie erbij.
    groet, Dagmar

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  16. crunchy ,chewy, ans spicy great on a cold morning

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  17. Thank you for sharing this FABULOUS recipe. My Dad was raised in Tilburg and my Mom is from Antwerp, now they live in Plymouth MN. I really love the special peperkoek with sugar on top. My Dad told me it's called kandij suiker. Do you know how I might order some to add to my next batch?

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    1. Linda, your dad is right, the sugar is called parelkandij, and the ontbijtkoek therefore kandijkoek. I have been able to find it as Belgian Pearl Sugar at a local store, but you may also look online. Kandijsuiker as such will mostly render results showcasing rock sugar, which is too hard to eat. In a pinch, add several sugar cubes to a towel, give it a good whack with a rolling pin and incorporate the broken pieces into your breads!

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  18. I tried to make an ontbijtkoek but so far no luck... First of all, Australian molasses is too strong. But the worst thing is that the cake overall is a bit wet and doughie. What to do about it?

    Verder natuurlijk de groeten uit Australie waar het zo'n 50 graden warmer is dan in Nederland op het moment.

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    1. Hi Matthijs, I also live in Aussie and Australian molasses is very strong indeed. I replace about half of the molasses with golden syrup. If you still think it's too strong add more golden syrup. I did some research online and I found out that keukenstroop is glucose syrup to which molasses and sugar syrup have been added! So, no wonder it tastes too strong.

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    2. I used dark molasses from the states when I made this yesterday and it has too much of a liquorice flavor for me, so will be trying this next time!

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  19. Hallo Matthijs...gelukkig is het lekker warm bij jullie, hier zijn we in een strenge winter belandt! Wat betreft de ontbijtkoek, het is moeilijk te zeggen wat er mis is gegaan. Wat bedoel je precies met wet and doughie? Bak je misschien op een high altitude? Ik wil graag helpen maar heb iets meer informatie nodig! Zou je een email met misschien wat fotos kunnen sturen naar nicole@thedutchtable.com, dan kijk ik of ik een oplossing voor je heb.

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  20. I am baking this afternoon, even though in my new country (singapore) I can actually buy ontbijtkoek (crazy town...)
    One question, why wheat four? It is normally made with only rye flour. I suppose it makes it a bit milder, but you might lose the characteristic flavour.
    Will test my own recipe and let you know if it is any good, you will see it on my blog soon in that case!

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  21. Karien, you lucky girl! Singapore is a fascinating place, how fun! Rye flour by itself has very little gluten and creates a fairly dense bread unless you use commercial leaveners. Adding wheat flour adds the necessary gluten to give it more of a chewy consistency and a bit more body, and is easier to obtain for the homebaker.

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  22. Well - I grew up in Holland and now live in England. We can get it quite easily here but am looking forward to baking it myself!

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    1. Where do you buy this in England? I have not seen it around but would love to have some

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  23. I don't know if you are still reading comments on this page, but I just wanted to say that this recipe is AWESOME!! It tastes like the koek I remember as a child. I've made slight changes--I use all whole wheat flour and I have doubled the ginger amount. The cardamom is the magic touch. I'd have never figured that out on my own.

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  24. Can't wait to try this recipe and many more! Thanks!

    Esther Vandergugten

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  25. Geweldig! Thanks so much for posting this recipe. I've lived in the US for 10 years and just could not find a good recipe for ontbijtkoek. While this is not the exact same thing, I think I may even like this better. Will definitely keep baking this regularly!

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  26. I am in the States and my great grandmother had this for us when I was a child today I had a spiced cookie and I had a flood of memories my cousin sent me here.

    I am excited!!!!

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  27. dear Nicole, thx for the recipe. I had a similar recipe, from the Boerinnenbond but altered it and lost the book by moving. I replaced from their recipe the flower by rye flour, since this is what I did not like from the recipe of the Boerinnenbond. I also replaced the milk by tea. I got this idea from a British chief, unfortunately I do not know his name anymore. And I added canded ginger. The milkreplacement might be an improvement for patients who do not digest milk. Kindest Regards

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  28. Rye flour is hard to find where I live Can I use whole wheat?

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    1. Anneke, you can order rye flour online or maybe try some of the health stores in your area. Now, having said that, there is no reason why you couldn't try to substitute whole wheat for the rye flour and see what happens. It will be an edible product and you might enjoy it just as well!

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  29. Hey!

    So we made the ontbijtkoek the other day and as we did not have molasses we replaced that with some extra dark brown sugar (as it is considered to be a good substitute for molasses). Unfortunately the cake turned out quite hard to cut with a big knife, although it was not so hard to bite in. So I was wondering if it was the fact that we didn't use molasses or that maybe it needed some kind of fat? like vegetable oil or butter? All in all people enjoyed it but we would prefer it more soft and moist. Thanks for the reply and keep on cooking and baking!

    Fellow food lover and blogger
    Electra

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  30. Kathy

    I was wondering where do I put the rack when baking this

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  31. can i use more honey instead of molasses? not sure they sell that where i live. we have date syrup, which is black, but i don't like the flavor it gives baked goods...

    can't wait to try this though!

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  32. Thank you for this recipe, I actually cried after I took my first bite. I am originally from Amsterdam but after 18 years was craving ontijtkoek and none of my Dutch recipe books have that recipe. Exactly how I remember it. Thank you Thank you Thank you!

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  33. Thank you so much for this recipe. I made it for my Dutch girlfriend and she loved it :D

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  34. We absolutely love this recipe. The memories of eating this cake when I lived in the Netherlands as a child came flooding back. My husband who is from the Netherlands found this recipe online and has made it multiple times. We make it and wrap it up as gifts for friends.
    One tip he has for making this cake even better is he makes a batch, wraps it up in plastic wrap, and let's it sit in the cool pantry shelf for a week before slicing into it. The flavors of the cake get a chance to disperse throughout the loaf and the taste is a bit stronger and the texture is more amazing! You know that sticky cake that gets stuck on your fingers from the store bought ontbijtkoek? Yep! You get that with this recipe too. Lekker!

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  35. We absolutely love this recipe. The memories of eating this cake when I lived in the Netherlands as a child came flooding back. My husband who is from the Netherlands found this recipe online and has made it multiple times. We make it and wrap it up as gifts for friends.
    One tip he has for making this cake even better is he makes a batch, wraps it up in plastic wrap, and let's it sit in the cool pantry shelf for a week before slicing into it. The flavors of the cake get a chance to disperse throughout the loaf and the taste is a bit stronger and the texture is more amazing! You know that sticky cake that gets stuck on your fingers from the store bought ontbijtkoek? Yep! You get that with this recipe too. Lekker!

    -Jen

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  36. Nicole,
    just put this in the oven but was not sure if I should be using white or black cardamom. I went with black b/c white just had no fragrance. And the black was easier to grind since i only had whole of both kids.
    what kind do you use?
    Groetjes, Marcella

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    1. Hello Marcella,
      I use the seeds of the green cardamom as I've found it the most fragrant one. Let me know how it turns out!

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  37. I really love this recipe. Thank you so much for it. However, I will say one thing, the cooking time is too long. I have made the recipe multiple times and each time have taken it out earlier and earlier because I've discovered it needs nowhere near the 80 minutes specified in the recipe. Please modify the recipe. However to anyone who is thinking of trying this recipe out, absolutely do. It is delicious and fills your house with the scent of spices.

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  38. This was delicious! Everyone loved it. I did not have any cardamon, don't even know what it looks like or tastes like so I used 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg and it went well with the other spices. This bread tastes almost the same as Boston Brown Bread, a bread they sell here in USA in a can or you can make it at home in a tin can, the ingredients are very similar. We eat it with sweet baked beans. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/boston-brown-bread-104112

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  39. Great recipe. Dense, chewy, spicy and not too sweet. Makes brilliant toast because the sugars carmelise ever so slightly.

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  40. Great recipe. Brings back memories of Mom.

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  41. Thank you. I can't wait to make this. Love from an American dutchgirl.

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  42. I just made this today, it is wonderful. Being born and raised Dutch I grew up on the stuff. My kids love it too, so I decided to make it myself. Ordering gets pricey when 1 ontbijtkoek lasts about 1 hour at my house. So.. tried the recipe.. and it's awesome! Thanks! Also, great humor on your pages!! Love it!!

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  43. Made it exactly as written and the cake is very close to how I remember the commercial variety while living in Germany for a decade. Thanks for posting this.

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