Oudewijvenkoek

We were not raised to say cusswords, so even speaking the name of this particular ontbijtkoek had us in stitches when we were kids: oudewijvenkoek, old woman's cake. In Groningen, where this spiced breakfast cake is especially beloved, people even shorten it to olwief, which only made it sound funnier to our young ears.

The Dutch word wijf originally meant simply “woman”: nothing rude, nothing sharp-edged. But over the centuries, the meaning drifted. Nowadays it’s generally used in a not-so-friendly way, summoning the image of a coarse woman with few social graces, shouting across the street with her hair in curlers and a cigarette hanging from the corner of her mouth. You can hear it in familiar insults like stom wijf or viswijf, neither of which you’d ever want applied to you.

And yet, Dutch can be wonderfully contradictory. That same word, "wijf" is also used in prachtwijf, a term of admiration for a strong, capable woman who’s confident, honest, and not afraid to speak her mind, a real treasure of a person.

Language is funny that way: it remembers where it came from, but it also adapts, stretches, contradicts itself, and sometimes gives us words that can mean an insult or a compliment depending on how they’re said. And nestled somewhere inside all of that is this charming old-fashioned loaf cake with the mischievous name that used to make us giggle. 

The reason behind this bread's name is not entirely clear, although generally research says that it's because it's so soft that even old women with no teeth can enjoy it. I think that can probably be said for all ontbijtkoeken. The distinguishing factor for this cake is however the taste of anijs, aniseed.  

Anise is not a stranger to our kitchen, of course. It shows up in bread toppings like muisjes, in flavorful rolls like the anijskrollen from North Brabant, and in nightcap drinks like anijsmelk, sweet and hot anise flavored milk. Once anise made it to the Netherlands from the Mediterranean, it became a tradition to give kraamanijs (crushed anise seeds) to women who had just given birth, as it was believed to help the uterus recover and stimulate milk production. This led into the commercial production of muisjes, anise seeds coated with sugar, that are served on rusks to celebrate the birth of a child. Anise was also given to the elderly because it was supposed to help with appetite, gout, and rheumatism. 

We may never find out why this cake is called what it is. But what I do know is that it's a delicious addition to your breakfast table (or midnight snack) - as long as you like anise! 

Oudewijvenkoek

1 cup (150 grams) rye flour

1 cup (150 grams) all-purpose flour

3 Tablespoons baking powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon 

2 heaping teaspoons ground anise*

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seeds

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar

Pinch of salt

1/2 cup (150 grams) honey

2 Tablespoons (40 grams) unsulfured molasses

1 cup (250 grams) milk

2 eggs

Heat the oven to 325F/165C. Mix the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients in separate bowls. Grease a 9 x 5 inch cake pan (23 x 13 cm). Gradually mix the dry into the wet ingredients, and stir until there are no lumps, then pour the batter in the pan. Let it settle for two minutes, until you can see the baking powder starting to work, and add the pan to the oven. 

Bake on the middle rack for about 50 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Take the pan out of the oven, and let it cool for about twenty minutes. Run a spatula or butter knife carefully around the edge of the cake, and carefully turn the pan over. Let the cake cool for a few minutes, then wrap it, still warm in cling or food film. Preferably, let it rest overnight so that the flavors can develop. 

The next day, dust with a little bit of powdered sugar, or gestampte muisjes if you have them. Slice and butter each slice generously. 

*Ground anise can often be found in Asian stores. If you have gestampte muisjes, use two heaping Tablespoons instead of two teaspoons of the ground anise.