Francijn of Koken in de Brouwerij was our January 2013 Daring Bakers’ Hostess and she challenged us to make the traditional Dutch pastry, Gevulde Speculaas from scratch! That includes making our own spice mix, almond paste and dough! Delicious!
I had just posted about the speculaas I made for Christmas, so it was like déjà vue to read that the Daring Bakers challenge this month was speculaas. But these ones are different: they are gevulde speculass, which means they are stuffed with almond paste to make more of a dense, crumbly cake than a cookie. Interestingly, the dough for gevulde speculaas is essentially the same as the dough as for making speculaas cookies, but you end up with something completely different. And as much as I like regular speculaas, turns out that I loooooove gevulde speculaas, and I implore you to make these as soon as possible!
Francijn challenged us to make our own “speculaaskruiden” (speculaas spice), which contains mostly cinnamon with cloves, mace, and ginger, plus your choice of white pepper, cardamom, coriander, anise, and/or nutmeg to make your own personal mix. I used all of the above, and the resulting flavour – not to mention the smell coming out of the oven – was awesome. Any leftover speculaaskruiden can be used to make more speculaas (yes please!) but would also be great in pancakes, apple pie, muffins, cheesecake…
This is not a complicated recipe by any means – instead it’s a perfect example of how a few simple ingredients can make something wonderful. And because it was so simple to make, I decided to get fancy with the decorative almonds on top.
I knew I wanted to do something elaborate using slivered almonds, but it wasn’t until I saw a picture of Hannah’s gevulde speculaas on the Daring Bakers forum that I figured out what that was exactly (thanks Hannah for the inspiration!). I had fun trying to make a Dutch windmill out of almonds (would you have guessed that’s what it was if I hadn’t said anything?) and really liked the crunch the almonds gave to the softer, cakey gevulde speculaas.
Check out the Daring Kitchen for the original recipe (which includes a fantastic tutorial plus some interesting history) and all the other gevulde speculaas made this month. Thanks Francijn for this DELICIOUS challenge – what a great way to kick off 2013!
Gevulde Speculaas
Recipe from Francijn of Koken in de Brouwerij. Makes 1 gevulde speculaas cake, about 16 – 20 pieces.
Speculaaskruiden (Speculaas spice)
Francijn explained that while cinnamon, cloves, mace, and ginger are the backbone of speculaaskruiden, there are as many variations to the spice mix as there are bakers, so feel free to experiment: mix, smell, and add more or less of something as you see fit. Note that you will need 2 tbsp of speculaaskruiden for the speculaas dough, so be sure to make at least that amount. Extras can be store in a sealed container and used anywhere you want a little bit of cozy, spicy warmth.
Mandatory:
cinnamon 40 to 60 % of the total amount
ground cloves 1 or 2 parts
mace ½ or 1 part
ginger ½ or 1 part
Optional:
white pepper ½ or 1 part
cardamom ½ or 1 part
coriander ½ or 1 part
anise ½ or 1 part
nutmeg 1 or 2 parts
This is the formula I used:
5 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp mace
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp anise
1 tsp nutmeg
This made 3 1/2 tbsp of spice mix.
Almond Paste
In the bowl of a food processor, grind into almond meal:
7/8 cup / 125 grams whole blanched almonds
(or use 1 1/3 cups / 125 grams ground almonds and skip this step)
Add:
5/8 cup / 125 grams granulated white sugar
Grind for another minute or two, until very finely ground. Add:
1 egg
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
Process until it comes together in a smooth paste. Use immediately or scrape into an airtight container and store in the fridge for a few days to let the flavour develop.
Speculaas Dough
(Note that the dough can also be mixed by hand.)
In the bowl of a mixer, place:
1 3/4 cups / 250 grams all purpose four
3/4 cup / 150 grams brown sugar
2 tbsp speculaaskruiden
1 tsp / 5 grams baking powder
pinch salt
Stir to combine with the paddle attachment, then add:
3/4 cup / 175 grams unsalted butter, soft
Stir on medium speed until the mixture looks sandy. Squeeze it together between your fingers, and if it does not stick together readily or seems very crumbly, stir in a few tbsp milk until it resembles wet sand. Test again by squeezing the dough – it should stick together but be slightly more crumbly than sugar cookie dough.
Form the dough into a ball and wrap it in plastic. Refrigerate until chilled (at least 2 hours) or for a few days to let the flavours develop.
Assembling the Gevulde Speculaas
Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 10″ springform or tart pan, or an 8″ x 10″ rectangular pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper and butter it. Set aside.
Divide the speculass dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one half of the dough until it is exactly the size of you pan. Don’t worry if the edges crack or if dough is a bit crumbly. Press it into the pan with your fingers, so it covers the bottom completely. Mix together an egg wash of 1 egg + 1 tsp cold water and brush some of it generously over the dough. Cover it with the almond paste, which I found easiest to do by pressing it in with damp fingers to prevent the almond paste from sticking. Brush the almond paste with more egg wash. Roll the remaining dough out to fit the pan exactly and place it on top of the almond paste. Press gently with your fingers to smooth it out and tuck in the edges.
Brush very generously with more egg wash and decorate with sliced, blanched whole or slivered almonds. Bake in the preheated 350˚F oven for 40 minutes, until the middle is puffed.
Cool COMPLETELY on a rack before running a knife around the edge, removing the cake from the pan, and cutting into pieces (if you cut into it while it is still even the slightest bit warm, the middle will seem under-baked). Gevulde speculaas are best eaten fresh, but will keep a few days at room temperature, tightly wrapped in plastic.
marilyne_k says
Your speculaas looks delicious. Ok, I admit I would have guess flowers for the decoration, not windmill, but anyway it’s super pretty! 😉
kouky says
wahou Korena! I love so much your amaizing gevulde speculaas!!
Francijn says
Korena, I enjoyed reading your blogpost, I LOVE your decoration, and no… I didn’t see it was a windmill 🙂 Very well done on the January Challenge!
Korena in the Kitchen says
Thank YOU Francijn for a great, delicious challenge! This is definitely a recipe I will make again and again 🙂
Lisa says
nice pattern ! Well done it looks delicious !
wendyjv says
Great job, Korena! What a wonderful version of the speculaas concept (gotta be one of the best smells in the world!) I love the decoration, whatever people deem it to be!
Cher says
I love the care you took with arranging the almonds – very impressive.
What's for dessert? says
You did amazing job, I love the almond decoration, so beautiful!
Elaine says
just like the squares that Oma El would make at xmas – very sentimental!!
Korena in the Kitchen says
I’ll have to make some next Christmas for you guys!
Elaine says
PS – Nette will be pissed she missed out on these!!!!
narf77 says
“SQUEE!”…I am officially in spicy almond paste heaven 🙂
Shelley C says
What a beautiful version of the gevulde speculaas – the decoration is so well done! What patience you have 🙂 I may just have to try my hand at the speculaas cookies now… 🙂 Great work on the challenge.
Rebecca says
Beautiful decorations and step-by-step photos! Looks delicious.
Crumbs of Love says
great photos and beautiful cake!
Sibella at bakingwithsibella.com says
Another great recipe from your bakery Korena! I love everything about these cookies. I never had them before, so they are going on my ‘to try list’. I loved all the little almond figures you made! I think I spotted miniature windmills and flowers! 🙂
meadot01 says
Looks fantastic. Always gotta be someone to make mine not look so good 🙂 Love all the fancy decoration work.
jehanne@thecookingdoctor says
Ah, Korena now you inspired me..I chickened out from this month’s challenge as I wasn’t so sure about spiced cake, but your cake looks so inviting! I might just join the challenge then.
Korena in the Kitchen says
Do it, Jehanne – they are so good!
rkbetz says
You did such a beautiful job on your Speculaas! I love the designs you made. Nice job on the challenge!
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says
Your pattern is really gorgeous! I love it and great job on the challenge! 😀
Kristin says
Beautiful, looks so yummy! Well done on the challenge.
hannah says
I see the windmill! Very pretty!
Spiceroots says
That is sooooooo beautiful. Loved it. beautiful job on the challenge.
Lisa says
Reaaallyy beautiful,
I think yours is one of the best!
bourbonnatrix says
I love the way you decorated your pastry! So pretty!
Sawsan@ Chef in disguise says
I am always in love with everything you bake Korena! and this month is no exception
I loved the pattern you decorated the speculaas with and was almost tempted to do the challenge all over again just to get a chance to work on the decoration