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!
Come the 1st of every month, I am like a little kid at Christmas time. That is the day in which we find out our next Daring Bakers’ challenge! I really enjoy these challenges. Most of them have been desserts that I have never heard of, or never made, and that is exciting. This month was no different!
The spices that are used in speculaas, remind me of spices that go into pfeffernuesse cookies or gingerbread; cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger. Then for a surprise, white pepper, cardamom, and corriander. Note: the recipe provided also included mace, but it is a spice I have never used, so I omitted it from my spice mixture. Francijn has wonderful directions on how to make this delicious pastry so I am going to direct you here, in order to get the recipe.
One Year Ago: Daring Bakers’ Basic Biscuits
Made with love, not calories!
I love your beautiful, shiny speculaas! Very well done!
Thank you Francijn! Also, thank you for sharing your Gevulde Speculaas. It is a beautiful pastry and it’s delicious!
It was a discovery for me too, great looking speculaas! 🙂
Marilyne, I think that’s what makes the challenges so much fun! Thank you!
I think the spice mixture was my favorite part of this challenge, but I did enjoy these cookies. (I agree – the reveal of the challenge is kind of like opening a package on Christmas morning. )
Cher, I would have to go with the almond paste- I didn’t realize it was that easy to make.
The almond decoration on your pastry is so elegant – I love it. I, too, omited the mace, but found the spice mix to be so delicious anyway! Great job on the challenge.
Shelley, Thank you! You’re right- the spice mixture is delicious. And the almond paste was so easy to put together- I know I will be making it again!
Beautiful job! Mace is very similar to nutmeg in smell but it seems to be a “damper” spice (meaning that it almost looks like it has moisture in it when you open up the container). Nice job on the challenge!
Thank you! And thank you for the information on Mace! The speculaas was delicious, even without the mace!