Blueberry cake

GoodMorning!

On such a beautiful sunny day (although super cold here in The Netherlands), it’s a perfect day to bake!

Fruits are super affordable in The Netherlands, nothing compared to back home in Curaçao.
We took a trip hand-picking fruits; very fun to do btw. We picked so much, the fridge and freezer were jam-packed.

What to do.. bake a blueberry cake!

Ingredients

Dough

• 350 grams flour
• 200 grams butter (unsalted Achor)
• 150 grams sugar
• 1 egg
• Pinch of salt
• Small packet of vanilla sugar
• Teaspoon of baking powder

Filling

• 1 egg (use yolk only)
• Cup of blueberries

Set the oven at 350°C

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, and forming a ball. Wrap the dough-formed ball in a plastic wrap and store in the fridge, for at least 2 hours.

Butter a ceramic oven dish (I used a small round oven dish); unfold the ball on the bottom and the sides. Place 1/4 of the dough on the side, this is to be used for the upper section of the cake. Insert blueberries in the dough. Flatten remaining dough with a roller. Cut thin slices and place these vertically and horizontally on the cake. Paste the yellow eggyolk on the upper section, insert in the oven for 1 1/2 hour.

Remove the cake from the oven, when the upper section is golden brown.

Bon appetite!

Almond filled speculoos

A typical Dutch treat “almond filled speculoos”

Past weekend I started with this. I made almond paste from scratch as I couldn’t find any ready-made almond paste in the supermarket. It takes at least 4 days to ripe.

Finally the day came to finalize this oh-so-delicious treat.

Ingredients

Dough

• 250 grams flour
• 175 grams unsalted Anchor butter
• 150 grams brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons yoghurt/milk
• Dash cookie spices (mix of cinnamon, cardamom, coriander, nutmeg, ginger and cloves)
• Dash salt

Filling

• 300 grams almondflour
• 300 grams sugar
• 1 egg
• Dash lemon

Starting with the filling. Mix almondflour, sugar and lemon in a bowl. Wrap the mixture in plastic wrap and store this in a dark section in the fridge, for at least 4 days.

Proceed with the dough.

Mix flour, sugar, spices and salt in a bowl. Add yoghurt (or milk) to the mixture, forming a large ball. Wrap the ball in plastic and store for 2 days in the fridge.

Pre-heat oven at 350°C

Divide the dough ball in two sections, use roller to flatten the dough evenly. Insert the first section in a bakingpaper-covered plate. Remove the filling from the fridge and add an egg to the mixture. Spread a layer of almond filling to the first section.

Knead the second section and place this carefully ontop. Paste egg yellow on the upper section and decorate with almonds (optional)

Insert in the oven for about 50-60 minutes.

Bon appetite!