Chef Joost
Amandelbroodje (Dutch Almond Pastry Roll)
The December bakery counter made small: cold leafed pastry wrapped around lemon-scented amandelspijs, brushed gold, and scattered with almonds so one person gets the whole holiday in both hands.
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Gevulde Speculaas
Created by
The name means filled speculaas, but what it carries is larger: spice-route wealth, almond sweetness, and the Dutch habit of hiding extravagance inside something square and sensible.
Pastries & Cookies
Dutch
Christmas
Holiday
Celebration
35 min
Active Time
40 min cook•3 hr 15 min total
Yield12 slices
Gevulde speculaas is what happens when a frugal country decides, once a year, to stop pretending. The outside is dark, spiced dough: cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, mace, ginger, a little white pepper if you have courage. The inside is amandelspijs, almond paste, dense and golden and scented with lemon. A country accused of plain eating built one of its richest December bakes as a neat brown square. For obvious reasons, we called this modest.
But let me tell you a secret: speculaas is never just a cookie. Its spices are a seventeenth-century cargo list made edible, the VOC world folded into butter, flour, and brown sugar. The name speculaas is still argued over, with scholars pointing either to speculum, Latin for mirror, because molded cookies mirror their carved boards, or to old names for Saint Nicholas. Nobody at the table will settle this. The plate will be empty first.
The word gevulde simply means filled, and it matters. The dough must be strong enough to hold its spice and soft enough to cut cleanly; the almond paste must be loosened with egg so it bakes into a rich layer rather than a brick. Hou het altijd simpel, always keep it simple: rest the dough, roll it evenly, chill the slab before baking, and let it cool before cutting. December rewards the patient cook, not the theatrical one.
Speculaas became closely tied to the Dutch winter feast of Sinterklaas in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when imported cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and mace became more available through Dutch trade networks and entered festive home baking. Gevulde speculaas developed as the richer celebration version, enclosing amandelspijs, almond paste, between two layers of spiced dough and serving it in thick slices rather than as small molded biscuits. Though eaten through the Christmas season today, it still belongs most strongly to the Dutch December table, especially around Sinterklaas on 5 December.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
plain flour
Quantity
300g
baking powder
Quantity
2 teaspoons
dark brown basterdsuiker or dark soft brown sugar
Quantity
150g
speculaaskruiden
Quantity
2 tablespoons
fine sea salt
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
unsalted butter
Quantity
175g
cold and diced
milk
Quantity
3 tablespoons
amandelspijs, Dutch almond paste
Quantity
300g
egg
Quantity
1
beaten and divided
lemon zest
Quantity
1 teaspoon
finely grated
lemon juice
Quantity
1 tablespoon
blanched almonds
Quantity
24
for topping
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| plain flour | 300g |
| baking powder | 2 teaspoons |
| dark brown basterdsuiker or dark soft brown sugar | 150g |
| speculaaskruiden | 2 tablespoons |
| fine sea salt | 1/2 teaspoon |
| unsalted buttercold and diced | 175g |
| milk | 3 tablespoons |
| amandelspijs, Dutch almond paste | 300g |
| eggbeaten and divided | 1 |
| lemon zestfinely grated | 1 teaspoon |
| lemon juice | 1 tablespoon |
| blanched almondsfor topping | 24 |
Equipment Needed
- •20cm square baking tin
- •Rolling pin
- •Baking paper
- •Pastry brush
Instructions
- 1
Make the dough
Mix the flour, baking powder, brown sugar, speculaaskruiden, and salt in a wide bowl. Rub in the cold butter with your fingertips until the mixture looks like damp sand, then add the milk and press it into a firm dough. Do not knead it like bread; speculaas wants shortness, not bounce.
If your speculaaskruiden is tired and dusty, mix a fresh batch with cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, mace, ginger, cardamom, and white pepper. The jar from the back of the cupboard will make a brown biscuit, not a December one. - 2
Rest the dough
Divide the dough into two equal pieces, flatten each into a rectangle, wrap, and chill for at least one hour. This rest is not ceremony. The butter firms, the flour hydrates, and the spices settle into the dough so the slab bakes cleanly instead of spreading like an argument.
- 3
Soften the filling
Mash the amandelspijs with half the beaten egg, the lemon zest, and the lemon juice until smooth and spreadable. It should hold its shape but yield to a spoon. If it is too stiff, add a teaspoon of water, no more; almond paste should be generous, not runny.
- 4
Build the slab
Heat the oven to 175C and line a 20cm square tin with baking paper. Roll one piece of dough into a square and lay it in the tin, pressing it neatly into the corners. Spread the almond paste over it in an even layer, leaving a narrow border, then roll the second dough piece and lay it on top. Press the edges gently to seal.
- 5
Glaze and decorate
Brush the top with the remaining beaten egg and arrange the blanched almonds in tidy rows. This is the Dutch part: not fussy, just orderly enough that every slice gets its almond. Chill the assembled slab for fifteen minutes before baking; a cold top keeps its shape and takes the glaze better.
- 6
Bake and cool
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is deep brown, glossy from the egg, and firm at the edges. Let it cool completely in the tin before cutting into squares or bars. Cut too soon and the almond layer will drag under the knife; wait, and you get the clean stripe this pastry deserves.
Chef Tips
- •Use real amandelspijs if you can find it, made from almonds and sugar, not a pale bakery filling stretched with starch. The filling is half the dish, and it should taste plainly of almonds.
- •Make the dough a day ahead. Speculaas spices deepen overnight in the refrigerator, and the dough rolls more obediently after a proper rest.
- •Serve in small squares with black coffee or strong tea. Gevulde speculaas is rich in the old December way: one piece is hospitality, two pieces is a small negotiation.
- •If you grind your own spice blend, go easy with clove and white pepper. They should warm the cinnamon, not march across the table carrying flags.
Advance Preparation
- •The dough can be made up to two days ahead and kept wrapped in the refrigerator.
- •The baked slab keeps well for four to five days in an airtight tin; the spice and almond settle together after the first day.
- •Freeze baked slices for up to two months, wrapped well. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 85g)
Calories
390 calories
Total Fat
20 g
Saturated Fat
8 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
11 g
Cholesterol
45 mg
Sodium
190 mg
Total Carbohydrates
49 g
Dietary Fiber
3 g
Sugars
26 g
Protein
7 g
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