Gevulde speculaas is speculaas stuffed with almond paste, and it’s amazing. It’s a traditional cookie/treat to serve around Sinterklaas in the Netherlands. This is around November and December. You can buy it in the stores in the Netherlands from September till December. Making it yourself at home is however not that hard and it’s delicious.
The warm flavors of speculaas match perfect with the colder months and the stormy weather. The recipe is from the cookbook Strooigoed from Anne-Marij de Koning. Ingredients for the speculaas are flour, baking powder, cane sugar, castor sugar, butter, speculaas seasoning, salt and milk. Except for the speculaas seasoning, you’ll probably have everything in your pantry. You can make the speculaas seasoning yourself, or you can substitute it with pumpkin spice mix, which is similar. It’s not exactly the same, but comes close. I usually use this recipe from Zoetrecepten when I make speculaas seasoning. For the almond paste you need almond flour, sugar, an egg and a lemon. To top the speculaas with you’ll need some almonds.
Other Sinterklaas recipes, that are perfect to make in November and December, are Dutch Speculaas, Dutch Ginger Cookies (Kruidnoten) or Gingerbreadmen or Speculaasmannetjes.
Review
It was super delicious. I followed the recipe and didn’t make changes.
Comment below if you’re going to try it out, if you have any questions and tag #cosetteiscookin when you post pictures on your socials.
Gevulde Speculaas Recipe
Allergies: gluten, wheat, dairy, sugar, citrus, nuts, egg.
Ingredients
200 grams flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
50 grams cane sugar
A bit of salt
50 grams brown castor sugar
2 tablespoons speculaas seasoning
100 grams butter
5 tablespoons milk
200 grams almond flour
1 egg
Egg wash
200 grams sugar
1 lemon; peel and juice
+/- 7 pecans
Instructions
In a bowl mix flour with the baking powder, cane sugar, castor sugar, butter, speculaas seasoning and salt until you have a crumbly dough. Then add the milk bit by bit till the dough is shaped like a ball. Place it aside.
Combine almond flour with sugar, the egg, lemon juice and lemon rasp into a paste in a bowl.
Roll out the speculaas dough on a floured surface. It needs to be about 5 mm thick and shaped like a rectangle. Cut the dough into 2 even squares.
Place one of the squares on a baking sheet. Make a second layer with the almond paste.
Place the second square of speculaas on the almond paste. Cover with a bit of egg wash. Press the pecans in the speculaas.
Bake in a preheated 180°C/356°F oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool down completely.
Slice into pieces, serve and enjoy!
Notes:
- Recipe source is the cookbook Strooigoed from Anne-Marij de Koning.
- Enough for about 12 pieces.
- Speculaas seasoning can be substituted with pumpkin spice mix. It’s not the same, but comes close.
- The recipe states to let the gevulde speculaas cool down completely before diving in, but it’s also delicious when it’s still warm.
- Pecans can be replaced with almonds.
