Amandel Boterkoek (Dutch Almond Butter Cake)

Have you ever baked a cake in a pie pan or baked a pie in a cake pan?

I just did.

Boterkoek is unique to the Netherlands. It's a filthy rich, buttery, dense cake which Dutch eats during coffee time. It doesn't taste or look like a cake. It taste more like a shortbread. It's seriously not waistline friendly with the amount of butter in it. There are a couple of variations to this cake: Plain, Almond and Chocolate (we haven't heard of chocolate boterkoek but we came across it when we were browsing the web searching for boterkoek recipe).

This is the first time I have ever attempted to make this Traditional Dutch Butter Cake. There are many different recipes on the Internet and after much discussion with Mr J, we have settled on one from Eating In Europe (Recipe #1). We picked this recipe because of the amount of almonds being used in it (2 cups!!) and Mr J loves almonds!

Recipe #1

Unfortunately, the end results were not satisfactory. Although it's full of wonderful almond taste, the cake is lack of sweetness which it should have plenty. The texture is too dried and the colour is not right. It should have a glossy surface instead of a crumbly finish.

So we moved on to Recipe #2 from RecipeZaar by RawFruitNut, claimed to be her oma's (grandma's) recipe. This recipe doesn't contain any almond. Instead, almond extract is used. While I was making it, Little Miss C kept asking me if I was making 'Marzipan' - the dough does smell and taste like Marzipan.

Recipe #2

This recipe turned out to be better than the former one. Visually looks right. It has the glossy surface and dense texture. Soft in the inside and hard on the outside, but not too hard. It tastes buttery and the amount of sweetness and almond taste is just perfect. It's a winner here. I have a very happy and proud Dutch drinking coffee and eating boterkoek all day this weekend!

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Amandel Boterkoek (Dutch Almond Butter Cake) Recipe #1
(Adapted from Eating In Europe)

Ingredients

For the dough:
2 cups of flour
1 cup of butter
1 cup caster sugar
1 small egg
pinch of salt

For the filling:
2 cups ground almond
1/4 cup sugar
1 small egg
grated peels of half a lemon

Method

1. Knead all the ingredients for the dough into a firm ball.
2. Divide the dough in two and press one half into a buttered pie pan of 1 inch (2½ cm) deep and 8 inch (20 cm) diameter.
3. Make the filling: Grind the blanched almonds, mix with sugar, beaten egg and lemon peel and grind once more.
4. Place this almond paste on top of the dough layer and press the other half on top of both.
5. Bake in moderate (350F / 180C) oven until golden brown and done, about one hour.
6. Remove from the pan and cool on wire rack. Cut in wedges or diamonds.

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Amandel Boterkoek (Dutch Almond Buttercake) Recipe #2
(Adapted from RecipeZaar)
Serves 12

Ingredients

2/3 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
1 egg, beaten (reserve 1 tsp)
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Method

1. In medium bowl, mix together butter, sugar and almond extract.
2. Add beaten egg except for 1 teaspoon.
3. Sift flour and baking powder, and add to bowl, mixing with wet ingredients.
4. Put dough in greased 9 inch pie plate.
5. Mix the reserved 1 tsp of beaten egg with 1 tsp of water, and brush over dough.
6. Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes or until done (firm to the touch).