Ontbijtkoek
The Quirky Foodster Team
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F) and grease a loaf tin.
- Combine the rye flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg in a bowl.
- Warm the honey or syrup gently with the milk, then whisk in the egg.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients, mixing until just combined into a smooth batter.
- Pour into the prepared loaf tin.
- Bake for 50–60 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.
- Cool completely in the tin before slicing thinly and serving with butter.
Introduction: A dense, spiced honey cake, sliced and often eaten buttered as a breakfast bread, despite its cake-like sweetness.
Cultural Background: Ontbijtkoek ('breakfast cake') reflects a distinctly Dutch approach to breakfast, treating a moist, warmly spiced honey cake as an everyday bread, typically sliced thin and spread with butter.
Tips: Let the cake cool fully before slicing, as it firms up and slices more cleanly once completely cool. Ontbijtkoek often tastes even better a day or two after baking, once the flavours have settled.
Variations: Add a handful of chopped candied ginger for extra warmth. Serve with a slice of cheese, a less common but enjoyed pairing in some households.
Storage: Store wrapped at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Reheating: Not applicable — served at room temperature, sliced and buttered.
FAQs:
Q: Is ontbijtkoek a cake or a bread?
A: It sits somewhere in between — dense and cake-like, but eaten sliced and buttered as a breakfast bread rather than a dessert.
Q: How long does ontbijtkoek keep?
A: It keeps very well for about a week at room temperature, and many feel the flavour improves after a day or two.
- Rye flour — 250 g (9 oz)
- Baking soda — 1 tsp
- Ground cinnamon — 2 tsp
- Ground cloves — 1 tsp
- Ground nutmeg — 1/2 tsp
- Honey or golden syrup — 340 g (12 oz)
- Milk — 240 ml (8 fl oz)
- Egg — 1
- Butter, to serve
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