A traditional Dutch recipe, this Dutch butter cake is melt in the mouth sweet almond goodness, boasting the chewiness of a cookie interior.
One of my aims with this blog is to introduce you lovely readers to something new, easy and different. So I pester pretty much everyone I know to suggest such recipes for me to bake. Everyone has at least one they go to again and again.
This suggestion came from a work colleague's wife (she is the most wonderful baker) and has been a truly delightful revelation.
Having made this recipe several times, I ended up coming back to the first one, which I had customised from the get-go and the result was really lovely. Why does that always happen in life? Like you spend hours traipsing around the shops trying on a zillion pairs of shoes, then end up buying the first pair you saw. One of life's mysteries. First world problems eh.
Tried and tested
So my husband, declaring he will never eat anything in anyway related to an almond, ate half of this Dutch butter cake before I even got round to photographing it. To be fair, this was mainly because I was already on making rounds 2 and 3 by that point. Round 1 ended up totally 👍 rounds 2 and 3 👎. Round 1 was chewy and tasted even better a day later. Rounds 2 and 3 had a more shortbread and cakey consistency and, whilst still perfectly lovely in their own way, we had all fallen for round 1 this point so the bar was set.
Dutch butter cake tip: Try it with a coffee. It truly is a match made in heaven. This cake is often served with coffee in Holland.
I think the only warning I have to declare with this recipe is ... you won't be able to resist it. It will call to you from the cake tin begging to be demolished. It really is ridiculously irresistible. I haven't dared face the bathroom scales since ....
Anyone with a thing for almonds (this, you will note, is theme, albeit unintentional. with my cake posts so far) will fall in love with Dutch butter cake because the almond flavour is so exquisite and the cookie-come-cakey texture is really something quite different. Plus the nuttiness of the toasted almonds set it off perfectly.
Trust me, make this and you will not regret it.
If you are a fan of all things almond try Almond, blueberry and limoncello bundt cake or my Persian love cake with rosewater.
What makes this cake so good?
For one thing it can be whipped up in 10 minutes, it really is just so simple.
Ground almonds and almond extract: yep here we go again, the hero of yet another cake is the almonds. This time though they are further enhanced with a good helping of almond essence. There is no mistaking the main flavouring of this cake. Many Dutch butter cake recipes just ask for flour. However to me it seems somewhat wrong to create an almond flavoured cake which is devoid of actual almonds. Plus of course they enhance the texture.
Vanilla extract: a teaspoon of vanilla extract helps soothe the almond extract a bit. It acts like a calming influence so the almond extract does not completely take over the show. They go hand-in-hand very well to produce the perfect flavour partnership.
Egg wash: the egg wash on Dutch butter cake gives it a lovely chewy top, with is super enhanced with a sprinkling of almond flakes which toast as they bake. Sublime.
How to make Dutch butter cake
As always weigh out your ingredients first, it just makes life easier and it will then take literally minutes to bring the cake together.
Add your softened butter and sugar to your bowl and beat together, until soft and fluffy.
Beat your egg and add to the butter and sugar mixture along with two desert spoonfuls of flour and baking powder which has been pre-sifted. The flour ensures the mixture doesn't curdle. Mix to combine.
Add in the rest of your ingredients and beat on a medium setting to combine.
Don't worry if you mixture is quite stiff. It is meant to be like that.
Add the mixture to your greased and lined cake tin, spread out with the back of a spoon. Cover with a piece of clingfilm and smooth over, this gives a lovely smooth finish to the Dutch butter cake.
Beat your remaining egg and paint over the cake batter to glaze it. Sprinkle with a handful of almonds.
Bake in the centre of the over for 30 minutes, until golden on top.
And that really is it. I hope you enjoy this recipe, I abolutely adore it and will be making it again very soon.
Please do rate the recipe and leave me a comment if you can.
Dutch butter cake (Boterkoek)
Here's what you'll need...
Ingredients you'll need...
- 150 g unsalted butter softened
- 200 g golden caster sugar
- 2 large eggs beaten - keep separate as one is for the glaze
- 150 g plain flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 50 g ground almonds
- 1½ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- handful of flaked almonds
Here's what we do...
- Heat your oven to 180°C/160°C fan/Gas mark 4
- Grease your cake tin and line the base with greaseproof paper.
- Cream together your butter and sugar, until light and fluffy and pale in colour.
- Sift together your flour and baking powder and set aside.
- Add your beaten egg and two tablespoons of the sifted flour and baking powder to the butter and sugar mix and beat together on a medium setting until combined.
- Add in all of the rest of your ingredients and beat on medium setting until just combined, The mixture will be quite stiff.
- Add the mixture to your tin and smooth out, with the back of a spoon.
- Place a piece of clingfilm on top and smooth the batter out underneath, this gives an even finish.
- Brush over your egg wash, you may not need all of it.
- Sprinkle over your flaked almonds.
- Bake in the centre of your oven for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- Leave to cool in the tin, the butter cake is quite thin and will break if you take if out before it has set.
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