My Oma’s Spekkoek recipe:  Spekkoek is a traditional Dutch-Indonesian spice cake that my Oma (Dutch for Grandma) used to make around the Holidays every year. In Indonesia it is called Lapis Legit.  It’s a unique cake in many ways. The most unique is that it is not baked, it is broiled, thin layer by layer, alternating a dark spice layer and a white cake layer. The older generation would compete and try to see who could get the most layers. My sister and I got 19 layers out of ours. Not bad for amateurs! My two very favorite ingredients are absent from this cake, salt and vanilla. However, I promise you won’t miss it! Have a thin slice with coffee in the morning! Ingredients: -1 pound  (8 ounces) of unsalted butter -10 large eggs separated -2 1/2 cups sugar -1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour -5 teaspoons ground Anise -10 teaspoons ground cinnamon -2 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves -1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg -1/4 teaspoon cardamom Set out eggs and butter so they can come to room temperature. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks and lightly mix. In a separate bowl, beat eggs whites until dry and stiff. Then mix into batter, folding in a little bit at a time. Add flour in a few small batches. Mix on low until incorporated.  Divide batter into two bowls, reserving just a little bit extra in the “white” batter bowl. In the other bowl, add the spices (it helps to add all the spices in a smaller bowl and give it a quick whisk before pouring into batter)  Grease and flour a 9” or 10” springform pan. You can cut out wax or parchment paper and insert on the bottom of the pan if desired.  Start with the white batter. With the back of a spoon or spatula, cover the bottom of the pan with the white batter. Push the batter all the way to the sides of the pan as it will slightly shrink up once it’s broiled. Broil it from the center rack of your oven. The first layer will take longer to broil then succeeding layers. Bake each layer until lightly browned with small bubbled up holes, almost like a crepe or pancake, about 2 minutes. Alternate layers, white, black, white black, until all the cake batter is gone. Make sure your first and last layers are both white layers.  When finished, let the cake cool, remove from pan then dust lightly with powdered sugar if desired. It can keep cover in a cake tin or with aluminum foil for a few days. Cut the cake in 1/4’s and serve very thin slices. Eet smakelijk! *this cake is somewhat time consuming because you can’t just throw it in the oven and walk away. I have found it’s fun to do with another person, leaving each person in charge of either the white or black layer. It makes it a bit easier. 

Nov 24 -

My Oma’s Spekkoek recipe: 

Spekkoek is a traditional Dutch-Indonesian spice cake that my Oma (Dutch for Grandma) used to make around the Holidays every year. In Indonesia it is called Lapis Legit.  It’s a unique cake in many ways. The most unique is that it is not baked, it is broiled, thin layer by layer, alternating a dark spice layer and a white cake layer. The older generation would compete and try to see who could get the most layers. My sister and I got 19 layers out of ours. Not bad for amateurs! My two very favorite ingredients are absent from this cake, salt and vanilla. However, I promise you won’t miss it! Have a thin slice with coffee in the morning!

Ingredients:

-1 pound  (8 ounces) of unsalted butter

-10 large eggs separated

-2 1/2 cups sugar

-1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

-5 teaspoons ground Anise

-10 teaspoons ground cinnamon

-2 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves

-1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg

-1/4 teaspoon cardamom

Set out eggs and butter so they can come to room temperature. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks and lightly mix. In a separate bowl, beat eggs whites until dry and stiff. Then mix into batter, folding in a little bit at a time. Add flour in a few small batches. Mix on low until incorporated. 

Divide batter into two bowls, reserving just a little bit extra in the “white” batter bowl. In the other bowl, add the spices (it helps to add all the spices in a smaller bowl and give it a quick whisk before pouring into batter) 

Grease and flour a 9” or 10” springform pan. You can cut out wax or parchment paper and insert on the bottom of the pan if desired. 

Start with the white batter. With the back of a spoon or spatula, cover the bottom of the pan with the white batter. Push the batter all the way to the sides of the pan as it will slightly shrink up once it’s broiled. Broil it from the center rack of your oven. The first layer will take longer to broil then succeeding layers. Bake each layer until lightly browned with small bubbled up holes, almost like a crepe or pancake, about 2 minutes. Alternate layers, white, black, white black, until all the cake batter is gone. Make sure your first and last layers are both white layers. 

When finished, let the cake cool, remove from pan then dust lightly with powdered sugar if desired. It can keep cover in a cake tin or with aluminum foil for a few days. Cut the cake in 1/4’s and serve very thin slices. Eet smakelijk!

*this cake is somewhat time consuming because you can’t just throw it in the oven and walk away. I have found it’s fun to do with another person, leaving each person in charge of either the white or black layer. It makes it a bit easier. 

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from a recovering former teen pop star