Travel Tips

Speculaas
(ginger biscuits or gingerbread cookies)

"Speculaas" comes in the form of medium-size biscuits (cookies) or as tall, thick men and women weighing up to a pound (1/2 kilo), known as "lovers". They are prepared using a special wooden board - a "speculaasplank" - that has moulds in the form of human figures carved in it. The dough is pressed into these moulds so that it comes out of the oven as mirror-images of the figures on the board. That is why they are called "speculaas" - from the Latin words for mirror, "speculum". But you don’t need to use a "speculaasplank" to make these delicious biscuits. You can roll out the dough to any thickness and use different shaped biscuit (cooky) cutters. The American versions of "speculaas "are known as "windmill cookies" and "gingerbread men" depending on their shapes.

Special spices are used. You can buy them ready-mixed in the Netherlands or you can try making your own. This is what Mr Bakker, a master baker in The Hague, puts in his spice blend:

-cinnamon

-powdered cloves

-nutmeg

-powdered coriander

-allspice aniseed

-powdered ginger

-powdered cardamon

-mace

The proportions are very much a question of taste, as are the spices you use, and each baker has his own "secret" blend. The trick is to be careful with the very strong spices, and leave out the ones you don’t like!

- 200 grammes or 1 cup self-rising (cake) flour

-salt

-1 1/2 tablespoons speculaas spices (see above)

-125 grammes or 1/2 cup dark brown sugar

-125 grammes or 1/2 cup butter or margarine

-2 tablespoons milk

-slivers of blanched almonds for decoration

Mix the flour, salt, spices, sugar and the butter or margarine in a bowl, using two knives to finely cut the butter or margarine into the mixture. Add the milk. Knead the mixture with cold hands until you have a firm dough. Wrap the dough in aluminium foil or clear plastic and let it cool in the fridge for 24 hours. Roll out the dough and cut out figures using a biscuit (cooky) cutter. If you are using a "speculaasplank "(see above), dust it with flour and press the dough into the mould(s). Cut off any excess dough by running a knife across the edge of the board. Turn the board over in one movement so that the figures fall out. Press slivered almonds into both "lovers" and biscuits as decoration. Grease a baking tray and arrange the biscuits or "lovers" on it, leaving a little space between each. Bake thin biscuits at 175oC or 350oF for approx. 15 minutes, or until they are golden brown. Bake thick "lovers" 45-60 mins. at 150oC or 300oF. Turn onto a wire rack to cool.

2 Almond speculaas
Knead 100 grammes or 3 1/2 oz. flaked almonds through the dough. Proceed as above.

3 Gevulde speculaas
(speculaas filled with almond paste)

For the dough you will need:

-250 grammes or 8 1/2 oz. self-rising flour

-2 tablespoons speculaas spices

-150 grammes or 5 oz. dark brown sugar

-2 tablespoons milk

-150 grammes or 5 oz. butter or margarine

-1 egg yolk

-1 tablespoon milk

-50 grammes or 2 oz. whole almonds (peeled) for decoration

For the almond paste you will need:

-125 grammes or 1/2 cup ground almonds

-125 grammes or 1/2 cup white sugar

-1 egg

-the grated rind of half a lemon

Mix the ground almonds, sugar, egg and the grated lemon rind until smooth. Put aside in a cool place.

Put the self-rising flour, with the salt, speculaas spices, brown sugar and butter or margarine into a bowl. Finely cut the butter or margarine into the mixture using two knives. Add the milk and knead (making sure your hands are cold) until you have a firm dough. Wrap the dough in aluminium foil or clear plastic and leave it in the fridge overnight. Grease a baking sheet with margarine. Cut the dough in half. Roll out both pieces on a floured surface until they are equal in size and approx. 1 cm. (1/2 inch) thick. Place one piece onto the baking sheet and spread it with the almond paste, leaving 1 cm. (1/2 inch) at each edge. Put the other half on top and seal the edges. Decorate with the almonds, pressing them into the dough. Beat the egg yolk together with the milk and use it to brush the top of the "speculaas". Bake at 150o C or 300oF for 30-45 minutes, or until it is golden brown. Slide the "gevulde speculaas" onto a wire rack and allow it to cool.

4 Pepernoten
(ginger nuts)

Saint Nicholas’ helpers announce his arrival on "Sinterklaasavond" by throwing "pepernoten" (and other sweets) around the room for the children to pick up - the idea is that they should pick up as many of these little round ginger nuts as they can. "Pepernoten" should not be eaten straight from the oven. Bake them well before 5 December and store them in a tin. They will stay fresh for several weeks.

This recipe makes approx. 50 pepernoten:

-100 grammes or 3 1/2 oz soft butter

-125 grammes or 1/2 cup brown sugar

-2 teaspoons speculaas spices

-a pinch of salt

-250 grammes or 8 1/2 oz. self-rising (cake) flour

-a few tablespoons milk

-a tablespoon butter

Mix the butter, sugar, "speculaas" spices and salt in a bowl, using a mixer if possible, until you have a smooth mixture. Add the flour gradually and enough milk until you have an elastic dough. Knead the dough into a ball, cover with a plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for a few hours. Grease a baking tray. Shape the dough into balls the size of a hazelnut and put them on the baking tray, leaving a little space between each. Bake at 150o-175oC or 300o-350oF for approx. 15 minutes, or until they are golden brown

5 Borstplaat
(fondant - something like fudge, but more water-based)

Literally translated," Borstplaat" means "breastplate". It is eaten mainly between "Sinterklaasavond" (5 December) and New Year’s Eve, and comes in many shapes and flavours. Although special ring moulds are used for "borstplaat" in Holland, baking trays or flat lids of biscuit (cookie) tins will do fine.

-200 grammes or 1 cup sugar

-2 to 4 spoons water (milk or single cream may be substituted)

-vanilla, lemon, chocolate or raspberry flavouring

-(cocoa and strong coffee can also be used as flavourings)

-a few drops of food colouring

Heat the sugar and water gently in a pan until the sugar is completely dissolved (if you’re using cocoa powder or coffee, add with the sugar). Now bring to the boil. Allow to boil for a few minutes, until it reaches thread stage. Remove the pan from the heat and add the flavouring and appropriate food colouring. Stir vigorously until the mixture stiffens but has not set. Pour the mixture into a greased baking tray and allow to harden. Cut the fondant into small pieces when the mixture is nearly hardened and shake the tray slightly to loosen them from the bottom.

Coffee borstplaat: for the liquid use 1 1/2 tbsp. cream and 1 1/2 tbsp. strong coffee. No other flavouring is necessary.

Chocolate borstplaat: add 2 tbsp. of cocoa to the sugar, mix with 3 tbsp. cream and stir to eliminate lumps before heating.

For those who have a Dutch "borstplaatring "(a special mould often in the form of a heart, available in the Netherlands at stores selling kitchen supplies), let it stand in cold water for a few minutes, then dry and grease it and press it onto a piece of waxed paper. Fill the ring with the sugar mixture once this starts to lose its transparency. As soon as white patches start to appear on the "borstplaat", remove the mould from the waxed paper and stand it upright. When the "borstplaat" is completely cooled, remove it carefully from the mould.

6 Bisschopswijn
(mulled wine)

Mulled wine is the traditional drink on "Sinterklaasavond"

-1 litre (approx. 34 fluid oz.) red wine

-1 lemon

-1 orange

-20 cloves

-2 tablespoons sugar

-1 cinnamon stick (about 5 cm. or 2-3 inches long)

-a pinch of mace and saffron (optional)

Wash and dry the lemon and orange. Insert 10 cloves into each. Put the wine, sugar, lemon, orange and cinnamon (and the mace and saffron tied in muslin, if you are using them) into a pan. Cover and bring slowy to the boil. Turn down the heat and allow the wine to simmer very gently for approx. 1 hour. Remove the spices and the fruit. Heat the wine again, but do not let it boil. Serve in heat-resistant glasses.