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filled speculaas ©️ Nel Brouwer-van den Bergh

Filled Speculaas

Prep Time 10 hours
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 10 hours 50 minutes
Course pastry
Cuisine Dutch
Servings 24

Ingredients
  

the spices

  • 1 tbsp cinnamon amounts are in ground form
  • 1.5 tsp nutmeg amounts are in ground form
  • 1 tsp cloves amounts are in ground form
  • 1 tsp star anise amounts are in ground form
  • 1 tsp dried ginger amounts are in ground form
  • 1 tsp white pepper amounts are in ground form
  • 1 tsp cardamom amounts are in ground form
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds amounts are in ground form

the dough

  • 18 oz (500 g) cake flour
  • 10 oz (280 g) brown sugar
  • 1.5 tsp baking soda or baking powder
  • 12.5 oz (350 g) cold butter
  • 3 tbsp speculaas spices (mixture see above)
  • 6 tbsp milk
  • a pinch of salt

the filling

  • 21 oz (600 g) almond paste
  • 1 egg
  • 1 lemon
  • 40 almonds to cover the pastry

Instructions
 

grinding the spices

  • In a mortar and pestle, grind each if the spices. Nutmeg and cinnamon are best grated. Star anice and cloves are most easlily ground in the grinder compartment of an immersion blender or kirchen machine grinder

making the dough

  • In a bowl, mix the sugar, baking soda/powder, flour, spices and salt
  • Mix the butter with two knives (slicing) in the powdery mixture, until a crumbly mixture starts to appear
  • Then add the milk and knead the mixture in a smooth large ball
  • Wrap the dough in plastic foil and let it rest overnight in the refrigerator

making the filling

  • Mix the almond past with an egg and the grated peel of 1 lemon and fold it repeatedly, so it becomes more pliable.

finalizing the pastry

  • Take the refrigerated dough from the refrigeratorand let come to room temperature for 1 hr
  • Heat the oven to 325 F (170 C )
  • Divide the dough in two equal parts and roll out each part to a roughly 8 inch by 12 inch size (20 x 30 cm).
  • Cover an oven tray with parchment paper
  • Place one piece of dough on the paper.
  • Then cover with the almond paste, keep a half inch from the rim uncovered
  • Place the other half of the dough on top and press the rims tight
  • Make with a sharp knife point straigh lines so that you make diamond shaped figures
  • Place in each diamond an almond and press lightly into the dough
  • Then whisk with a fork an egg yolk with some water
  • Cover the pastry using a brush with the egg water mixture
    filled speculaas ©️ Nel Brouwer-van den Bergh
  • Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes until the color is good
  • Let it cool down, looselky covered with aluminim foil. The firmness will only be obtained after it has cooled down
    filled speculaas ©️ Nel Brouwer-van den Bergh
  • Slice in the diamond shape pieces

Notes

Method: oven baking
Food allergy & intolerance information: egg, gluten, nuts
Keyword almond paste, filled speculaas, speculaas spices