Boterkoek (Dutch Buttercake)

Tracking down "Dutch Cuisine" has proven difficult. For a people who eat very well, they have not contributed much to the larger food culture. The most distinct "Dutch food" that I've eaten has Indonesian origins, and as far as I can tell, the rest originated from my Oma (grandmother). The one and only Dutch cookbook that I've seen, The Netherlands Cookbook by Heleen A.M. Halverhout, was originally published in 1957. It's a tiny thing with a small number of meat-and-potatoes dishes and it rarely adventures beyond spicing with nutmeg and salt. The strongest flavoring is stubborn Dutch pride. When I saw that my mother was looking for my Oma's buttercake recipe, I looked in this cookbook. Here are the two versions:

--2 cups Flour
--1 cup Butter (REAL BUTTER!)
--1 cup Super-fine Sugar
--1 small Egg, beaten
--Pinch of Salt
--3 oz Candied Ginger, finely chopped (for version 1)
--2 cups Almond Paste (for version 2) (To make yourself, grind 2 cups Blanched Almonds, then mix in 1/4 cup Sugar, 1 Small Egg and the grated Peel of Half a Lemon. Grind once more.)

Version 1 (with Ginger): Knead flour, butter, sugar, half the beaten egg, salt and ginger into a smooth paste. Butter a pie pan of 1-inch deep and 8-inch diameter. Press the dough into it. Brush the rest of the egg on top of the dough and use the back of a knife to carve "decorations" into it. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 Degrees Fahrenheit. While still hot, press down the middle of the cake with the back of a spoon. When firm to the touch, turn out on wire rack. The cake should be soft on the inside and hard on the outside.

Version 2 (with Almond Paste): Knead flour, butter, sugar, the beaten egg, and salt into a firm ball. Divide in half. Butter a pie pan of 1-inch deep and 8-inch diameter. Press half the dough into it. Spread almond paste on top. Press the other half of the dough on top of that. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until golden brown, about an hour. Remove from pan and cool on rack.

What To Put On or In Your Pannekoeken

The Dutch Pancake Café (Nederlandse Pannekoeken Café) in Stowe, Vermont serves their pannekoeken in the traditional Dutch way, with the added ingredients cooked into the pancake. Their mouthwatering menu, quoted below, will have you packing your bags for Vermont. In the meantime, this list will give you some ideas for your own pannekoeken.

"We serve over 80 varieties of 12 inch sweet and hearty Dutch Pancakes. Dutch pancakes are specially prepared, crepe-like pancakes with a variety of ingredients baked in. Pancakes range from apples, cinnamon and bacon to chocolate chip with cream to shredded potato, onion and cheese."

DUTCH PANCAKE MENU

THE SWEET SPOT

Apple Cinnamon: Fresh Apple slices sprinkled with cinnamon.

Blueberry Cream: Maine blueberries with whipped cream.

Chocolate Chip: Plain pancake with chocolate chips.

Apple Blueberry: Fresh apple slices with Maine blueberries.

Banana: Fresh sliced bananas cooked inside.

Coconut Chocolate Chip: Plain pancake with chocolate chips and sprinkled with shredded coconut.

Banana Blueberry: Fresh sliced bananas with Maine blueberries.

Banana Chocolate Coconut: Fresh sliced bananas cooked in then topped with chocolate chips and toasted coconut.

Apple Raisin: Fresh apple slices with raisins.

Fresh Strawberry Banana: Plain pancake topped with fresh sliced strawberries(seasonal) and bananas finished with whipped cream.

Banana Pineapple: Fresh sliced bananas with diced pineapple.

Strawberry, Chocolate, and Cream: Fresh sliced strawberries (seasonal) on top of pancake drizzled with chocolate sauce and whipped cream.

Maple Walnut: Pancake topped with walnut-infused maple syrup.

Banana Walnut: Fresh sliced bananas with chopped walnuts.

Pineapple Almond: Diced pineapple topped with toasted almonds.

Lemon Butter: Spread with lemon compound butter and sprinkled with confectionary sugar.

Pineapple Coconut: Diced pineapple sprinkled with shredded coconut.

For an extra special treat add a Belgian chocolate truffle cup of Vermont's own Ben & Jerry's French Vanilla ice cream.

HEARTY HELPINGS

Shredded Potato, Onion and Cheese: Sautéed potato and onions cooked into the pancake with cheddar cheese. Served with sour cream and applesauce.

Italian Sausage, Peppers and Onions: Sliced Italian link sausage with sautéed red and green bell peppers and onions.

Bacon, Cheese and Tomato: Crumbled crispy bacon, cheddar cheese and fresh diced tomato.

Tomato, Onion, Mushroom and Cheese: Fresh diced tomato and onion with sliced mushrooms and cheese.

Ham & Swiss: Diced ham and Emmanthauler Swiss cheese.

Spinach, Onion, Mushroom and Bacon: Sautéed fresh spinach, onion, mushroom slices and crumbled bacon cooked into the pancake.

Sausage Gravy: Plain pancake served with a side of southern style sausage gravy.

Apple Bacon: Fresh sliced apples and crispy crumbled bacon.

Broccoli and Swiss: Sautéed fresh broccoli florets and Emmanthauler Swiss cheese.

BaconCrumble: Crispy bacon in pancake.

Potato, Broccoli, Ham and Cheese: Sautéed fresh red potatoes, broccoli florets and ham topped with cheddar cheese.

Pineapple Canadian Bacon: Diced pineapple accompanied by thin slices of Canadian bacon.

Canadian Bacon and Cheese: Thin slices of Canadian bacon and cheddar cheese cooked in pancake.

Bacon and Cheese Crumble: Crisp bacon and cheddar cheese cooked in the pancake.

Vegetarian Canadian Bacon and Pineapple: Thin slices of soy based Canadian bacon and diced pineapple.

Vegetarian Italian Sausage, Peppers and Onion: Spicy Italian vegetarian sausage with sautéed bell peppers and onions cooked in the pancake.

NEDERLANDSE PANNEKOEKENCAFÉ SPECIALTIES

Breakfast Pannekoeken: Eggs and bacon or sausage cooked in the pancake and topped with cheddar cheese.

The Rembrandt: Apple, shredded potato, pineapple, raisins, ham and cheddar cheese seasoned with curry.

Farmers Pannekoeken: Sautéed shredded potato and onions with tomato and cheese.

Nor-Easter Pannekoeken: Apple slices with walnuts and raisins sprinkled in.

Vegetable Fantasy: Basil pesto, artichoke hearts, sliced black olives, tomato and cheese.

Hawaiian Pannekoeken: Ham, pineapple and Swiss cheese.

Pina Colada Pannekoeken: Pineapple, banana and toasted coconut pancake topped with whipped cream.

Fresh Fruit Pannekoeken: Featuring the freshest in seasonal pickings layered on top of a pancake.

Pannekoeken Recipes

My son suggested that I include some pannekoeken recipes as a part of this series. These are the real Dutch Pancakes, as opposed to those delicious Dutch Babies that also appear on this blog.

Rich Vermunt, on his delightful web page called Dutch Cooking, which is part of his larger site Going Dutch, tells us that the best pancakes are made with yeast. The first recipe below is another variation which uses lots of eggs instead of yeast, and the yeast pancake recipe is also given (in Rick's words). Be sure to visit his website--it's a very entertaining and informative introduction to The Netherlands.

Ingredients for one large pancake:
1 cup flour
salt
2 large eggs or 3 medium (fills ½ cup when beaten)
1 cup milk
at least ¼ cup butter or margarine
(multiply the above recipe with the number of pancakes you wish to make)

Put the flour and salt in a bowl, make a well in the middle and add the beaten eggs. Mix to a smooth batter. Add the rest of the milk. Melt half the butter in a heavy skillet. Pour the batter into it. Turn these pancakes frequently, each time adding some butter. They should then become golden brown and crisp at the sides.

Gewone Pannekoeken (Regular Pancakes).
This recipe makes 4 big pancakes.
4 cups of flour (or 4 cups of proprietary pancake mix if available)
salt
1 cake yeast (60 grams) [or 1 tbl. dry yeast]
4 cups lukewarm milk
butter or margarine

Put the flour and the salt in a bowl. Make a depression in the center. Add the diluted (with a little milk) yeast. Add 2 cups of milk and mix to a smooth batter. Add the rest of the milk. Leave to rise for three quarters of an hour. Heat enough butter in a heavy skillet. Pour in part of the butter and fry the pancake on both sides. You can toss the pancake in the air for turning, if you like. Try out with someone standing by to catch them is advisable if this is your first attempt ! :-) Otherwise use a spatula. Keep them hot in the warming drawer and serve with sugar or molasses, golden syrup or treacle.

Tomorrow: Some serving suggestions for pannekoeken.

Oma's Jachtschotel

Onions, chopped

Butter

Leftover cooked beef, chopped

Bay leaf

Pinch of ground cloves

Salt and pepper to taste

Cooked, diced potatoes

Milk

Bread crumbs

Chopped red cabbage (cooked with bay leaf, salt, cloves, and chopped apples)

Brown onions, add meat, salt, pepper, and herbs. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add the cabbage.

Mash the potatoes with some milk. 

Place half of the potatoes in a greased casserole. Add all of the onion and meat mixture, and cover with remaining potatoes. Garnish with bread crumbs and butter. 

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until brown on top. 

Olliebollen

Olliebollen are the Dutch doughnuts that are traditionally served on New Year's Eve.

1 tbl. dry yeast
1 cup lukewarm milk
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 egg
3/4 cup dried currants
3/4 cup raisins
1 Granny Smith apple - peeled, cored and finely chopped
1 quart vegetable oil for deep-frying
1 cup confectioners' sugar for dusting


Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk.

Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Stir the yeast mixture and egg into the flour and mix into a smooth batter. Stir in the currants, raisins and apple. Cover the bowl, and leave the batter in a warm place to rise until double in size. This will take about 1 hour.

Heat the oil in a deep-fryer, or heavy deep pan to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Use 2 metal spoons to shape scoops of dough into balls, and drop them carefully into the hot oil. Fry the balls until golden brown, about 8 minutes. The doughnuts should be soft and not greasy. If the oil is not hot enough, the outside will be tough and the insides greasy.

Drain finished doughnuts on paper towels and dust with confectioners' sugar. Serve them piled on a dish with more confectioners' sugar dusted over them. Eat them hot if possible.

This recipe is based on the one published at allrecipes.com.

Dutch Christmas Cooking

Here are some links to a few Dutch Christmas recipes, to represent the Dutch side of the family.

Dutch Christmas Log (Banketstaaf)--Flaky pastry log with a center of almond paste

Dutch Christmas Spice Cake (Speculatus)

Dutch Peppernut Cookies (Pepernoten)

Dutch Spice Cookies (Speculaas Koekjes)

Dutch Letter Cookies (Spritz)