Boterkoek is a quintessentially Dutch baked good built around the dairy the country is famous for, with butter as the undisputed star rather than a supporting player. A staple of home baking and neighbourhood bakeries for generations, it is the kind of plain, rich cake set out to accompany coffee when visitors drop by unannounced.
It is rich and short, melting almost greasily on the tongue with the pure, milky taste of good butter. The edges are firmer and biscuit-like, while the centre stays soft and dense like sweet fudge. A whisper of almond rounds it out, and one small wedge is enough.
The very high butter-to-flour ratio limits gluten development and produces a short, tender crumb that melts rather than springs. Deliberately stopping the bake while the centre is soft leaves it dense and fudgy, the defining contrast against the set, glazed edges.
Variations
with almond paste filling, with candied ginger, lemon-scented, gevulde boterkoek (filled)
On the Palate
Where Boterkoek (Dutch Butter Cake) sits in the Dutch flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 8How it's made
8 steps · 15 min
- 15 min
Cream softened butter with sugar until pale and fluffy.
Watch outCream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy — this is what lightens the dense, high-butter dough.
- 22 min
Beat in most of one egg, reserving a little for glazing.
- 33 min
Fold in flour, a pinch of salt and a little almond extract to form a soft dough.
- 43 min
Press the dough evenly into a greased shallow round tin.
- 52 min
Smooth the surface flat with the back of a spoon.
- 63 min
Brush the top with the reserved beaten egg and score a crosshatch pattern.
- 728 min
Bake at 180C for about 25-30 minutes until the top is golden but the centre still soft.
Watch outPull it from the oven while the center is still soft and only the top is golden — bake it through and you lose the signature fudgy middle.
- 835 min
Cool in the tin so the centre sets to a fudgy texture, then cut into wedges.
