… and so ends our section on Mediterranean cuisine. While Basil and I could have cooked
Mediterranean food for much longer, we decided it was time to move onto another
geographical region.
The posts you will read in the New Year will focus on food
from Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands.
This more Northern region of Europe has a wealthy culinary heritage to
offer, including the famous pretzel, over 600 types of bread, countless stews, and delicious strudel.
Characterized by hearty meals and rich flavours, German, Austrian, and
Dutch cuisine present our Canadian palates with enough of the familiar to make
us comfortable and a lit bit of the exotic –we did after all make a rabbit
stew!
Before we leave you for the holidays, here’s an amazing Dutch dessert recipe that Basil and her family make every year.
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| This crowd-pleasing dessert will have people coming back for seconds. |
Lavender
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Both my dad's and mom's parents immigrated to Canada after the Second World War. In many ways, their shared Dutch heritage brought my parent's together when they met 35 years ago tree-planting on British Columbia's west coast. Historically speaking diaspora communities and their children maintain food traditions long after many other cultural traditions have been forgotten. For my family, Christmas season was heralded by a day making Boterkoek. Loosely translated as “butter cake” this decadent Dutch dessert is somewhere between a shortbread and almond fudge.
Another reason that our family has always loved this recipe is that it's so easy to make and is a wonderful recipe for kids to help with.
The butter must be room temperature or you'll have too much trouble adding all the flour and I usually start mixing everything with a wooden spoon but then dive right in with my hands for the final mixing (always my favourite part as a kid).
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Boterkoek
Ingredients
1 ¾ cup Sugar
1Pound salted, Butter
2 Eggs beaten, reserve half of one egg (so ¼ of total) for egg wash.
2 overflowing teaspoons of Almond extract
3 ¾ cups Flour
Blanched almonds
Cream together:
1 ¾ cup Sugar
1Pound salted, Butter
2 Eggs beaten, reserve half of one egg (so ¼ of total) for egg wash.
2 overflowing teaspoons of Almond extract
Gradually add:
3 ¾ cups Flour
Divide the dough into three and pat firmly into metal disposable pie pans. We often make small several small ones as well because they make such easy gifts.
Once the top of the dough in the pan is smooth glaze lightly with the remaining egg. We always use the tines of a fork to drag pretty patterns across the top and then embellish with blanched almonds (see note bellow on how to blanch your own almonds).
Once they're all decorated bake for about 35 minutes until the tops are just golden at 350 degrees.
Boterkoek needs to be served chilled or at room temperature because it is so rich. If you eat it when it's still warm the amount of melted butter and the texture are fairly off putting.
Boterkoek needs to be served chilled or at room temperature because it is so rich. If you eat it when it's still warm the amount of melted butter and the texture are fairly off putting.
Cut each pie pan into very small slivers and enjoy with a cup of strong coffee.
Blanched almonds:
You can buy these at the store but they are quite a bit more expensive than raw almonds.
Put almonds in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Let sit, covered for about 10 minutes. Drain the water and squeeze the almonds out of their skins. They should shoot right out very easily so if they're being stubborn, cover again with boiling water and let them sit a bit longer.
This is also a fun activity for kids.
Bon appétit,
Basil
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