Festive flair: Elevate Christmas desserts with speculaas cream
For Christmas, I'm searching for something a bit more special. I've been browsing articles and recipes for baked goods that draw on traditions from various parts of the world. Recently, I was intrigued by the ornate biscuits popular in the Netherlands and Belgium. It turns out you can make a delicious cream from them—perfect for layering a Christmas cake.
The popular caramel cream is delightful but can become repetitive. Therefore, if you're contemplating a sweet cream for layering on gingerbread, no-bake cakes, or topping a cheesecake, consider trying cream made with speculaas biscuits. You can prepare the sweet, gingerbread-scented mixture in a blender in just a few minutes.
The history of Dutch biscuits
These spiced biscuits, with distinctive figurative patterns, are known by two names. In the Netherlands, they are called speculaas, and in Belgium, spéculoos (from French). Their fronts feature figures of people and animals, often with numerous decorations and even genre scenes.
The history of these biscuits is linked to the import of spices from India by the Dutch East India Company. Spiced delicacies were then considered luxury products—anise, cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg were used in small amounts. The blends that confectioners composed based on these spices were kept strictly secret.
In the 17th century, confectioners began adding spices to dough, leading to the creation of sweet speculaas. However, they weren't as widely available as today. They were baked only twice a year—on Sinterklaas Day, 5th December, the eve of St. Nicholas' name day, and at Christmas.
How to make speculaas biscuit cream?
The proportions are as follows:
- 30g cane sugar,
- 120ml warm milk,
- 60g soft butter,
- 200g speculaas biscuits.
Preparation
- In a blender, grind the cane sugar into a fine powder. Add the crumbled biscuits and blend again.
- Then pour in the warm milk and add the soft butter, cut into chunks. Blend until smooth.
What can you use biscuit cream for?
In some countries, for Christmas, an apple pie with speculaas cream is baked. A fluffy sponge cake is covered with a layer of biscuit mixture. Apples and whipped cream are added on top. The surface of the cake is decorated with Dutch biscuits placed flat, side by side.
Speculaas cream also works well as an addition to pancakes, waffles, and French toast. You can add a bit to coffee or ice cream desserts.
You can make speculaas biscuits at home
Spiced biscuits in the Dutch style are easy to prepare. You'll make the dough from wheat flour, brown sugar, and spices. However, to create their intricate designs, you'll need wooden moulds for speculaas. In an easier version, you can use a patterned rolling pin.
