Dutch Delights: Eierkoeken

What:  Eierkoeken, literally ‘egg cakes’, are round, light cakes made from eggs, milk, sugar, flour, butter and baking powder.  They are usually around 10 to 20 cm in diameter with one flat side and one rounded side and a golden brown colour.


Why:  The Dutch already knew how to make round, flat bread by cooking a porridge mixture on hot stones but they also noticed that when they added egg to the mixture, the results were much nicer.


Where:  Eierkoeken are found in the bakery or at the grocery store in the bakery/bread section. The most eierkoeken are eaten in the province of Zeeland, where they like to spread butter on the flat side of the cake.


When:  You can find eierkoeken year round.  However, since they are baked fresh you will probably be out of luck if you arrive at the bakery or grocery store late in the day.


Varieties:  I’m pretty sure, what you see is what you get.  I have yet to see a chocolate eierkoek but feel free to correct me if you know otherwise!


How Much [Should I Eat]: Eierkoeken are supposedly great if you are looking for something sweet without all the calories. So much so that in 2006, sales of eierkoeken increased tenfold all because Dutch Diet Guru, Sonja Bakker, called them a ‘sensible snack’.


Pas Op! (Watch Out!):  Depending on where you buy your eierkoeken, you may notice that they have a slightly strange smell, similar to wee.  After doing some research, it seems that this is caused by recipes that add salt, with the intention of making the cake fluffier and thicker.  When baked this often creates the side effect of ammonia.