Dutch Delights: Roze Koek
What: Roze Koek – a cake composed of a flat cake with a sheet of pink fondant on top.
Why: Roze Koek gets its name from the pink icing on top (roze=pink). In the city of Amsterdam the cakes are sometimes known as “moesselientjes”. According to tradition, they have that name for the Italian dictator Mussolini, because the cakes were sold before WWII in Italian pastry shops.
Where: Roze koeken are typically found at the supermarket.
When: This is another Dutch Delight that is available year round and has no particular “best time to eat” associated with it.
Varieties: During major football championships the ‘pink’ cake becomes an ‘orange’ cake. Also around Easter you can sometimes find the cake with a blue fondant on top.
How Much [Should I Eat]: I will admit these aren’t one of my favourites. The cake is quite bland, which coupled with the sweet topping creates an unusual combination. However, I have eaten worse things!
Pas Op! (Watch Out!): Roze koeken features in the children’s programme Villa Achterwerk. The character Roos van der Zande was addicted to pink cake and even had a whole pantry full of it. I personally have never seen the programme – so if you, like me, feel left out you can watch a slightly scary intro in the video below.
Amazingly I've not actually tried one of these yet but they do look really good.
I look forward to your verdict! :)