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A strawberry milkshake, a vanilla milkshake or a chocolate milkshake, I think that sums up the three favorite milkshake flavors. My favorite is the strawberry milkshake, so I am sharing that with you today.

Easy strawberry milkshake recipe

Briefly, you make a strawberry milkshake by mixing ice cream, milk and strawberries. You can use either fresh or frozen strawberries for this milkshake.

I remember well that we used to have a milkshake maker at home; it was one I had won at bingo. I think we used it a couple of times before it disappeared into a bag and sat gathering dust in the shed. Of course, a special milkshake maker is not necessary. A blender or food processor also work perfectly. For this strawberry milkshake recipe, I used the blender.

Of course, a special milkshake maker is not necessary. A blender or food processor also work perfectly. For this strawberry milkshake, I used the blender.

Once you have blended all the ingredients into a smooth consistency, pour the milkshake into pretty glasses and decorate the milkshakes with whipped cream, a fresh strawberry and possibly some sprinkles. You can go as far as you want and make it a real freak shake.

Strawberry milkshake without ice cream

Nowadays many people are looking for a slightly healthier version of their beloved milkshake. Sure, you make a real milkshake with ice cream, but you can still make a tasty strawberry milkshake without ice cream. Just replace the ice cream with milk (preferably whole milk).

Optionally, you can add some extra sugar or sweetener to replace some of the sweetness of the missing ice cream, or replace the sugar with a ripe banana. The banana will make your milkshake a little firmer.

How do you thicken a milkshake?

I used strawberries from the freezer for this milkshake. This makes your milkshake nice and cold and also a little thicker. If you use fresh strawberries, you can adjust the ice cream to milk ratio a bit. Use more ice cream and less milk. You can also cut out some of the sugar if you add more ice.

Scroll down for the full recipe of my favorite strawberry milkshake with my ideal thickness.

A strawberry milkshake, a vanilla milkshake or a chocolate milkshake, I think that sums up the three favorite milkshake flavors. My favorite is the strawberry milkshake, so I am sharing that with you today.

Easy strawberry milkshake recipe

Briefly, you make a strawberry milkshake by mixing ice cream, milk and strawberries. You can use either fresh or frozen strawberries for this milkshake.

I remember well that we used to have a milkshake maker at home; it was one I had won at bingo. I think we used it a couple of times before it disappeared into a bag and sat gathering dust in the shed. Of course, a special milkshake maker is not necessary. A blender or food processor also work perfectly. For this strawberry milkshake recipe, I used the blender.

Of course, a special milkshake maker is not necessary. A blender or food processor also work perfectly. For this strawberry milkshake, I used the blender.

Once you have blended all the ingredients into a smooth consistency, pour the milkshake into pretty glasses and decorate the milkshakes with whipped cream, a fresh strawberry and possibly some sprinkles. You can go as far as you want and make it a real freak shake.

Strawberry milkshake without ice cream

Nowadays many people are looking for a slightly healthier version of their beloved milkshake. Sure, you make a real milkshake with ice cream, but you can still make a tasty strawberry milkshake without ice cream. Just replace the ice cream with milk (preferably whole milk).

Optionally, you can add some extra sugar or sweetener to replace some of the sweetness of the missing ice cream, or replace the sugar with a ripe banana. The banana will make your milkshake a little firmer.

How do you thicken a milkshake?

I used strawberries from the freezer for this milkshake. This makes your milkshake nice and cold and also a little thicker. If you use fresh strawberries, you can adjust the ice cream to milk ratio a bit. Use more ice cream and less milk. You can also cut out some of the sugar if you add more ice.

Scroll down for the full recipe of my favorite strawberry milkshake with my ideal thickness.

Hazelnut bresilienne is nothing more than a delicious caramelized hazelnut crunch which is very easy to make. In The Netherlands this hazelnut crunch is also known as ‘nougatine’. It is used for cake decorating, ice cream topping and more.

What’s it called?

To be honest, I had to do some research on the name of this recipe. I’m Dutch and in The Netherlands these candied hazelnut pieces are called ‘nougatine’. I soon found out that this name is not very common in other countries. Nougatine is also a nut-based bark made with caramel (in The Netherlands as well). But: we like to chop those bars into small pieces and use the crispy caramel nuts in other recipes as a tasty texture.

A more common name is hazelnut bresilienne, but in the end it doesn’t really matter how you call this caramelized hazelnut crunch. It’s delicious and perfect to use in all sorts of recipes.

How to use hazelnut bresilienne?

There are many uses for this recipe, but cake decorating is the most common one for me. It’s used for almost every Dutch ‘slagroomtaart’ (cream cake), it’s added on the sides of the cream cake. The crispy nut addition makes the cake so good!

You also see nougatine as an ice cream topping for soft serve here in The Netherlands. But you could add it at home to a scoop of ice cream as well. The crunchy touch to the ice cream is delicious. One last idea: roll your homemade chocolate truffles in some caramelized hazelnut pieces.

There are many more uses for hazelnut bresilienne, like on top of desserts. It’s a perfect crunchy base for a lot of pastries.

Fun fact: If you grind the caramelized hazelnuts completely, you will have homemade hazelnut praline.

Making your own candied hazelnut crunch

Nougatine is very easy to make and, most importantly, incredibly delicious. It is best to make a large batch right away, as it will keep for a long time. This way, you can regularly brighten up a dessert with a wonderfully delightful crunch.

The advantage of homemade hazelnut bresilienne is that you control the ratio of sugar to hazelnuts. I often find that store-bought nougatine contains too much sugar, while you really want the fresh taste of hazelnut. Another advantage of making your own nougatine is that you can use any kind of nut!

Of course, the classic hazelnut nougatine tastes best with a cream cake, hazelnut meringue or mocha cake, but you can think of many other cakes or desserts where a variation with pistachios or pecans, for example, would taste delicious.

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5 from 8 votes

Crunchy hazelnut bresilienne recipe

Hazelnut bresilienne is nothing more than a delicious caramelized hazelnut crunch which is very easy to make. In The Netherlands this hazelnut crunch is also known as ‘nougatine’. It is used for cake decorating, ice cream topping and more.

Servings: 200 grams

Ingredients

• 100 grams hazelnuts shelled and unroasted
• 80 grams granulated sugar
• 30 ml water

Metric – US Customary

Instructions

• Toast the hazelnuts in a preheated oven at 175°C/345°F (convention oven) until golden brown, it will need about 8 minutes.
• Combine sugar and water in a saucepan and heat over low to medium heat. The sugar should be completely covered by the water. Let the mixture heat until it gradually changes color. Do not stir during this process!
• When the caramel is fully browned, turn off the heat and quickly add the oven toasted hazelnuts. Stir them into the caramel and pour onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Leave to cool.
• Finely chop the nougatine pieces in a food processor.

Fresh tart rhubarb topped with a tasty crumble. With this recipe for rhubarb crumble you can serve your guests a delicious dessert. Also delicious with a scoop of ice cream on top.

Homemade rhubarb crumble

Rhubarb, it’s something you either love or hate, a taste that takes a while to get used to. At least that’s what I’ve found. Rhubarb is sour on its own, and a bit bitter. So it needs a sweet counterpart to that familiar sour taste you’re used to in rhubarb recipes.

So for this rhubarb crumble, I added the necessary sugar. And lemon, too, because I like the tang. By the way, you can leave it out if it’s too much for you.

BAKING TIP: I like to use ramekins for crumble recipes

Rhubarb crumble with almond flour

I made the crumble with almond flour and small pieces of almonds, in part because I was reminded of the rhubarb galette that tasted so incredibly good with the almonds. This almond crumble turned out to be another success when combined with rhubarb!

Making your own homemade cherry pie filling is not only delicious, it is also a pretty easy recipe.

While there is absolutely nothing wrong with buying cans of cherry pie filling in the grocery store, it is surprisingly easy to make it at home. It took me many cans of store bought pie filling before I started wondering why I had never made it myself. The fun thing is that if you make it yourself you can also adjust the flavor to your own preference.

​Even better; you can make this cherry pie filling with fresh cherries, canned cherries, rainier cherries, dark sweet cherries and yes, even cherries from the freezer.

What you need to make cherry pie filling

If you have your own cherry tree, this would be absolutely perfect for cherry season. You can use all the leftover cherries to make this homemade cherry filling. In this particular case I went with jarred cherries, as all the fresh ones were completely sold out in the stores. And using jarred cherries is even easier, as you don’t need a cherry pitter. That’s already done for you.

You’ll need:

• cherries – fresh, canned, jarred or frozen
• cherry juice – substitute with water if you’re using fresh cherries
• granulated sugar – you can also add brown sugar if you want
• cornstarch – the binding agent in this recipe
• lemon juice 

​And that’s all there is to it. When you’re using fresh cherries, having a cherry pitter handy is easiest but you can also use a sharp paring knife to remove the stones. Other than the cherry pitter you’ll need a saucepan and a container to add your homemade pie filling to once ready.

How to make the pie filling

When using canned cherries first drain them in a sieve or a colander. Make sure to preserve all the juice. The same goes for using frozen cherries. Make sure to let them defrost and keep the juice that comes out of the cherries. If you don’t have enough juice you can add a bit of water or orange juice to make up for the missing part.

Place all the cherries plus 150 ml (5 fluid ounce) in a saucepan. Turn on the heat to low and let it come to a boil. Make sure to stir gently regularly!

In another bowl you combine the sugar, cornstarch and the lemon juice with a little bit of the cherry juice as well. Stir this into a paste and when your cherry mixture in the pan is boiling add the cornstarch mix. The amount of sugar you use is optional. I’ve used 50 gram (1.5 to 2 ounces) but you can use more sugar if you want it really sweet. It also depends on the sweetness of your cherries. If you’re using sour cherries or tart cherries you might want a bit more sugar. Just test it and add more if you want.

You let it boil for approximately 5 to 10 minutes or until it is thick enough. You can test this by adding a little bit of the liquid on a plate. You can see and feel if it is ready with your fingers. Easiest is to let it cool slightly and then move a finger through the juice. If the stripe stays it is ready. If the two halves flow back together it is not done yet.

When your cherry pie filling is done pour into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let it cool completely.

Fresh vs canned cherries

Now while this is totally delicious with fresh fruit, the end result with either fresh or canned is really the same. The only difference is that you might have to add a bit of water as you won’t have cherry juice like the canned stuff does. I love adding a bit of orange juice instead of the water for extra flavor.

Adding flavor

While this delicious pie filling is perfect on it’s own, you can add flavor to your own pie fillings. Think about adding some almond extract or vanilla extract for instance. Adding some extra lemon or lime zest is also a good option. It also depends on what you will be using it for. The flavor is much richer than canned pie fillings (or so I think) so keep in mind what you want to use it for.

Fan of mug cakes, but craving a more healthy afternoon snack? This recipe for a healthy banana bread mug cake is the one you’re looking for! You can make this recipe in the oven and in the microwave.

Healthy mug cake

I used my favorite banana bread recipe and made that into a mug cake recipe. My banana bread is made without sugar, oil or butter and is a pretty healthy (and delicious!) snack. Perfect for a healthy mug cake and an easy and quick alternative to a slice of banana bread.

I like eating it for breakfast, but I made it the other night as a late-night dessert with a scoop of ice cream and that’s probably going to happen more often as I enjoyed that dessert a lot.

​Use a microwave-safe mug, those are often also oven safe. But make sure to check that before baking. I like to use a coffee mug or other large mug. You want to make sure there is plenty of room for the mug cake as it rises in the oven.

The recipe calls for two bananas to make 2 mug cakes. But if you only have 1 overripe banana, just halve all the ingredients for 1 mug cake. You will also need to use halve an egg. The other half could be used with some extra eggs for an omelet or something.

Mug cake ingredients

You just need a few simple ingredients to make this delicious banana mug cake. I like to put them together in a small bowl and stir the ingredients with a spatula before putting the batter in the mug.

• Bananas. The most important ingredient. Make sure they are very ripe before you start. I prefer overripe bananas for baking.
• Egg. I like to make mug cakes without an egg (like this chocolate mug cake), but this banana bread mug cake turns out best if you do use an egg. Because I think 1 egg is too much for just 1 mug cake, I developed a recipe for 2 mug cakes.
• Vanilla extract. My bottle of homemade vanilla extract is used for every baking recipe I make. It just adds that amazing vanilla flavor. The recipe calls for 0.5 tsp vanilla, but I often just add a whole teaspoon of vanilla extract.
• Almond flour.​ I love using almond flour in banana bread, It makes the bread moist and had a delicious flavor.
• Whole wheat flour.​ I chose whole wheat because it’s a bit healthier than all purpose flour. But if you don’t have whole wheat flour in stock, all purpose flour is just fine.
• Baking powder.​ Just a little bit is needed for this recipe. But don’t leave it our, because it makes sure the result is light and fluffy.

And that’s all you need to make your own little banana cake! As you can see, I don’t use sugar, the banana add enough sweetness. But if you’re a sweet tooth, you could add some brown sugar or maple syrup to the batter.

To make the batter, you start with the banana, egg and vanilla extract. After those wet ingredients are combined, you can add all the dry ingredients at once. Just mix it up until incorporated and your cake batter is done.

Microwave or oven?

At first, I wanted to develop a recipe for a mug cake you could make in the oven as that was something I got asked for a lot. But I decided to try and make this recipe for the microwave as well.

​I’m happy to say this recipe can be made in the microwave and in the oven, I’ll share the directions for both options.

Microwave banana mug cake

If you have a microwave on hand, this is the quickest way to make your mug cake. I baked it for 140 seconds (2 minutes and 20 seconds) at 800 watts. The cooking time may vary due to the strength of your microwave.

Oven banana mug cake

Bake the mug cakes for 20-25 minutes at 180 °C/350 °F. Don’t bake them too long, as you want a moist cake and baking it too long may result in a dry banana cake.

Here you can see my mug cake, made in the microwave:

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A post shared by Laura Kieft | In Laura’s Bakery (@inlaurasbakery)

In the Netherlands we love our classic thin Dutch pancakes, or as we call them: pannenkoeken. Do you love pancakes? Then you need a good basic recipe! With this recipe you can make a whole stack of delicious pancakes in no time.

American pancakes versus thin Dutch pancakes

Where American pancakes are thick and fluffy, classic Dutch pancakes are very thin. Think crepe like thin.

Dutch pancakes are also large, they usually have the same size of a dinner plate. And when you visit a Dutch pancake house or restaurant (yes, they exist!), they are even bigger and are being served on very large plates. You can order all kinds of flavors, sweet pancakes and savory pancakes.

Difference between French crepes and thin Dutch pancakes

When I bake Dutch pancakes, they are very thin. I like that best. Most people bake their pancakes a bit thicker. A French crepe is generally thinner than a Dutch pancake. But I’ll have to say mine are very close.

Another difference is that crepes are usually a bit smaller than Dutch pancakes.

Dutch baby pancakes versus thin Dutch pancakes

The final comparison, I promise. Although Dutch baby pancakes sound very Dutch, you’ll barely see them in the Netherlands. They actually origin from Germany. Somewhere a long time ago, the German word ‘deutsch’ was turned into Dutch.

But is a Dutch baby pancake recipe anything like the traditional Dutch pancakes? No, they are not. Dutch babies are a mix of a pancakes and a souffle, very light and fluffy. Dutch thin pancakes are as flat as can be.

Another recipe in the pancake category that is Dutch: Dutch mini pancakes. They are similar to these classic thin pancakes. I can really recommend my recipe for Dutch mini pancakes (poffertjes).

How to flavor the pancake batter

It is an easy recipe to vary and make all kinds of different flavors of pancakes. You can flavor the thin batter yourself, but it’s also great for making your pancakes luxurious with toppings. The recipe card below just shows the basic ingredients to make plain pancakes. I mostly make those and add flavor by adding toppings. But you could also add flavors in the beginning, by change up the batter a bit.

If you want to flavor the batter, there are multiple options. I name a few of my favorites:

• Adding some extract to the batter. You can use vanilla, almond, lemon or anything else you like. Instead of lemon extract, lemon juice is possible as well.
• Add some cinnamon to the batter, it’s delicious.
• You could also swap out the milk for almond milk for example. This way, the pancakes are dairy free as well.

Baking Tip: I prefer to use a pancake pan with a little butter in it. I have something similar like this crepe pan that works on all heat sources. You could also use a cast iron skillet or frying pan.

Different pancake toppings

The most popular toppings for pancakes are ‘stroop’ and powdered sugar. Stroop is somewhat similar to maple syrup, which you could use too. I’ll share some of my favorite pancake toppings and will divide them by sweet and savory.

Sweet pancake toppings

The most simple topping is powdered or icing sugar, but you can add everything you like! I like fresh berries on my pancake a lot.

• Powdered sugar
• Stroop
• Maple syrup
• Caramel sauce
• Chocolate sauce
• Brown sugar
• Chocolate sprinkles
• Fresh fruit
• Lemon curd
• Ice cream (make a dessert out of it with ice cream, whipped cream and fresh fruit!)
• Apple (bake the apple slices with the batter in the pan)

Savory pancake toppings

When I eat pancakes, I always make one with Dutch cheese. It’ so good. But bacon ánd cheese might be even bettter. You can add the topping to a plain pancake, or you can bake the toppings with the batter.

In the case of cheese bacon pancakes, I always put some bacon in the pan and bake for a few minutes. Then add the batter and put cheese on top. After you flip the pancake and bake the side with cheese, you will have a crispy side. I’m drooling while I write this. I need to make these pancakes soon!

• Cheese (I like Dutch cheeses, like Gouda. But you can even use Brie if you want)
• Cheese AND bacon
• Bacon
• Bacon combined with apple slices (a perfect salty and sweet combo)
• Mushrooms, bell pepper, bacon and onion, or in other words: the farmers’ pancake! (The ‘boeren pannenkoek’ is a real classic)
• Pizza pancakes! I make them with tomato sauce, salami and cheese.

These are just a few of my favorites. The list could be at least 10 times longer, there are a lot of options.

Another tip: instead of using the ingredients above as toppings, you could also incorporate them in the batter. When you bake a pancake batter with savory fillings, they will be a bit thicker.

Making your own lemon curd is not difficult at all. With just a few ingredients, you can make your own fresh curd to use in a delicious lemon meringue pie, for example.

Homemade lemon curd

On my baking weekend last month, I made lemon curd for the first time. I have no idea why I hadn’t done it before. Since I was so eager to make lemon meringue pie, I wanted to get it right the first time and make the curd myself.

I made a big batch so I could make more recipes with it and make sure I had some left over to put in the yogurt (very tasty!). I didn’t think it would be so easy to make my own curd from lemons and a few other ingredients.

Baking tip: When you make a curd, you can store it in a sealed jar. I usually use glass mason jars.

What to eat with lemon curd

The possibilities are endless with this delicious curd. Put a little in your yogurt, a scoop over an ice cream dessert, spread it on a cracker, and of course: serve it on homemade scones with clotted cream. Yes, it really is all delicious!

Other popular recipes with this curd are, of course, any recipes that combine the curd with meringue. Like lemon meringue pie. I also love lemon curd cookies, like thumbprint cookies with the curd in the center. I will post a recipe for those soon.

Lemon curd cake is also very tasty. For example, you can use this recipe for lemon loaf and serve it with whipped cream and your homemade curd. Or with ice cream, which is also very tasty!

From now on, make your own crème brûlée with this easy recipe. Eating (and making!) this delicious crème brûlée dessert will never disappoint.

Classic crème brûlée recipe

I don’t know about you, but I have often eaten disappointing crème brûlée in restaurants. From ice cold to way too thick, or even without the crack of the caramelized layer that is essential when eating this dessert. It has made me less likely to pick this French dessert from the dessert menu.

Yesterday I made my own crème brûlée for the first time and wow, it was fantastically delicious. With only 5 ingredients you can make your own crème brûlée at home, so I highly recommend it. Of course I share this easy recipe with you!

Crème brùlée dessert flavors

And did you know that you can also vary with this recipe? For example by adding extra flavors, such as citrus peel or lavender. Still, for me, nothing beats the original, vanilla-based and with a golden brown, crunchy sugar coating.

Crème brûlée torch

I often get asked which exact burner I use for this dessert and my answer is simple: it doesn’t really matter. I have tried several and they all work fine. As long as the burner has a child lock and can be refilled, it’s totally fine. Like this one for example.

I do like to have refill packs in the house because you will always find that your burner is suddenly empty at the moment you’ll need it. So don’t forget to purchase those as well.

Crème brûlée without torch

As already mentioned in the recipe, one option is to put the sugar-coated desserts under the grill until the sugar turns golden brown. So it can be done, but you get the best results with a burner.

With this recipe you can bake your own Dutch oliebollen, enjoy! And of course I share lots of baking tips with you so you can bake the tastiest oliebollen at home.

Dutch oliebollen tradition

Here in the Netherlands we love our oliebollen. You can buy them at the stand, but I like making them myself the most. Oliebollen stands can often be found as early as October and they stay up until sometime in January. They are also often found at fairs throughout the year.

In the Netherlands we eat Oliebollen mainly with New Year’s Eve. It is a traditional delicacy with which we ring in the new year. Every year I use my recipe for oliebollen, which I personally find the most delicious.

Dutch donuts

Oliebollen are fried and somewhat similar to fritters, although they are more readily called ‘Dutch donuts’.

This is the basic recipe for oliebollen, but you can also make delicious new flavors with them. I have already made them with apple and cinnamon, and Oreo oliebollen are also delicious. I will of course share these recipes with you.

Which oil is best for making oliebollen?

I always use a frying pan (or my Dutch oven) with sunflower oil. I’ve been doing that for years and it really works perfectly. Of course, if you have an electric frying pan, you can also fill it with sunflower oil.

What you absolutely don’t want to do: fry oil balls in frying fat. This fat solidifies after cooling and leaves a white layer on your oliebol. Doesn’t look appetizing and is also really not as tasty.

Oliebollen ingredients

You don’t need a lot or any weird ingredients to bake oliebollen at home. I list them for you and share right away some tips for ingredients where needed.

• Milk. Heat the milk in the microwave or in a saucepan until lukewarm, or body temperature if you find that easier to determine the right temperature. If the milk is too hot, it can kill the yeast, preventing your batter from rising. Not heating is not a solution either, because even then your oliebollen batter will not rise.
• Dry instant yeast. Dissolve the yeast in you luke warm milk and set aside for a few minutes. You’ll see that the mixture increases in volume.
• White caster sugar. For a little sweetening, but also to make your yeast work well.
• Flour. You can use all purpose flour or wheat flour for baking oliebollen.
• Salt. A pinch of salt always makes a difference and enhances other flavors.
• Egg. The last ingredient for your oliebollen, a baker once told me that eggs reduce fat absorption in oliebollen.

What to do with leftover oliebollen?

I always have breakfast on January 1 with the leftover oliebollen, which is a tradition in our family. Just heat them up, sprinkle with powdered sugar and enjoy.

However, you can also bake French toast from oliebollen. Cut them into pieces/slices and follow the recipe for French toast.

Another option: use oil balls for a bread pudding. Although then, of course, you make an oliebollen pudding. Slightly misleading that name, because it’s actually a kind of French toast, but in a large dish and baked in the oven instead of the pan.

The perfect base recipe for vanilla cupcakes. With this easy cupcake recipe you have the perfect starting point for all your cupcakes. Add a vanilla frosting or any other kind of topping to your liking.

What are cupcakes?

Cupcakes are simply small (one-person) cakes baked in cupcake liners or in a cupcake tin. In the past, cupcakes were served at high tea and baked in teacups, which is probably where the name ‘cupcake’ comes from.

Instead of a scale most people also used a measuring cup, which is another reason for the name. While a lot of people still use cups for measuring dry and wet ingredients, for the most accurate result I would always suggest using a weighing scale instead.

Cupcakes are the perfect little treat to bake for many different occasions. From baby showers to birthday parties and whenever you feel like having a small treat. Decorating them in a variety of different ways is also great and a fun activity with kids (or adults!) as well.

How to make cupcakes?

Making a basic vanilla cupcakes recipe is a good start if you want to learn how to make the perfect cupcake. This cupcake recipe makes exactly 12 cupcakes in a regular cupcake tin. I used my vanilla loaf cake recipe as the base of this recipe but I have adjust the quantities to match the tin and changed some of the proportions.

Another change is the fact that these vanilla cupcakes use less sugar. While you will eat your regular loaf cake usually without frosting, most cupcakes will contain a frosting like a vanilla buttercream frosting or a chocolate frosting. Since those are also quite sweet, it makes sense to make the cupcake batter less sweet.

What ingredients do you need?

The recipe calls for simple ingredients which you will be able to find in most grocery stores. I list them below for easy reference:

• Self-raising flour – This is essentially all purpose flour combined with baking powder.
• Granulated sugar – I like to use a superfine sugar.
• Vanilla extract – can be replaced by vanilla bean paste or vanilla sugar.
• Unsalted butter – at room temperature.
• Eggs – 4 medium sized, which weighs about 50 grams each.

Other than that you need a large mixing bowl or use a stand mixer to mix the batter. An electric mixer will work as well.

The process

You start by adding the butter, sugar and vanilla together in the bowl of the stand mixer or whatever other large bowl you’re using. Mix this together until the color starts to get light and the texture creamy.

Now add the eggs one by one and make sure to mix the batter in between until the egg is fully absorbed into the batter. Now add the self-raising flour and the salt bit by bit until fully mixed. And that’s it. Batter is ready!

Now all you have to do is to add the vanilla cupcake batter into the cupcake liners. You can scoop the batter into the liners with a spoon but an ice cream scoop is a handy accessory to use for equal measured cupcakes.

Pop them into the preheated oven (350˚F or 175˚C. Top and bottom heat/conventional oven) for around 20 minutes and they are ready! Keep the oven door closed until they are baked.

Make sure to place them on a cooling rack before adding buttercream or another frosting.

What other cupcake flavors can I make?

As far as cupcake recipes go, this is the perfect base recipe with which you can create endless flavors. Think about adding some chocolate chips to the batter or a tablespoon of cocoa powder for a chocolate batter.

Or vary the flavor by adding a different kind of sugar, like brown sugar or coconut sugar. The fluffy texture of these cupcakes is perfect for many different variations. I will soon be sharing lots of different flavors.

Decorating the cupcakes

Baking the vanilla cupcakes is step 1 of the process. Step 2 – and the most fun – is to decorate them. You don’t need to decorate them if you don’t want to. They are delicious just as they are but any cupcake will look better with a pretty frosting on top. How the frosting looks is also greatly depending on which frosting tip you use. So you can definitely vary that as well.

And who doesn’t love a pretty decorated cupcake? You can decorate with buttercream, vegan buttercream or with fondant or marzipan. You can fill them with jam or fruit or decorate them in another way.

The most basic frosting is simply a glaze of icing sugar combined with a little bit of lemon juice (or water). Takes no time at all and is always tasty. Just drizzle it over the cooled cupcakes Or try and make these strawberry cupcakes. Adding some fresh fruit on top of the frosting is delicious and looks good too!

The words may only differ by two letters, but they are still two very different products from two different countries: speculoos and speculaas. Part of the difference is in the spices used. One contains only cinnamon; the other contains many other types of spices.

Speculaas from the Netherlands

Dutch speculaas is full of spices. The spice mix is made in a variety of ways, but my speculaas spice mix recipe includes the following ingredients:

• Cinnamon
• nutmeg
• Cloves
• ginger
• mace
• cardamom

Other common ingredients are coriander seed, allspice, anise seed, and white pepper. Every baker has their own favorite combination of spices to bake their speculaas with.

Sinterklaas (Saint Nicholas)

In the Netherlands, Sinterklaas is celebrated every year on December 5th. The Dutch version of Santa Claus. All kinds of pastries with speculaas flavor are part of it, with kruidnoten being the most popular treat.

Speculaas recipes

Convinced by the taste of Speculaas? Then I have some delicious Dutch recipes for you!

• Homemade Dutch speculaas chunks (speculaasbrokken)
• Dutch almond paste filled spiced cookies (gevulde speculaas)
• Dutch spiced breakfast cake (ontbijtkoek)

Speculoos from Belgium

Let’s start with speculoos, you may know them as the cookies from Lotus Biscoff. They also sell a Biscoff spread and even Biscoff ice cream. I find them all incredibly delicious.

Speculoos is the Belgian answer to the Dutch speculaas cookies. But where the speculaas has several spices, the speculoos has only one: cinnamon.

Now, it’s a bit of a stretch to call speculoos cookies cinnamon cookies, because anyone who’s tried them knows that there are several other flavors in them. Those come from brown sugar syrup and/or caramelized sugar.

Why are the names so similar?

The Dutch word “loos” means “without” in English. Speculoos actually means cookies without speculaas.

The names are often used interchangeably these days, which can lead to confusion. Hopefully, after reading this article, you’ll know the difference and won’t get confused again.

A quick history lesson

The Netherlands had a rich spice trade with the VOC (Dutch East India Company) in the 17th century. All kinds of spices were transported from the colonies to the Netherlands.

Eventually they started making mixtures of these spices, and that’s how speculaas came to be used to make cookies.

But in Belgium they did not have access to all these spices, it was very expensive for them. So at the beginning of the 20th century, they came up with an alternative: speculoos. They used only cinnamon, but added brown sugar syrup to make them more flavorful.

A short summary

Even though the name is almost the same, speculaas and speculoos are two different flavors/cookies. Speculaas is a typical Dutch cookie and gets its flavor of different spices used in the speculaas spice mix.

Speculoos cookies have been created as ‘cookie without speculaas spices’ in Belgium. The brand Lotus is known for their speculoos cookies. The taste comes from the special production process of the caramelisation of sugar in the cookie. Speculoos often includes only one spice: cinnamon.

This easy recipe for a chocolate mug cake without eggs can be made in minutes! Just stir a handful of simple ingredients, pop your mug in the microwave and enjoy. If you love mug cake recipes, this chocolate mug cake will be definitely one of your favorites. And even better: no eggs needed for this recipe!

Making a Mug Cake

In the early 2000s, mug cakes became very popular in America and a few years later they were popular in The Netherlands too. I thought the idea of a cake in a mug that you could microwave in just two minutes was brilliant for a sweet tooth like me and made it for the first time a few years ago.

Unfortunately, my first chocolate microwave cake recipe didn’t turn out so well. It was not tasty at all and not even close to a fluffy mug cake. At that moment, I was done with mug cakes and didn’t think about them for a long time. It took me a few years to try again and develop a recipe for this small batch dessert.

My first (new) attempt at making a chocolate mug cake was pretty okay, but I decided to make some changes to the recipe. A few mug cakes later, I came up with a recipe that is similar to a regular chocolate cake. It’s the best mug cake I’ve ever tried. Very tasty!

It’s not exactly the same, of course. It can’t be, because the ingredients are different. Still, I was pleasantly surprised, and it proves that a microwave mug cake can be really tasty! And more important: I don’t need to bake an entire cake when I’m craving some chocolate cake.

Can you make this chocolate cupcake in the oven?

This question came up so often that I really had test it for you. With a simple adjustment in the recipe, you can bake this chocolate mug cake in the oven. You add 2 grams of baking powder (a little less than half a teaspoon) to the cake batter and then bake your little cake in the oven at 180°C/350°F (top and bottom heat) for 20-25 minutes until done.

Test the cake with a cake skewer to make sure it is done, otherwise leave it in the oven for a few more minutes. It’s a great recipe with a little adjustment to bake in the oven.

Want to bake more than one cupcake in the oven? Take my recipe for chocolate cake and divide it by four, for example, to make two to three cup cakes. In my opinion, this is still the most perfect recipe for baking a delicious cake in the oven.

More mug cake recipes

I have made many mug cakes over the years and I will absolutely translate those recipes for you and share them here. But did you know you could also add some ingredients to this chocolate mug cake for some variation? Some of my favorites:

• Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the batter. It’s a good addition, even with chocolate cake.
• Add a tablespoon of peanut butter on top of your mug cake before you pop it into the microwave. You can’t go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter.
• Add a handful of  chocolate chip to the cake batter. You will thank me later, it’s a perfect addition.
• Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream after baking the mug cake, it’s a perfect treat and a quick dessert fix.