Easy Dutch egg cakes recipe (eierkoeken)

Time for another Dutch recipe: egg cakes! We call them ‘eierkoeken’ in The Netherlands and they are sort of a ligt and airy sponge cakes, very fluffy. You could even call it an egg sponge cake. They are known as a snack. Just plain, or with whipped cream and fresh berries.

What are Dutch egg cakes?

Baking egg cakes is actually a bit like making a very airy sponge cake for a delicious cake. In fact, just like a sponge cake, the base for an egg cake batter is eggs, sugar, and flour. And perhaps more importantly (and to the surprise of many), you don’t use butter to bake these small cakes.

Some people separate the egg whites and egg yolks, but i don’t do that. I just put the whole eggs in a large bowl and mis them several minutes on high speed until they are light and fluffy. I always have the best results this way.

Eierkoeken fun fact

Eierkoeken were made famous by the Dutch Sonja Bakker, she is a well known dietician and advices to eat egg cakes as a healthy snack when following her program. I wouldn’t say eierkoeken are very healthy, but they are a good snack indeed.

You can even make a nice treat out of them by piping a nice swirl of whipped cream on an egg cake and add some fresh fruit. Not a healthy snack, but many people think it’s a nice alternative to a slice of cake or pie. And I do agree with that.

Storing egg cakes

A homemade egg cake is best stored on room temperature. Don’t store them in de fridge, as they will dry out faster in here. I always store the egg cakes in an airtight container or a plastic bag. Packed airtight and stored out of the refrigerator, the egg cakes will keep for up to 4 days.

Freezing egg cakes

If you’ve made a lot of egg cakes, it’s a good idea to freeze them. That way, you can take an egg cake out of the freezer every day to enjoy as a snack later in the day.

Freezing an egg cake works the same way, wrap it tightly airtight. Personally, I like to put a piece of baking paper between each cake so they don’t stick together and I can easily take a single cake out of the freezer and let it thaw.

How to make different flavors eierkoeken

Over the years, I have made many different flavors eierkoeken. With apple and cinnamon, blueberries and even chocolate egg cakes. I will share some more egge cake recipes in the future, but here are some ideas in the mean time:

• Sprinkle some raisins on the batter on your cookies sheet for raisin eierkoeken.
• Replace 10% of the flour with cocoa powder for chocolate eierkoeken.
• Add some cinnamon to the batter (you could leave out the lemon zest)
• For chocolate chip egg cakes, sprinkle some chocolate chips on the batter before you put them in the oven.
• Leave out the lemon zest and replace 10% of the sugar with vanilla sugar for vanilla egg cakes.

Looking from more authentic recipes form The Netherlands? Make sure to check my collection of Dutch recipes!

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4.83 from 17 votes

Dutch egg cake recipe

Why buy egg cakes when you can easily make them yourself? With this easy recipe you can bake the best eierkoeken yourself!

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Total Time20 minutes mins

Servings: 12 servings

Ingredients 

Metric | US Customary

• 2 Eggs
• 100 grams sugar
• zest of half a lemon
• 100 grams all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

• Beat the eggs and sugar until fluffy, this will take a few minutes.
• In a large bowl, add the dry ingredients together: lemon zest, flour, baking powder and salt. Gently fold into the egg mixture.
• Use two tablespoons to scoop the batter onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (a silicone mat works fine as well). Always use a good full tablespoon per egg cake. Make sure they have plenty of space on your baking tray; they will expand quite a bit and rise slightly.
• Bake the egg cakes at 180°C/350℉ (convention oven) for about 10 minutes.
• The egg cakes can still look pale as long as the edges start to turn golden brown, that's fine. If you bake them too long, they will become drier and more brittle.

How to store

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days.