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An Eggless Gevulde Speculaas (Dutch Spiced Biscuit Filled With Almond Paste/ Speculaas Pie) : Daring Bakers Challenge, January 2013

T.
Servings 10 serving

Ingredients
  

For The Almond Paste:

  • 1 1/3 cups ground almond (or 7/8 cup skinned almonds, ground to a powder)*
  • 1/2 cup sugar granulated
  • 3 to 4 tsps milk
  • 1/8 cup semolina
  • 1/8 cup coconut desiccated
  • 1 1/2 tsps lime juice
  • 1 tsp lime zest

For the Speculaas Dough:

  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • pinch salt
  • 150 gm butter , chilled and cubed
  • 1/8 to 1/4 cup milk (for the dough, if necessary)
  • almonds Some skinned and halved to decorate

Instructions
 

  • *To skin the almonds, drop them in boiling water and turn off the heat. After about 5 minutes, drain the water. The skin of the almonds would have loosened. Pinch off the skin and it will slip off the almonds. Air dry the almonds before grinding them. I store my almonds in the freezer and usually grind them straight from the freezer.
  • Make the almond paste:
  • To grind the almonds, put them in your grinder jar and run them till theyu2019re coarsely ground. Then add the granulated sugar and grind them till theyu2019re fine.
  • Then add the lime juice and the milk and run the grinder till its mixed into a smooth paste. Transfer this paste to a bowl and add the semolina, desiccated coconut and lime zest and mix well. You should have a thick paste that will spread when pressed out with a spoon. If you prefer you can have the paste thick so that it can be rolled out. Store this in the fridge (or freezer) till required.
  • Now make the Speculaas dough:
  • I used my food processor but you can do this by hand. Put the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and spices in the processor bowl. Pulse a couple of times to mix. Then add the butter cubes and knead till the dough comes together as crumbs. Add as much (or little) of the milk as necessary to have a smooth dough. The dough should not be very soft. Do not over process or overwork the dough.
  • Divide the dough into two almost equal portions (one portion slightly larger than the other), shape into a smooth ball and then flatten into thick discs. Wrap both discs of dough in cling wrap. Refrigerate them for at least 2 hours and overnight is good too
  • Assembling and baking the Gevulde Speculaas:
  • You can use a rectangular pan (8u201d by 10u201d) and you can cut out the Speculaas into neat squares. I used an 8u201d round fluted tart pan with a removable base.
  • Take the almond paste out of the fridge/ freezer ahead so that it is soft enough to spread.
  • Take the dough discs out of the refrigerator and let it soften enough so that it can be rolled out easily. Lightly dust your working surface with flour and roll out the dough. You can roll out the dough between two layers of parchment or plastic wrap as this will make it easier to roll out the dough and transfer it to the pan.
  • First roll out the slightly larger disc so that it will fit into your baking pan at the bottom and up the sides. Place this into the greased pan and lightly press in to fit. Evenly spread the almond paste on this base, or if it is thicker, roll it out to fit the pan. Roll out the other disc of dough to just fit the top. Place this on the paste and press down gently at the edges using your fingers tips. Decorate with the halved almonds.
  • Bake the Gevulde Speculaas at 180C (350F) for about 40 minutes till the top feels firm. Cool in the pan completely and gently unmould. Cut and serve with coffee, tea, milk or hot chocolate. This tastes best fresh but you can refrigerate this after wrapping it in clingfilm, but do warm it slightly before serving.