Boterkoek (Dutch Butter Cake)

Name: Boterkoek (Dutch Butter Cake)
Prep time: 12 min
Cook time: 22 min
Total time: 34 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Netherlands
Ingredients: 200g Butter; 200g Sugar; 250g All purpose flour; 1 Salt; 200g Dulce de leche; 75g Dark Chocolate; 1 beaten Egg

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Dessert recipe with Netherlands flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 55 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Step-by-step instructions

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350˚F (conventional oven).
Place the softened butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk until creamy.
Add the flour and salt and knead by hand until you have a smooth dough. Divide into two pieces.
Line the base of a square or round cake tin with baking parchment (not a springform tin) and place the first half of the pastry on top. Flatten with your fingers and a spoon.
Using a teaspoon, sprinkle dollops of dulce de leche over the base. Sprinkle with the chopped chocolate and cover with the second half of the pastry.
This is a bit trickier, but if you don’t get it right, don’t worry, it’ll be fine once it’s baked! Brush the pastry with the beaten egg.
Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. It will be wobbly. That's because butter cake only firms up when it cools.
Cut into small pieces when it has cooled completely! Notes Storing: Store in an airtight container outside of the fridge for about 2-3 days or in the fridge for 5 days. Freeze for up to three months.

Why this works on a weeknight

Boterkoek (Dutch Butter Cake) lands at about 34 minutes total — a little longer than our 30-minute target, but most of that time is hands-off simmering, which is why it earned a spot in our Sweet Finishes collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Boterkoek (Dutch Butter Cake) actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🍮 Sweet Finishes Dessert Netherlands