Dutch Spiced Breakfast Cake (Ontbijtkoek)

Name: Dutch Spiced Breakfast Cake (Ontbijtkoek)
Prep time: 9 min
Cook time: 17 min
Total time: 26 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Netherlands
Ingredients: 250g Self-raising Flour; 250g Dark Brown Soft Sugar; 250g Milk; 4 Sugar; 1 tablespoon Ginger; 1/2 tsp Cardamom; 1 tsp Baking Powder; Pinch Salt

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 40 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 160˚C (320˚F) Line a cake pan with parchment paper and set aside.
Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Place the milk in a small saucepan and heat it until it is almost boiling but not quite.
Pour the milk slowly into the dry ingredients while whisking. Don't overmix! As soon as it is combined to a smooth batter you pour it into the cake pan. Sprinkle the pearl sugar over the top and bake it in the oven for about 1 hour.
Check after about 50 minutes how the cake is progressing. If a cake tester comes out clean the cake it cooked. If not let it cook for a little longer.

Why this works on a weeknight

Dutch Spiced Breakfast Cake (Ontbijtkoek) genuinely fits a 30-minute weeknight window, 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. Dutch Spiced Breakfast Cake (Ontbijtkoek) 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 ⚡ 30-Min Dinner