Spiced cake with almond paste – vegan

This spiced cake with almond paste is a traditional Dutch treat. We usually eat it in late fall and throughout the holiday season.

This spiced cake filled with almond paste is a traditional Dutch treat called gevuld speculaas. It is eaten in the fall and around the time Saint Nicolas visits our country on the 5th of December. The original recipe contains butter and eggs, however I adapted the original to a plant based version of this delicious treat.

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Spiced cake with almond paste filling – Vegan

Spiced cake with almond paste filling. Traditional Dutch pastry: gevulde speculaas

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Dutch

Ingredients

• 2 cups self raising flour
• 1 1/4 cup brown muscovado sugar
• 3/4 cup plant based butter (1 1/2 stick) or use margarine
• 3 tbsp pumpkin spice
• 2 tbsp oatmilk or other plant based milk
• 1 tsp salt

Filling

• 10 ounces (300 grams) almond paste
• 3 tbsp plant based milk

to decorate

• 1/2 cup almond halves
• 1-2 tbsp oat milk or other plant based milk

Instructions

• Combine self raising flour, brown muscovado sugar, plant based butter, spices plant based milk and a pinch of salt. Use your hands to make a smooth dough and form it into a ball. Cut the dough ball into two parts, one part just a little bigger than the other.
• Take two sheets of baking paper / parchment paper and put the bigger dough ball in between the two sheets. Roll out the dough to make a circle that is big enough to cover the bottom and the sides of a baking pan. Roll out the smaller ball of dough in the same way (in between two sheets of parchment paper) and roll out until it is the size of your baking pan. Put both cirkels of dough including the parchment paper in the refrigerator and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 175 ˚C (350 °F °F) Grease a 9 inch (24 cm) baking pan with a little oil or baking spray. Cover the bottom and about one inch of the sides of the the baking pan with the largest circle of dough. 
• Break up the almond paste into a bowl and add the plant based milk. Mix the almond paste with the plant based milk. Spread the almond paste evenly over the bottom layer of the dough and smooth it out with a spoon.
• Cover with the smaller circle of dough. Make sure it is covered on the edges. Use the halved almonds to decorate. Be creative! Brush the top of the cake with a bit of plant based milk. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes.