A Slice of Dutch Culture: 5 Cake Traditions You Need to Know

Cake is hugely popular in The Netherlands ; that’s no secret. There is always cake to be eaten, whether you mark a birthday, a wedding, or any occasion. From the sweet and crunchy ‘beschuit met muisjes’ heralding a new Dutchie’s arrival into the world to the bright orange ‘tompouces’ that color King’s Day, cakes and pastries occupy a prime spot in the Dutch culinary calendar. The Dutch are willing to deal out cake whenever they can, even at the least observable of events. It’s not all about the taste but about making particular occasions more memorable.

The Netherlands has several cake-related traditions related to holidays, celebrations, and occasions. Here are five of these important Dutch cake traditions:

Taart voor Verjaardagen (Birthday Cake Tradition)

In the Netherlands, birthdays are celebrated with great ceremony, and ‘cake’ is the focal point of the festivities. Unlike in most other cultures, the birthday boy or girl is expected to provide the cake, not the guests. The birthday person is also expected to bring pastry for their colleagues at work, and the kids bring goodies for their classmates! A unique Dutch tradition is that the guests wish congratulations not just to the birthday person but also to the family members, which makes the atmosphere extra warm and hospitable.

Beschuit met Muisjes (Newborn Celebration)

When a baby is born in Holland, it’s traditional to serve beschuit met muisjes—a crispy, round rusk topped with butter and sugar-coated anise seeds. The color of the muisjes indicates the child’s gender: pink and white for a girl and blue and white for a boy (ahhh). The tradition has been observed since at least the 17th century, and it’s a wish for fertility and good health. Anise seeds have been credited with healing powers, such as producing milk for mothers once the child is born. Beschuit met muisjes is served to guests, and when there are older siblings, they bring this Dutch cake to school to be passed around with their classmates and teachers.

Orange Tompouce (King’s Day)

The tompouce is rectangular and made of puff pastry cream filling layers with a special shiny icing. It is a popular pastry in the Netherlands. Traditionally, it has pink icing but gets the national color orange on Koningsdag (King’s Day). The orange one is called the Oranje Tompouce. It has become a whimsical, if not very popular, tradition for the tompouce to be served on King’s Day. Adding to the fun is that the pastry is a bit messy to eat, which, if you’ve ever witnessed or been part of, seems fitting for the kind of day it is. For most Dutchies, the tompouce is a special treat everyone looks forward to around King’s Day.

Oliebollen and Appelbeignets (New Year’s Eve)

Two classic Dutch fried sweet items are created at year’s end: oliebollen and appelbeignets. Oliebollen (literally “oil balls” ) are round balls that are deep-fried with oil; sometimes they are empty with rich dough containing currants or raisins and liberally sprinkled with powdered sugar, whereas apple fritters are considered another New Year’s Eve sweet. Appelbeignets are apple fritters but never cakes traditionally eaten on New Year’s Eve in the Netherlands. These sweet fried treats will be enjoyed throughout December, but it’s on New Year’s Eve when they are gobbled up the most. The origin of these treats can be traced back to the Germanic goddess Perchta. It was said that Perchta rode around the Netherlands with evil spirits looking for food and would cut into the belly of anyone she encountered to steal their food. However, if you ate oliebollen, the fat in the dough made it so that her sword would slide off.

Limburgse vlaai (for many occassions)

Vlaai is a cake from the Limburg area in the Netherlands, of which Limburgers pride themselves in their importance and wealth. The unique thing about this Dutch cake is that it is different from a pie by a thinner crust made using leavened dough, which is filled with sweetness like cherries, apricots, or rice pudding. The vlaai crust is usually less rich than American pastry crust as it uses lower amounts of butter and milk, yielding a more tender texture. Vlaai is the cornerstone of the Limburg culinary tradition and is often served on important occasions such as birthdays and funerals (we did say cake for all occasions).