This high altitude Dutch butter cake, also known as boterkoek, is more like a cookie than a cake, with a rich, buttery flavor, a subtle hint of lemon, and a texture like soft shortbread. Cut into thin wedges and serve with coffee.
You might also like these recipes for appeltaart (Dutch apple pie), smørkringle (Danish almond kringle), and brunsviger (Danish coffee cake).
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What is Dutch Butter Cake?
Boterkoek is a popular dessert in the Netherlands. Although it’s called a cake, it’s really more like a soft shortbread cookie with crisp edges. It’s thin, flat and dense, very rich and buttery, and is often flavored with almond extract and fresh lemon zest. The decoration on top is simple to create by dragging a fork over the dough before baking the cake. Since it’s so rich, it’s best cut into small wedges and served with tea or coffee.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Simple Pantry Ingredients. You’ll only need a few simple ingredients to make this traditional Dutch dessert.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Granulated Sugar.
- Lemon. You’ll need a fresh lemon for some freshly grated lemon zest. The zest adds a lovely brightness to balance the richness of the butter and sugar.
- Butter. I prefer using unsalted butter, and then adding in salt.
- Vanilla + Almond Extracts.
- Eggs.
- All Purpose Flour.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Spray the inside of a 9-inch round tart pan with a removable bottom with non-stick baking spray.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingers until fragrant. Add the softened butter. Beat on medium speed for three minutes, stopping to scrape the bowl down several times, until light and fluffy.
- Add the extracts, the whole egg, the egg yolk, and the salt. Beat on medium speed for about one minute, until well combined.
- Add the flour, and mix on low speed just until combined. The dough will be thick.
- Pile the dough into the prepared pan. Use a small offset spatula (or your hands) to press/spread the dough out into an even layer.
- Use a pastry brush to brush the top of the dough with the egg white.
- Drag the tines of a fork across the top of the dough to create a lattice pattern.
- Bake the cake at 375 for about 25-30 minutes, until golden brown. At 25 minutes, the center will be softer and slightly less done, if that’s how you like it. I baked mine for a full 30 minutes for a deeper color on top.
- Set the pan on a cooling rack and cool completely, at least two hours, before removing the sides of the pan and cutting into wedges. Cut into 16 thin wedges with a sharp non-serrated knife.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
Store leftover slices of boterkoek in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 3-6 months.
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High Altitude Dutch Butter Cake (Boterkoek)
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment
- 9-inch Round Tart Pan with Removable Bottom (or a 9-inch springform pan)
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp almond extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- 1 large egg white
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Spray the inside of a 9-inch round tart pan with a removable bottom with non-stick baking spray.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingers until fragrant. Add the softened butter. Beat on medium speed for three minutes, stopping to scrape the bowl down several times, until light and fluffy.
- Add the extracts, the whole egg, the egg yolk, and the salt. Beat on medium speed for about one minute, until well combined.
- Add the flour, and mix on low speed just until combined. The dough will be thick.
- Pile the dough into the prepared pan. Use a small offset spatula (or your hands) to press/spread the dough out into an even layer.
- Use a pastry brush to brush the top of the dough with the egg white.
- Drag the tines of a fork across the top of the dough to create a lattice pattern.
- Bake the cake at 375 for about 25-30 minutes, until golden brown. At 25 minutes, the center will be softer and slightly less done, if that's how you like it. I baked mine for a full 30 minutes for a deeper color on top.
- Set the pan on a cooling rack and cool completely, at least two hours, before removing the sides of the pan and cutting into wedges. Cut into 16 thin wedges with a sharp non-serrated knife.
Notes
https://curlygirlkitchen.com/
Absolutely love you site, and enjoyed reading about your trip to Scotland, was there a few years ago and loved it.
AMAZING Dutch Butter Cake. Came out perfect at 8200 ft and was excellent with some BIvouac Coffee. Made it two days in a row so far…. 🙂 Gave a slice to my dutch friend and he said it reminded him of his childhood in the Netherlands! Thanks for the recipe Heather!
This makes me so happy to hear!