Banketstaaf
This traditional Dutch treat is pastry at it best - simple and delicious! It's made of golden puff pastry that's wrapped in a lemony almond filling.
This recipe only came into my life recently after repeatedly appearing in the most unexpected of places. And as it turns out, it’s in my DNA.
Just before Christmas I met three cousins from the Netherlands who were travelling Australia. The conversations turned to baking, as it generally does with me, and as they listed off some famous Dutch baking, the Banketstaaf entered my life. Or more specifically, the Banketletter, which is the same recipe that's shaped into a letter - usually an 'S' - and eaten on the 5th of December for Sinterklass eve.
Fast forward to watching Nigella's Amsterdam Christmas Special with Mum on Boxing Day, where low and behold, the queen herself made her version of Banketstaaf called Baknet Bars.
The next minute, Mum’s blowing the dust of one of her old recipe folders - you know the kind, filled with hand written recipes and cut-outs from magazines and newspapers. After thumbing through the pages she found the recipe the Oma used to make Banketsaaf when Mum was a child.
And it's that recipe you'll find below, with some tiny tweaks from me.
This is what I love about food - there are so many paths you might stumble upon and you never know where they'll take you. Indeed, they might even take you back to where it all began, like this recipe did for me.
We're all connected by food and by looking a little deeper you'll be surprised by what you might find.
Recipe tips
You can use any puff pastry you like - frozen from the shops or home made. I used rough puff here, and it is a golden, flaky delight. Check out my video on Instagram if you want to give it a go yourself.
When you're shaping the almond log, it helps if you have slightly damp hands. Run them under colder water before you start shaping the log so the filling doesn't stick to your hands.
It's best to slice the Banketstaaf while it's still warm - about 10 minutes out of the oven. Use a serrated bread knife for this and be gentle as the pastry will be very fragile, but will result in neater slices once fully cooled.
Watch my how-to video on Instagram
INGREDIENTS
1-2 sheets of puff pastry, thawed (or make your own rough puff!)
125g almond meal
125g caster sugar
2 eggs (one for the filling, one for the egg wash)
a pinch of salt
zest of half a lemon
a handful of almond flakes
icing sugar, to dust
METHOD
Place the almond meal, sugar, one egg, salt and lemon zest in a bowl and mix into a thick paste.
Bring it together with your hands and place on a sheet of baking paper to help shape the filling into a thin log the length of your pastry. (My pastry was approx 35cm long, 16cm wide.) Wrap the almond log in the baking paper and chill in the fridge for 20-30 minutes.
In a small bowl, lightly whisk the remaining egg with a dash of cold water to make your egg wash.
Pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees Celcius.
Place the chilled almond log in the centre of your pasty, and with slightly damp hands, squeeze and spread the almond filling so it is even across the length of the pastry.
Brush the left side of the pastry with egg wash and gently fold over the almond filling. It helps to have the pastry on baking paper or the plastic it was originally wrapped in.
Brush the remaining side with egg wash and roll the log over, so the join is on the bottom.
Gently press the almond flakes into the pastry and then brush all over with egg wash.
Bake for 25-25 minutes, or until golden and flakey.
Leave to cool on the tray for 10 minutes, and then use a bread knife to gently cut into slices, then leave to cool to room temperature.
Generously dust with icing sugar when you're ready to serve and enjoy!
This is best eaten on the day of baking, but will keep for up to 2 days in an airtight container.
