I’m so excited to share this delicious recipe for Dutch Butter Cake (aka Boterkoek). It’s a dense, cookie-like cake, with the most addictive chewy edges, similar to shortbread in that it uses LOTS of butter and no leavening. This version makes two cakes – so you can give one to a friend or stash one in your freezer for later. It’s flavored with both almond extract AND vanilla extract and uses salted butter for a simple but perfect salty-sweet, buttery flavor.
I was reminded about this recipe when I got a surprise batch in the mail from my cousin last December. My Aunt Viki (and my go-to cooking expert) has been making this butter cake for as long as I can remember. She originally got the recipe for “Dutch Almond Coffee Cake” from a local magazine from Amherst, NH.
But whether you call it butter cake, coffee cake, or Boterkoek (its Dutch name), this delicious almond-flavored dessert is like nothing you’ve ever had.
It’s dense and chewy like a cookie, and it’s like a softer shortbread. It reminds me of marzipan in flavor, and you bake and slice it like a cake.
And the best part? This recipe yields TWO cakes, which means you can keep one for yourself and share the other!
Plus, because it’s really more like a cookie than a cake, you can even stick it in the mail to send to your friends and family for the holidays because it holds up so well.
The key ingredients
This Dutch Butter Cake is simple, so it’s important to use high-quality ingredients to get the best flavor possible. Here’s what I recommend.
First, use high-quality salted butter. Yes, salted! I use Irish butter. I know it may sound blasphemous to some bakers who normally use unsalted butter, but I think salted butter adds a delicious, slight savory flavor that complements the sweetness from the sugar and the earthy richness of the vanilla and almond flavors.
Speaking of the vanilla and almond, use high-quality extracts. I used both almond extract AND vanilla extract for this recipe.
Other than the butter and extracts, you’ll need an egg and an egg yolk, sliced almonds, flour, and sugar. That’s it!
And since this recipe yields two cakes, I always keep one and give the other away or bring to a holiday party. When I bake to share, I always use the best ingredients I can find, so using Nielsen-Massey extracts enabled me to really step up my baking game with this cake!
Tips and Tricks for making Dutch Butter Cake (Boterkoek)
This cake is easy, easy, easy. WAY easier than scooping out individual cookies, and more forgiving than traditional cakes. Here are some tips and tricks for success.
- Use an electric mixer– either handheld or standing. The dough is thick and is difficult to stir by hand.
- Once you’re done mixing, scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula down and use a butter knife, or other knife, to cut the dough roughly in half. This will ensure you can easily divide it into two equal portions.
- Press the batter into the cake pans with your hands– since it’s so thick, it’s difficult to “spread.” If it sticks to your hands, get them slightly wet with water, which will help the dough not stick as much!
- Once you’ve sprinkled the almonds on top, use your hands to press the almonds into the surface. This will ensure they stick and don’t fall off as much, and if they get coated in the egg yolk mixture, great! They’ll have a shiny, toasty surface on top.
- Finally, allow the cakes to COMPLETELY COOL in the pans. This will make removing it a piece of cake (hah), as well as make them easier to slice.
Help! I don’t have 8-inch cake pans!
I recommend using 8-inch cake pans. Why? The cakes will be the perfect thickness, which means the texture will be chewy and moist, and they won’t crumble apart as easily as if they are thinner. And the triangles are so cute!
That said, there are some alternatives.
- You can use 9-inch circular pans in a pinch. The cakes will be a little bit thinner and may crumble apart more easily. You may need to bake for a few less minutes. The texture will be slightly less chewy and a tad drier. But still DELICIOUS.
- You can use two loaf pans. The dimensions of a standard loaf pan are 9×5, which means an area of 45 square inches, which is close to the area of an 8-inch cake pan (about 50 square inches). Keep in mind, the chewy edges will be a bit less equitable, as you’ll have corner pieces and center pieces. Again, still delicious.
How to store and/or freeze the butter cake for later
This butter cake holds up extremely well at room temperature in an airtight container for about three days.
You can also refrigerate it for longer- it will last about a week in the fridge in an airtight container and is delicious cold!
To freeze the cake, you have two options. Both will last about three months in the freezer.
- Freeze the whole cake: Take the WHOLE cake, after it has cooled but before cutting, and wrap it in plastic wrap. Then, stick it back in the cake pan and freeze as is. This will protect it from getting dented or damaged as it sits in your freezer.
- Flash freeze the sliced cake: Cut the cake, place the pieces (not touching) on a baking sheet, and place in your freezer for about 20-30 minutes. This will flash freeze the pieces, and you can now transfer them to an airtight container or zip top bag and store in the freezer, which enables you to remove individual pieces when you need them.
Other easy dessert recipes
- Easy Meyer Lemon Bars
- Norwegian Butter Cookies
- Easy Baklava
- Easy Apple Crisp
- Fresh Ginger Date Cookies
I love baking this Dutch Butter Cake all year long – its perfect for company, easier to make than cookies, and is great at the holidays as well. I love making it with my kids – they love to sprinkle the almonds on top! My family loves digging into this Dutch Butter Cake while decorating our Christmas tree, after eating tortilla soup. Our yearly tradition.
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Dutch Butter Cake (Boterkoek) with Almonds
Equipment
- Two 8" cake pans
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb. salted butter softened to room temperature (2 sticks)
- 1.5 cups sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds (or slivered)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Cream together the 1/2 lb. salted butter and 1.5 cups sugar until fluffy with an electric mixer on high speed for about 1 minute.
- Add the 1 large egg and mix on high speed for about another minute.
- Add the 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon almond extract and mix until combined.
- Add the 2 cups all-purpose flour and mix until combined. The dough will be thick and sticky. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl to place all the dough in the center of the bowl. Use a butter knife to cut down the center of the dough, to divide into two equal portions.
- Mix together the 2 tablespoons water and the 1 egg yolk with a fork until smooth. Set aside.
- Place the 2 dough portions in two 8-inch cake pans (see notes about greasing). Press down with your hands, or using an offset spatula, to flatten and smooth out the dough as best you can, filling the bottom of the cake pan all the way to the edges. If the dough is sticky, try getting your hands a little wet with water and then pressing it in.
- Brush the tops of each cake with the egg yolk mixture. I recommend brushing each of them 2-3 times, allowing the egg to be absorbed into the top layer while you alternate back and forth, using all or almost all of the yolk mixture.
- Sprinkle the top of each cake with the 1/2 cup sliced almonds (1/4 cup for each cake). Press the almonds down gently, so they are in a single layer and are adhered to the top of the cake. It's OK, and actually a good thing, if the egg yolk mixture gets on top of the almonds.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-40 minutes, or until deeply golden on the edges and slightly golden all across the top.
- For best results, cool in pan for at least 45 minutes (do cool for at LEAST 10 minutes or so, so it doesn't fall apart when you take it out). Remove and cut each cake into 12-16 wedges, depending on how big you want them. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days, or in the fridge for 7-10 days.
Notes
- If using unsalted butter, I recommend adding 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt to the batter when you add the sugar.
- If you don’t have 8-inch cake pans, 9-inch can be used. The cakes will come out thinner and may crumble more easily but are still delicious! Bake for 25-35 minutes, as they may need less time. You can also use rectangular loaf pans, and cut into bars instead of wedges.
- If using nonstick cake pans, leave them ungreased. If using other cake pans, the original instructions say to leave them ungreased, but a few readers have commented that the cake has stuck for them. Greasing the pan with butter certainly won’t hurt, so I recommend greasing the pans if they aren’t nonstick just in case.
- For a nut-free version, omit the almonds on top and omit the almond extract, unless you know it’s allergen-free. Use the tines of a fork to carve lines on top of the cake before brushing the egg wash mixture on top, then bake as directed.
- Freezer directions: Freeze the cake whole, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, nestled into the cake pan, then thaw at room temperature for 12-24 hours. Alternatively, you can flash freeze the sliced cake- place the slices on a baking sheet and freeze for 20 minutes, then place the slices into an airtight container or plastic bag and store in the freezer. Lasts for 3 months in the freezer.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
Jill
Wonderful and delicious!! So easy to make. Took it to a family gathering. They all loved it!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Norwegian Dude
My wife is a real Dutch-girl. She used this recipe and said this is REAL Boeterkoek! Just like the Netherlands.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad to hear she liked it!
Kathy
I made this for my bookclub, and it received rave reviews. I put the entire dough into one 9″ pan, and it was perfect! Thank you!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! Great to know it worked well for you in one 9-inch pan- I’ll have to try that sometime!
Berzsa
It was way too sweet. I will make it again possibly with little more than half of the sugar called for. I t was a different texture than I expected, rather chewy, a good flavor though.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Feel free to experiment with taking the sugar down a notch if you like. However, it may affect that chewy texture. This is definitely more like a cookie than a traditional “cake” and is meant to be sweet. Hope that helps!
Christine
Could I cut down the sugar in this recipe?
Elizabeth Lindemann
I personally have not tried it, so I can’t speak to how it will affect the outcome of the recipe. That said, I’m all about experimenting – please let us know how it comes out if you try it!
Laura
Delectable, easy, and a crowd pleaser! This is a keeper!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Kim
Can I make this with almond flour instead?
Elizabeth Lindemann
Almond flour can’t really be switched easily with all purpose flour – it’s much heavier and has much more fat than all purpose, and acts very differently when baking. If you’re looking for gluten-free, while I haven’t tried it, I think a 1:1 gluten free all purpose flour blend would work well in this recipe. But to use almond flour, I’m afraid you’d need a completely different recipe. Hope that helps!
Kala Devi
Hi. Thank you for the wonderful recipe. Looking forward to trying it. I have a small conventional oven which can’t fit two 8-inch pan. Can I put all the dough in one 9-inch pan instead? If can, what will be the baking time & temperature?
Elizabeth Lindemann
Hi! I would do two 9-inch pans before, which I’ve done with good success. The cake comes out thinner and needs less time to bake, so just keep an eye on it. Hope that helps and hope you like it!
Pat Kennedy
I found this recipe while was preparing to make your recipe on eggplant parmigiana (left review there). My husband is a dessert most guy. I like to find recipes using what I have on hand. I had time to make it before I made the eggplant recipe. It really went together quickly and was cooling before dinner. I offered my husband a small slice to sample and he approved it and had two slices with melted chocolate on top. Asked next day for repeat of dessert serving. Glad I found this website and will continue to bookmark recipes. Thank you.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! Thanks so much for leaving such thoughtful comments :-)
Dee
If I could give this recipe 10 Stars, I would! Oh my gosh, this is one of the very BEST I have ever had. The cake is moist, chewy, and simply D E L I S H ! The best part is that it was so easy to make! This is the kind of recipe I was looking for. Thanks so much!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Paula
My Gram made this every time we were there, with all kinds of stuff in or on them. One time it would be her homemade peach preserves, the next time we got almond flour with cherry 🍒 preserves or anything else that she could think of! We thank y’all for the memories as we (my Honeybuns and I) sure miss my Gram!!
Elizabeth Lindemann
Aw, glad this brought back sweet memories of your Gram! Thanks for sharing this :-)
Judah Henderson
Hello,
I am so excited to make this recipe. I just had a bite of a Dutch Butter Cake and I loved it! I will leave a comment after I make this delicious recipe. Thank you for sharing!
Elizabeth Lindemann
Hope you love it!
Samantha
Turned out great but I used pam baking spray to grease the cake pan.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Barbara Stephan
Sorry, but this ended up tasting like a dry soft sugar cookie for me. I live in a very dry climate so baked goods usually don’t need as much time to bake here. I baked it for a iittle over 20 minutes and it was still over baked. I would also like to suggest that unless you are using a nonstick dish, it is a good idea to grease or butter the pan. My “koek” stuck in some places in the pan. I will try the recipe again at some point but will make a couple of changes next time.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Interesting! It’s never stuck for me, but you’re the second person to comment about it sticking in a pan that isn’t already non-stick, so I’m going to go ahead and edit the recipe to suggest greasing it. I appreciate you bringing this to my attention. As for the texture, this cake is akin to a sugar cookie, but never is dry to me – it always comes out very chewy. I wonder if your oven runs hot? Or are you by any chance using an electric oven? I used gas and electric can sometimes cook things faster. Anyway, better luck next time, and I’m going to go edit that recipe card now.
Trina
I grew up eating Boterkoek and was so excited to try this recipe. Could you explain why you instruct not to grease the pans? The cake is now completely stuck in one of my favorite fat daddio 8 inch cake pans. Perhaps you used non stick pans? I would clarify that non stick pans are needed for this recipe.
Elizabeth Lindemann
This is strange! I did use nonstick, but my aunt who gave me the recipe said ungreased pans, and there is so much butter in it that I’m surprised it stuck. I’m going to check with my aunt on this. Sorry you had a frustrating experience with this recipe. I think next time you make this (or anyone else reading this!) you can absolutely grease the pans with a little butter to help with any potential sticking. I’ll let you know when I have a better answer for this!
Candy
Could Almond flour be used for a gluten free option?
Elizabeth Lindemann
I’ve never tried this, and as a general rule I don’t recommend substituting almond flour for all purpose because it’s very different in terms of weight, fat content, etc. I’d try a gluten free flour, like Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur, that’s meant for substituting all purpose. That said… this recipe IS very forgiving and because it’s such a dense cookie-like cake, I think it might be worth trying almond flour. And if you try it – please let me know how it comes out!
Terri
Is this 129.74 cal per serving? It is soooo yummy! I used a 9 inch pan and forgot to lower the baking time so my kids said it was more like a cookie with crunchy edges. We all still loved it. That butter flavor is just…..mmmm!
Elizabeth Lindemann
Assuming each cake is cut into 16 pieces, yes, I calculated it at about 130 calories per piece! Keep in mind I use an API to automatically calculate nutrition info so it’s my best estimate based on that :-) Soooo glad you liked it! It’s my favorite dessert ever!