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Dutch Spiced Gingerbread Log Recipe

This recipe is rated 5.0 out of 5.

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Rectangular slices of vegan chocolate cake with plant-based cream filling and hazelnuts in a tray, beside whole hazelnuts on blue.
Recipe image

It smells like Christmas, it tastes like Christmas, and it’s inspired by a classic Dutch treat called gevulde speculaas which is traditionally enjoyed over the holiday season. But honestly, it’s a 10/10 dessert year-round!

You will need

Serves 10

Dough:

  • 100 g margarine
  • 100 g brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons oat milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • 100 g plain flour
  • 100 g hazelnut meal
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Spice blend:

  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground fennel
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Hazelnut paste:

  • 200 g de-skinned hazelnuts
  • 150 g caster sugar
  • 1 lemon, only zest + 10 ml of juice

Topping:

  • 20 whole de-skinned hazelnuts

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Directions

30 mins to prep

30 mins to bake

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan forced.

Mix cream margarine, brown sugar and oat milk using a stand mixer (starting slowly, then increasing the speed) or by hand. Add the bicarb soda, flour, hazelnut meal and salt. Mix with a paddle attachment for 2 minutes on moderate speed or use a wooden spoon or spatula to combine. Combine all your spices for the spice blend in a small bowl, then fold through until it’s well distributed through dough.

Step 2

Place the dough onto baking paper and wrap it up, placing it into the fridge while you prepare the filling. The colder the dough gets, the better!

A mound of plant-based Dutch Spiced Gingerbread dough sits on baking parchment, with a stand mixer and mixing bowl in the background.
A person in a brown jumper holds a wrapped plant-based sandwich in a kitchen with jars, fruit, and a wooden bowl on shelves—perfect for enjoying alongside Dutch Spiced Gingerbread.

Step 3

Add all the ingredients for the paste mix to a blender and blitz until it forms a paste — but not too smooth — a little texture is ideal! Transfer to a bowl.

A hand grates lemon zest into a food processor with hazelnuts and sugar, making the plant-based base for Dutch Spiced Gingerbread.
A clear glass bowl containing a mound of pale, crumbly plant-based Dutch Spiced Gingerbread dough sits on a wooden surface.

Step 4

Remove the dough from the fridge, roll it out on a sheet of baking paper to create a rectangle, approx. 20 x 30cm. Dust the rolling pin with a little flour if it is sticking.

A hand uses a rolling pin to flatten a round piece of brown plant-based Dutch Spiced Gingerbread dough on a floured surface.
A person rolls out dough with a wooden rolling pin on a floured surface to make plant-based Dutch Spiced Gingerbread, with bowls and kitchen utensils in the background.

Step 5

Place the hazelnut paste in the middle, running the length of the dough like a sausage, but leave 5cm from each edge exposed so you can fold all the dough around the paste without any gaps. Using the baking paper to help lift and fold the dough, fold the long edges over the paste and gently press them together; repeat with the short edges, encasing the hazelnut paste.

A person shaping plant-based Dutch Spiced Gingerbread dough on a floured surface, with a bowl of dough nearby on a wooden worktop.
Hands folding dough with a plant-based creamy filling using baking parchment on a wooden surface, preparing Dutch Spiced Gingerbread.
A person rolling dough for a plant-based Dutch spiced gingerbread log in brown baking parchment on a wooden surface.
Hands rolling plant-based Dutch Spiced Gingerbread dough in greaseproof paper on a wooden surface.

Step 6

Transfer it to a lined baking tray with folded edges down, and press the extra hazelnuts into the top of your log.

A hand shaping a piece of brown Dutch spiced gingerbread dough with plant-based white filling on baking parchment atop a wooden surface.

Step 7

Place the log in the oven and cook for 25 to 30 minutes or until its colour starts to deepen on the edges.

A loaf of unbaked plant-based Dutch Spiced Gingerbread dough topped with nuts rests on baking paper inside an oven.

Step 8

Remove from the oven and let cool completely before slicing.

A sliced Dutch Spiced Gingerbread loaf with a plant-based creamy filling, topped with whole nuts, sits on a wooden surface.
Sliced Dutch Spiced Gingerbread pastry with plant-based cream filling and hazelnuts on a grey plate, with glittery ornaments behind.

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Recipe: Simon Toohey

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