Updated 05.29.25
The lemon zest gets rubbed into the sugar before anything else; a small step that releases the oils and works the fragrance into every grain. The egg goes in next and gets beaten for a full five minutes until white, thick, and nearly tripled in volume. That air is the structure of the eierkoek; the flour folds in carefully afterward to preserve it. Poured onto the baking sheet in four rounds, they bake for about ten minutes until just set, pale on top and barely golden at the edge.
Four eierkoeken is exactly the right yield for two people; to eat plain as a cookie, with butter and sugar, alongside fruit and cream as a simple dessert, or in any of the savory or sweet combinations listed in the post. Dairy-free by nature, easy to scale up without adjusting anything, and done in under half an hour. A Dutch kitchen favorite that deserves to travel further.
As far as I can remember, eierkoeken are relatively popular, but nobody is really talking about them. It’s like a given, that people buy or bake them and enjoy them, and . . . they are often part of a kids lunch. The story goes that these eierkoeken cakes had a spike in popularity in the early 2000s, when a Dutch author/weight loss consultant suggested they were a healthy snack. That was only based on the fact that they’re made without butter and thus have a low fat content.
As a trained nutritionist, I cannot say that I agree with that; a healthy snack should be more than the absence of fat. But it does not surprise me that it became popular for a while for people who were trying to lose wait, another fad to chase without logic, science and thus no result.
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Key Ingredients in This Recipe
You’ll find the complete list of ingredients and exact quantities in the recipe below.
- Sugar
- Eggs
- All-purpose flour
- Lemon zest
- Baking powder
The instructions for making the Dutch Eierkoeken are simple and you can easily double or triple this recipe, no adjustments necessary, other than multiplying.
How to Make Dutch Eierkoeken – Egg Cakes
Step 1 – Rub lemon zest into the sugar. Add egg and whip until foamy and light in color.
Step 2 – Mix flour, baking powder and salt and add this to sugar-egg mix and fold into a smooth batter. Do this carefully, you don’t want to lose any precious air you just whipped into the sugar-egg mixture.
Step 3 – Pour batter in baking sheet lined with parchment paper in 4 eierkoeken, as far apart as possible.
Step 4 – Bake for about 10 minutes in a 375°F oven. You will just see the perimeter of the eierkoeken turn light brown. The top remains pale, but is done.
When you bake them a few minutes longer, you’ll get crunchy brown edges, but unfortunately it also creates a drier texture. Allow the egg cakes to cool and peel them off the parchment paper.
How to Serve Dutch Eierkoeken
- Plain, just the way they come from the oven; eat them as a cookie.
- As a dessert, with fresh fruits and a dollop of cream or ice cream.
- With butter and sugar.
- Savory combination with cheese and cold cuts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Oh boy, that’s unfortunate. I can list a few reason why this may have happened
1. The sugar-egg mixture was not beaten long enough and thus not enough air was whipped into the mix.
2. When you fold or mix the flour into the sugar-egg mixture, make sure you do that with carefully. You spent about 5 minutes mixing in air, so don’t undo that when adding the flour.
3. Check the expiration date of the baking powder. It can lose its power. You can check that by adding boiling water to a teaspoon of baking powder. If it bubbles violently, your powder is still OK If it doesn’t, your baking powder needs to go.
This is a definite ‘no’. Lemon juice adds moisture and thus the eierkoeken will not come out the same way, not in texture nor in flavor.
1. Use orange zest instead of lemon zest.
2. Replace some of the all-purpose flour with cocoa powder.
3. Replace 10% of the sugar with vanilla sugar (=regular granulated sugar infused with vanilla beans). Vanilla sugar is a retail product and I am used to using this in The Netherlands. It is less popular here in the US, but search for it on Amazon and you will find it.
4. Add some cinnamon instead of lemon zest.
5. I am sure that you could add fresh fruit or dried fruit into the batter, with a few tweaks, but I have not tried it myself.
1. Homemade eierkoeken are best stored at room temperature in an airtight container. Place a piece of parchment paper between the eierkoeken, so they don’t stick together. Store them like this for 4-5 days.
2. Eierkoeken can be store in the freezer as well and will stay ‘fresh’ for about 2 months. Still use the parchment paper, so you can take out as many or as few as you want.
Other Dutch Cookie Recipes to Try
Dutch Eierkoeken – Egg Cakes
Pin Recipe FacebookIngredients
- 1/2 lemon, zest only
- 1 egg
- 50 grams granulated sugar
- 50 grams all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, rub lemon zest into the sugar. Add the egg and beat it until white and thickened. This will take about 5 minutes.
- Mix flour, baking powder and salt.
- Add flour mixture to sugar-egg mix and fold into a smooth batter. Carefully, you don't want to lose any precious air you just whipped into the sugar-egg mixture.
- Divide batter in 4 eierkoeken on your baking sheet. As far apart as possible.
- Bake for about 10 minutes. When bottom starts to change color, the eierkoeken are ready.
- Allow to cool and take off the parchment paper.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.