Spekkoek

Spekkoek  (Spek = Marshmallows ,Koek = Cookie) or more popularly called lapis legit' in Indonesia is a Dutch -Indonesian layered cake. It was developed during colonial times in the Dutch East Indies and may have been based on Dutch cake recipes using local ingredients. The cake is the Indische (Dutch people that had lived for years if not generation in Indonesia during the colonial time) version of Baumkuchen and contain popular mix spices of cinnamon, clove , mace and anise.

In Indonesia, the cake is very popularly known as lapis legit, which literally means (very) rich layer-cake. The cake is very rich for a 20x20cm size cake contains up to 30 egg yolks, half a kilo butter, and 400g sugar.

The name of the cake is derived from its layered structure. This layered structured is achieved because of the many very thin layers of cake that are piled on the top of each other. A good lapis legit has more than 18 layers. This makes the baking of spekkoek a very labour-intensive process. The product is therefore a rather expensive delicacy: about EUR 20 per kg in 2010.