I never knew my grandfather, because he passed when I was around 1 years old. But I inherited his love of cooking and baking. He loved it so much that he and my grandma both had a kitchen of their own in their home so they didn’t have to deal with the other persons mess.
When I was around 17, my grandmother gifted me their cookbooks, with his annotations and handwritten recipes, one of which I’m sharing with you now. Enjoy baking!
Limburgse vlaai (to make 8-10 vlaaien)
- 2 kg all purpose flour
- 100 gr of fresh yeast (or dried yeast for 2 kilo’s flour)
- 400 gr unsalted butter
- 250 gr regular granulated sugar
- 1 ltr full fat milk
- 5 medium eggs
- pinch of salt
Make a standard yeastdough with these ingredients.
Tip: Before the first rise, portion it in to eight or ten balls, wrap in clingfilm and pop them in the freezer for a easy way of baking one vlaai whenever you feel like it. Whenever you are in the mood for baking: take out a ball of dough from the freezer, put in a bowl, let thaw overnight in the fridge, roll out, fill and bake. Easy. It is also a nice staple-dough for cinnamonrolls.
Let the dough rise, knead and rise again. Grease a 30 cm diameter round limburger vlaai-tin (traditionally made from blue-steel, but it can be made in a springform) roll out the dough, line the tin, prick a few holes in the bottom of the dough, sprinkle with a bit of dried breadcrumbs and sugar and fill with fresh fruit to your liking: apples, plums.
Bake in a hot oven (200 C) until the fruit is cooked and the dough crust has a nice colour. This takes between 20 en 40 minutes depending on your filling.
Enjoy while still lukewarm, best with some fresh whipped, unsweetened, cream.
Recipe-disclaimer: I’m not a cookbook writer and these are guidelines, not rules, all written under the assumption that you know basic techniques and culinary chemistry.
