RemembeRED - Cooking with Oma

I am linking up again with RemembeRED and Write on Edge.... 

Take me back…whether to a month ago or decades ago.

Share with me a special recipe, but don’t just list out ingredients.

Take me there…in 500 words or less.

Come back on Tuesday, November 1st to link up.

I was raised in a Dutch household. My parents both immigrated as tweens and met and married on Australian soil. Growing up we ate meat pies, enjoyed the beach and said 'G'day' to each other, we thought we were true blue Aussies. But, we were not. I used to get liverwurst sandwiches in my lunch box, we celebrated Sinterklaas on December 5th and enjoyed talking loudly and eating a lot. It would appear that being Dutch was far more than a geographical point of reference.


As a child, my 'Little Oma' {grandmother} lived next door, my 'Big Oma' lived interstate. There were lots of advantages to having an Oma living right next door; lollies by the fistful, salted licorice on the dressing table and a good place to avoid my mum and her long list of chores to do.

On Saturdays, my Oma liked to bake, in case someone visited on a Sunday after church. She was famous for her Boterkoek which is a Dutch buttery shortbread kind of cake. I was often called upon to help her make it. I loved the chance to cook with her. 


Boterkoek is a simple cake, but these are often the best don't you think? We would melt the butter and mix in sugar, flour, almond essence and eggs. We would check that the dough was soft but not crumbly and moist but not greasy. The perfect dough was soft and golden and smelt amazing. We always had to try a little piece of it to make sure it was sweet enough. 


I loved the fluted pan she used to bake the Boterkoek in, it made the prettiest slices of cake I had ever seen. When we had pressed the dough into the pan, we would take blanched almonds and press them into the dough snugly in the scallop of each of the flutes so that each slice would get a delicious roasted nut. Once the egg glaze was smeared on, the cake was placed into the oven and it was time for a cup of tea. This is when Oma would sit in her chair and sigh heavily, take a few sips of tea and then presently fall asleep. Leaving me, all of 10 years old, to wash the dishes and smell the exact moment the delicious cake was ready.


I don't remember my Oma having all that many visitors, but the Boterkoek always ran out. This could explain why she wasn't actually all that 'Little' for a 'Little Oma'.


I wish I knew what happened to that fluted pie tray. I like to think that someone in our family still uses it. I have a different baking tray of my Oma's though. I am told she actually brought it with her when she travelled the many miles by boat from Holland to Australia. It is pressed steel. It has a great pattern on it and is black from years and years of faithful service to our family line. I am honoured to have it. When I use it to bake biscuits that I make with my girls I am proud to be passing on the legacy of baking to another generation.