Fans of cocoa and speculaas spices
If you’re looking for a distinct cocoa flavour for adult guests, check the chocolate’s cocoa percentage rather than judging it by its dark packaging.
Who are these options for?
Hosts who want to serve quickly
For a platter you can serve straight away, ready-made biscuits are the convenient choice. With separate chocolate, you can decide how much to serve, but you’ll need to portion it yourself.
Shoppers checking allergens for guests
When sharing a platter, check the ingredients and allergens in both the speculaas and any chocolate you serve with it. Also look for statements that a product may contain other allergens.
What should you look for when choosing?
First decide whether you want to serve a ready-made biscuit or pair speculaas with chocolate yourself. Then choose how strong a cocoa flavour you want, and check the packaging before sharing the platter with your guests.
Speculaas with dark chocolate
When to choose it: You want to serve one ready-made biscuit product and can check the current packaging to see whether the chocolate suits your taste.
What to consider: The word ‘dark’ alone doesn’t tell you the chocolate’s cocoa percentage. Check availability before the party, too.
Speculaas with separate dark chocolate
When to choose it: You want to pick a bar that states its cocoa percentage and decide how much chocolate to serve alongside the biscuits.
What to consider: You’ll be buying and portioning two separate products; the bar’s cocoa percentage says nothing about the ingredients in the speculaas.
Milk chocolate with speculaas
When to choose it: Your guests prefer milk chocolate with a speculaas flavour, and a high cocoa percentage isn’t essential.
What to consider: The Verkade option described by Jumbo is milk chocolate with 10% biscuit crumbs; the milk chocolate contains at least 29% cocoa solids.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| Cocoa flavour | Check the stated cocoa percentage of the chocolate component and whether it is dark or milk chocolate. | If I want a distinct cocoa flavour alongside the speculaas spices, a dark appearance alone isn’t enough to base my choice on. Around 42% of consumers put this flavour preference first. |
| Serving and portioning | Compare a ready-to-share biscuit product with separate chocolate that you’ll need to break up and portion yourself. | If guests should be able to help themselves straight away, I want to keep preparation to a minimum. For around 33% of consumers, ease of serving matters most. |
| Ingredients and allergens | Check the current ingredients list and any statements about allergens the product may contain. Do this for both the biscuits and the chocolate. | As the platter is being shared, I want to check which ingredients are relevant to my guests before serving. Around 25% of consumers put this check first. |
Common mistakes
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Assuming dark packaging means a high cocoa percentage
The word ‘bitter’ doesn’t tell you what percentage of cocoa the chocolate contains. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre points out that there is no set cocoa or cocoa butter percentage associated with the terms ‘bitter’ and ‘extra bitter’ for chocolate.
Look for an explicit cocoa percentage or a statement of the minimum cocoa solids on the packaging.
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Serving a shared platter without checking the allergens
Speculaas and chocolate can contain different allergens. A label such as ‘vegan’ doesn’t mean a product is free from ingredients such as wheat, soya or nuts.
Read the current labels on both products and keep the packaging to hand in case guests ask about the ingredients.
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Relying on an old product listing when planning your party
Albert Heijn listed a previously available speculaas with dark chocolate as discontinued. A product page like this doesn’t guarantee you’ll be able to buy the biscuits for your party.
Check the current availability of the products you want to serve shortly before buying them.
Brands and retailers to explore
Albert Heijn / Delicata
An option for pairing plain speculaas with chocolate of your choice: Albert Heijn lists different types of speculaas and a Delicata bar with 85% cocoa.
- The Delicata listing states at least 85% cocoa solids, so you can check the percentage of the separate chocolate.
- The bar and speculaas are separate products. Check the current label on both, including the allergen information.
Verkade
The option described by Jumbo pairs milk chocolate with speculaas crumbs, for those who prefer this type of chocolate.
- Jumbo states that this option contains 10% biscuit crumbs and 0.25% speculaas spices.
- According to Jumbo, the milk chocolate contains at least 29% cocoa solids. The product contains milk, soya and wheat, among other ingredients; also check which allergens it may contain.
Lotus Biscoff
Lotus Bakeries describes Biscoff as a crunchy biscuit with a caramelised flavour that you can serve alongside separate chocolate if you like.
- Using a separate biscuit means you can decide how much chocolate to put on each platter.
- Biscoff isn’t speculaas with a stated cocoa percentage; check the ingredients and current availability before planning to serve it at a party.
Jumbo
Jumbo lists both Bakkers Speculaas and a Verkade option with milk chocolate and speculaas crumbs.
- Jumbo’s listing for Bakkers Speculaas states 600 g and around 48 portions, which can help when planning a platter.
- Plain speculaas doesn’t include a separate chocolate component of your choice. According to Jumbo, this option contains wheat and gluten and may contain almonds and nuts.
Lidl
Lidl Netherlands lists a 90% cocoa dark chocolate bar as a separate option to serve with speculaas.
- The product listing states 90% cocoa and a 125 g pack.
- Lidl marks this bar as ‘in-store only’. Check your local range if you want to put this combination together.
ALDI / Biscotto
ALDI Netherlands lists Biscotto Bakkersspeculaas as a biscuit base that you can pair with chocolate separately.
- The listed pack contains 600 g and 48 biscuits, which can help when planning a platter to share.
- This is a speculaas base, not ready-made chocolate speculaas. Choose and check the chocolate separately if cocoa flavour matters to you.
Products for pairing speculaas with separate chocolate
These products are suited to putting together your own platter of speculaas and separate chocolate. The bars provide the chocolate component; the almond speculaas is a separate biscuit base. Check the current labels on your chosen combination before serving.
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Lindt Excellence 90% Cocoa Supreme Dark, 100 g
A separate chocolate bar for anyone who wants to check the cocoa percentage of the chocolate served with speculaas.
The product name states 90% cocoa and 100 g. Buy speculaas separately and check both labels for allergens.
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Lindt Excellence 85% Cocoa Dark Chocolate, 100 g
A separate chocolate bar for a platter where you portion out the biscuits and chocolate yourself.
The product name states 85% cocoa and 100 g. Add speculaas separately and check the current allergen information for both products.
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Lindt Excellence 78% Cacao, 100 g
A separate chocolate option for choosing how much to serve with the speculaas.
The product name states 78% cocoa and 100 g. You’ll need separate biscuits to serve with the chocolate; check the labels on both products.
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g'woon almond speculaas, 400 g
A speculaas base to serve separately alongside your chosen chocolate.
The product name states almond and 400 g. You’ll need a separate product to pair it with chocolate; check the allergens on both packs.
Frequently asked questions
Is ‘dark’ or ‘bitter’ enough to identify a high cocoa percentage?
No. Check the percentage on the chocolate packaging. According to the Netherlands Nutrition Centre, the terms ‘bitter’ and ‘extra bitter’ don’t indicate a set cocoa percentage. For example, Albert Heijn explicitly states 85% cocoa and at least 85% cocoa solids for its Delicata bar.
Which allergens should I check before sharing chocolate and speculaas?
Read the current ingredients list and any statements about allergens the product may contain on both packs. For the Verkade option described, Jumbo lists milk, soya and wheat, among other ingredients, and possible traces of nuts, almonds and hazelnuts. The information may differ for other biscuits or bars.
Does a high cocoa percentage automatically make chocolate a healthier choice?
No. A cocoa percentage describes the chocolate component and isn’t, on its own, a measure of the nutritional value of your party snack. Use the percentage to choose the flavour you want, and check the nutritional information if you’d like to compare products by their nutritional values.
Can I have Lidl’s 90% bar delivered for my party?
Plan to visit a shop for this bar: Lidl Netherlands marks it as ‘in-store only’ and says it doesn’t offer a grocery delivery service. Check your store’s range and availability before including the bar on your platter.