Who is this for?

Home bakers making their own oliebollen

You want to know whether breakfast cake can replace the batter. Albert Heijn Allerhande’s oliebollen recipe uses flour and yeast and leaves the batter to rise; breakfast cake is for a different purpose.

Shoppers looking to serve something extra

You’re looking for a separate cake to serve alongside the oliebollen, perhaps a plain or ginger variety. Peijnenburg and Koek & Bakker offer these flavour options, but that doesn’t make them ingredients for oliebollen batter.

Shoppers who want to compare labels

When choosing breakfast cake, you’re particularly interested in ingredients, sugars, sweeteners or allergens. Check the packaging for the exact variety: for example, Peijnenburg lists xylitol in its plain variety with no added sugars.

What should you look for when choosing?

Start by making a shopping list for the oliebollen recipe you’re going to follow. Only then, if you wish, choose a breakfast cake to serve separately, based on its flavour and nutritional information.

What to consider What to check when shopping Who is this important to?
Ingredients for oliebollen batter Check your shopping list against the recipe you’ve chosen and make sure you have flour and yeast; also allow for the stated proving time. If I’m making oliebollen myself, I want to buy ingredients that I can use to make and prove the batter. Around 50% of consumers prioritise these basic batter ingredients.
Flavour of the breakfast cake Choose between plain and a variety with, for example, ginger or raisins, and serve the cake separately. When looking for an extra cake to serve alongside the oliebollen, I’m mainly interested in the flavour I want to serve. Around 30% of consumers prioritise flavour.
Breakfast cake label Compare the ingredients and nutritional information for the exact variety, and read the allergen information on the packaging. If sugars, sweeteners or allergens matter to my choice, I want to be able to assess the variety by checking its label. For an estimated 20% of consumers, this is the top priority.

Common mistakes

  • Thinking a premium breakfast cake can be used as the base for oliebollen batter

    Words such as ‘premium’ and ‘baker’s’ describe the way a cake is presented, not the role of flour and yeast in an oliebollen recipe. Breakfast cake alone won’t give you the basic ingredients for the batter.

    First, buy the ingredients for your chosen oliebollen recipe. Then decide whether you’d also like to serve a breakfast cake on the side.

  • Relying only on ‘no added sugars’

    This claim doesn’t tell you what other ingredients a variety contains. For example, Peijnenburg lists xylitol and chicory root fibre among the ingredients in its plain variety with no added sugars.

    Read the full ingredients list and nutritional information per 100 g for the variety you want to buy.

  • Frying oliebollen until they’re too dark

    The Netherlands Nutrition Centre advises frying oliebollen until golden brown, not dark, and using oil rather than solid deep-frying fat.

    Check the oil temperature with a thermometer and follow the cooking time in your chosen recipe.

  • Skipping the label on a cake served on the side

    Even breakfast cake that you don’t add to the batter may contain ingredients that matter to your choice. PLUS lists rye and wheat in its Korenlanders Bakkers plain breakfast cake and notes that it may contain nuts.

    Check the current allergen information for the exact variety you’re serving.

Brands to consider

Peijnenburg

Worth considering if you want to serve breakfast cake separately and choose between different flavours or varieties.

  • Peijnenburg lists rye flour and spices in its plain variety; its plain variety with no added sugars contains xylitol, among other ingredients.
  • Ingredients and allergen information vary by variety. Check the packaging; none of these features make the cake suitable for oliebollen batter.

PLUS Korenlanders

Offers a 500 g plain Bakkers breakfast cake for anyone looking for a separate plain cake.

  • PLUS lists rye flour, rye malt flour, wheat starch and wheat flour among the ingredients in this variety.
  • The name ‘Bakkers’ doesn’t make this a substitute for the flour and yeast in oliebollen batter; remember to read the allergen information too.

Koek & Bakker

A good option if you specifically want to serve ginger breakfast cake alongside oliebollen.

  • ALDI describes its 465 g ginger variety as an unsliced breakfast cake with pieces of ginger.
  • This is a choice about flavour and how you serve it, not an ingredient for the frying batter.

Albert Heijn Allerhande

Offers recipes to help you work out what to buy for homemade oliebollen.

  • Allerhande’s oliebollen recipe includes ingredients such as wheat flour and dried yeast, and allows an hour for the dough to rise.
  • A recipe helps you choose the ingredients for the batter, but it isn’t a quality comparison between breakfast cake brands.

Breakfast cake to serve on the side at Joybuy

This breakfast cake is for eating separately alongside oliebollen, not for replacing flour or yeast in the batter.

Snelle Jelle Breakfast Cake Less Sugar-Free 250 g

Snelle Jelle Breakfast Cake Less Sugar-Free 250 g

A 250 g breakfast cake to enjoy separately if you’d like to serve cake alongside your oliebollen. Don’t use it as a substitute for the batter ingredients. If sugars or sweeteners matter to your choice, check the nutritional information and ingredients on the current packaging rather than treating the product name as a nutritional claim.

View at Joybuy

Frequently asked questions

Can crumbled breakfast cake replace flour in oliebollen batter?

No, not as a like-for-like substitute. Albert Heijn Allerhande’s oliebollen recipe makes batter with ingredients including flour and yeast, then leaves it to rise; breakfast cake is already baked. If you want to add its flavour to an oliebol, don’t replace the basic batter ingredients unless you’re following a recipe developed for that purpose.

What temperature should I use to fry oliebollen?

Follow the temperature given in your chosen recipe and check the oil with a thermometer. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre specifies 175 °C and advises frying until golden brown, not dark; the Albert Heijn Allerhande recipe reviewed here uses around 180 °C.

How long can I keep oliebollen with raisins or currants?

According to the Netherlands Nutrition Centre’s storage guide, these oliebollen will keep for two days in the fridge or three months in the freezer. These storage times apply to oliebollen with raisins or currants, not to any breakfast cake you might serve alongside them.