If you mainly want a spiced biscuit base or crumb topping, choose speculaas or speculoos. Don’t expect ordinary Lotus Biscoff speculoos to taste of cocoa, as cocoa isn’t listed in its ingredients. If cocoa is what you want to give the cake its dark flavour, choose dark chocolate with a stated cocoa percentage and add speculaas spices separately, as in Jumbo’s speculaas brownie recipe. The biscuits, chocolate and any filling each play a different role, so check the ingredients and allergens on the packaging you choose before buying.
Decide what you want the ingredient to do in your cake: add cocoa flavour to the batter, give the base a biscuit texture or create a creamy speculoos layer.
If you want a pronounced cocoa flavour alongside the spices, look for dark chocolate with a stated cocoa percentage and add speculaas spices separately. Jumbo combines these ingredients in a speculaas brownie recipe. A chocolate bar, however, isn’t a ready-made dark speculaas product.
For a pressed base, you can mix finely ground speculoos with butter, as in a recipe from Albert Heijn’s Allerhande. Using biscuits lets you control how finely they’re ground; ready-to-use Lotus Biscoff crumbs are intended as a dessert ingredient or topping.
Speculoos spread works well in a creamy layer or filling when speculoos flavour matters more than a crunchy texture. Don’t use the spread as a substitute for dark chocolate if you specifically want a stated cocoa content.
First, choose between cocoa as the main flavour and speculaas or speculoos as a biscuit ingredient. Then decide whether you want to grind whole biscuits for the base or use ready-made crumbs or spread.
| What to consider | What to check | Who is this most important for? |
|---|---|---|
| Deep cocoa flavour | Check the chocolate’s cocoa percentage and decide how you’ll add the speculaas spices. | If I mainly want to taste cocoa, I look for a separate chocolate with a clearly stated percentage on the packaging. For around 42% of consumers, this cocoa base is the top priority. |
| Biscuit base and crumbs | Choose whole biscuits if you want to control how finely they’re ground, or ready-to-use crumbs for a topping. | For me, the choice of biscuit ingredient depends on whether I want a base I can press down or crumbs that stay visible. This texture is the top priority for around 33% of consumers. |
| Convenience and a creamy texture | Check whether you’re buying crumbs for a topping or speculoos spread for a creamy layer, and read the current label. | If I’m making a filling or want to skip grinding biscuits, I first choose the form that suits how I plan to use it. For around 25% of consumers, convenience or this creamy use comes first. |
A percentage on chocolate filled with speculoos doesn’t necessarily tell you anything about the speculoos itself. For example, Albert Heijn states that the chocolate couverture in Hands Off Amsterdam Speculoos contains at least 51% cocoa solids. It’s a filled chocolate bar, not speculaas for baking.
Check which part of the product the percentage refers to. If you want cocoa to take centre stage in the batter, choose chocolate with a clearly stated cocoa percentage and add the speculaas spices separately.
Speculoos can make up the biscuit base or topping, but cocoa isn’t listed in the ingredients for ordinary Lotus Biscoff speculoos provided by Albert Heijn. So the biscuits don’t play the same flavour role as dark chocolate.
Use biscuits or crumbs for the texture you want. For a dark chocolate flavour, you can follow the separate approach of using dark chocolate and speculaas spices, as Jumbo does in its speculaas brownie recipe.
Allergens vary from product to product. Jumbo lists wheat and gluten in its Bakkers Speculaas, and says it may contain almonds and nuts. The ingredients listed for Lotus Biscoff speculoos include wheat and soya, among others.
If you have an allergy or intolerance, read the current label for the exact biscuits, chocolate and any spread you plan to use. Don’t assume the ingredients based on the name or another variety.
These names can help you distinguish between biscuits, crumbs, spread and recipe ingredients. A mention on its own doesn’t mean a specific pack is right for your cake.
Speculoos biscuits and crumbs for a biscuit base or topping, plus speculoos spread for a creamy finish.
Allerhande offers a specific recipe example for a speculoos base and a cake filling made with speculoos spread.
Bakers’ speculaas for a spiced biscuit ingredient, and a recipe that combines dark chocolate with speculaas spices.
Bakers’ speculaas as a possible biscuit for a base or crumb topping.
These bars suit the approach of using cocoa as a separate ingredient and adding speculaas spices yourself. They’re chocolate bars, not dark speculaas products. If you’re following a specific baking recipe, check that your chosen bar is suitable for the way you plan to use it.
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For anyone who wants to combine a cocoa flavour with speculaas spices added separately. The product description says it can be used for baking and states at least 70% cocoa; the pack contains 180 g. This is chocolate, not speculaas, so check the current label and allergen information too.
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For adding a separate cocoa component alongside speculaas spices. This 100 g bar states at least 70% cocoa. Before using it in a particular baking recipe, check that it’s suitable for the way you plan to use it, and check the current label for allergen information.
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For anyone who wants to control the dark chocolate flavour and speculaas spices separately. According to the product information, the bar contains 70% cocoa and comes in a 100 g pack. Check that it’s suitable for your recipe and read the current label for allergen information.
No, not if you mean ordinary Lotus Biscoff speculoos as a source of cocoa: cocoa isn’t listed in the ingredients provided for it by Albert Heijn. Use the biscuits for a spiced base or topping, and choose chocolate with a stated cocoa percentage separately if you want cocoa to define the flavour.
Mix finely ground speculoos with melted butter and press it into the base of your tin. One Albert Heijn Allerhande recipe uses 230 g of biscuits and 75 g of butter for a 28 cm tin; don’t assume those proportions will work for a different tin or cake.
Don’t treat a chocolate bar filled with speculoos as bakers’ speculaas. The cocoa percentage may refer to the chocolate couverture rather than the filling. Check what type of product it is and which part the percentage describes before choosing it for your base or batter.
Check the current label for every ingredient, including the biscuits, chocolate and any spread. Jumbo lists wheat and gluten in its Bakkers Speculaas and warns that it may contain almonds and nuts. The ingredients listed for Lotus Biscoff speculoos include wheat and soya, among others. Don’t assume another variety has the same ingredients.
