If you want to choose how pronounced the chocolate flavour is alongside the speculaas spices, serve baker’s speculaas with a separate bar of dark chocolate that states its cocoa percentage on the packaging. Ready-made speculaas with dark chocolate takes less preparation, but check that your chosen option is available: Albert Heijn lists its previously offered version as discontinued.
If you want to serve spiced biscuits alongside chocolate with a clearly stated cocoa percentage, you can choose the biscuits and chocolate bar separately. ALDI lists a bar with 70% cocoa and Lidl lists one with 90% cocoa.
Ready-made chocolate biscuits can be served straight away, provided you can find a suitable option. Don’t count on the previously offered AH Speculaas Met Pure Chocolade without checking its current availability: Albert Heijn lists that version as discontinued.
With a platter of separate biscuits and chocolate, you can check the ingredients, allergens and any ‘may contain’ statements on both packs before serving.
Choose this if: you want to decide which bar to serve with the spiced biscuits and how much chocolate to put out.
Trade-off: you’ll need to buy and serve two separate products.
Choose this if: you want biscuits that are ready to serve and can find a current option that suits your taste.
Trade-off: the ratio of biscuit to chocolate is fixed; Albert Heijn lists its previously offered version as discontinued.
Choose this if: the biscuits are the main attraction and guests can skip the chocolate if they wish.
Trade-off: without separate chocolate, this option won’t give you the intended pure cocoa flavour.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| Cocoa flavour | Check the cocoa percentage on the bar; ALDI lists 70% and Lidl 90% cocoa for its separate bars. | If I want to taste the chocolate distinctly alongside the speculaas spices, I’d rather choose the bar myself. This taste choice comes first for around 33% of consumers. |
| Preparation | For ready-made biscuits, check current availability and whether the chocolate is dark. | When I’m preparing several things for brunch, I want to be able to put the biscuits out without any extra steps. Convenience is the main priority for around 25% of consumers. |
| Quantity | Check the weight of the biscuits and chocolate separately, then decide how much of each you want to serve. | For a larger platter, I want to be able to serve enough biscuits and chocolate without confusing the quantities. Around 17% of consumers give this the highest priority. |
| Ingredients and allergens | Read the current labels for both products, including allergens and any ‘may contain’ statements. | If guests need to check the ingredients, I keep the information for the biscuits and chocolate separately available. This is the most important consideration for around 25% of consumers. |
A chocolate coating isn’t necessarily dark chocolate. For example, Verkade Speculaas Melkchocolade, listed by Jumbo, contains milk chocolate, not the dark chocolate you’re looking for.
Check the description on the packaging and, if you want a particular cocoa content, the stated percentage. You can also serve speculaas with a separate bar of dark chocolate.
Albert Heijn has a page for AH Speculaas Met Pure Chocolade, but lists the product as discontinued.
Check availability before planning your brunch around these biscuits, and consider a combination of separate speculaas and chocolate as an alternative.
The biscuits may also contain allergens. For its Bakkers Speculaas, Jumbo lists gluten and wheat and names almonds and nuts as possible allergens.
Check the current packaging for each item and keep the labels available in case guests want to check the ingredients.
A higher cocoa percentage doesn’t tell you everything about a bar’s nutritional value. The Voedingscentrum points out that chocolate also contains saturated fat and calories.
Choose the percentage for the flavour you want, and check the nutrition information and portion size separately.
Albert Heijn has a product page for 320 g of AH Speculaas Met Pure Chocolade.
Jumbo lists Bakkers Speculaas in a 600 g pack as a separate biscuit option for a platter you put together yourself.
ALDI lists a separate 125 g Moser Roth bar with 70% cocoa.
Lidl lists a separate 125 g dark chocolate bar with 90% cocoa.
Lotus Bakeries describes Biscoff as a crunchy biscuit with a caramelised flavour.
These Joybuy products are separate chocolate bars and baker’s speculaas for a platter where you serve them individually. Pair a biscuit with a bar as you like, and check the current labels for both products if you’re serving guests.
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A separate bar to serve with speculaas if you want to choose chocolate with 90% cocoa. The pack contains 100 g; buy the biscuits separately and check both labels.
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A separate bar for anyone who wants to choose a stated cocoa percentage to serve with speculaas. The product name states 78% cocoa and 100 g; buy the speculaas separately.
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A separate 180 g bar to portion out alongside speculaas. Check the cocoa content on the current packaging before choosing this bar for a particular percentage; buy the biscuits separately.
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A 600 g pack of baker’s speculaas biscuits for your brunch platter. Choose a separate bar of dark chocolate if you’d also like to serve a rich cocoa flavour.
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A 450 g pack of baker’s speculaas to serve separately alongside chocolate. You’ll also need a bar for the intended dark chocolate combination; check the labels on both products.
No, the cocoa percentage alone doesn’t describe the overall nutritional value. The Voedingscentrum also points to the saturated fat and calories in chocolate, so check the nutrition information and portion size separately from your flavour choice.
Yes, check the current packaging for both the speculaas and the chocolate before serving. The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority stresses that allergens must be clearly stated on the labels of prepacked foods; also look for any ‘may contain’ statements.
For this specific product, Jumbo lists gluten and wheat as present, and almonds and nuts as possible allergens. Check the current packaging; this information doesn’t automatically apply to other speculaas.
Follow the storage advice on the packaging of the speculaas you buy. For its Bakkers Speculaas, Jumbo advises storing it in a cool, dry place and keeping it in an airtight biscuit tin once opened.
