I used to buy speculoos and gingerbread spice mixes. It never came to my mind making my own spice mixes. Just recently, I started to create my own speculoos and gingerbread mixes. It took a few trials until I got the spice mixes right, in particular, the speculoos spice mix. In the end I am glad that I did not give up - though I feel sorry for all the spices I wasted - and as a result I have my own signature speculoos spice mix with a hint of orange and lemon flavor that I would like to share with you.
You can use the speculoos mix for my Spekulatius cookie recipe that I posted two years ago. And you can use the speculoos mix for an upcoming cake recipe that I will share in the next couple of days.
INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 organic lemon or 1/4 teaspoon dried lemon zest
- 1/2 organic orange or 1/4 teaspoon dried orange zest
- 4 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon cardamon pods or powder
- 1/8 teaspoon coriander seeds or powder
- 2 generous pinches nutmeg
DIRECTIONS
- Cut wide strips of orange and lemon zest. Let the strips of the citrus fruits dry for two to three days. It is important that the zest is completely dry. Chop the dried zest finely. You need about 1/4 teaspoon of each lemon and orange zest.
- Place all ingredients in a morter and mix all ingredients until it is a fine powder.
- Keep the speculoos mix in an airtight, preferable dark, tin. Keep spices always in a dark, cool and dry place.
