Gentse vlaai

01 / ABOUT THE DISH

About the dish

Gentse vlaai is a richly spiced sweet pie from the region of East Flanders, Belgium, which carries the flavour of gingerbread-style biscuits and speculaas mixed into a gently cooked, syrup-rich base. Over the years, it became firmly associated with fairs and communal gatherings in the Ghent area, recognised on regional platforms as an authentic speciality of the locale. The bake is made by gently warming milk and then adding broken slices of gingerbread like speculaas and ontbijtkoek, stirring continuously to avoid sticking, then incorporating a measure of kandijsiroop (a dark candied syrup) until the mixture becomes smooth and homogeneous. Typically, the pie is additionally spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger, and can also have rusks, butter, and eggs as ingredients. Once blended, the mixture is transferred into a glass dish and baked for about 40 minutes at 150 °C until it sets into a firm but tender sliceable form, with the dark syrup and spiced biscuits making the colour and aroma its signature features. It is most commonly eaten at room temperature or slightly warm, often served in simple slices at coffee time or dessert after a meal in Ghent-area homes and cafés, and it pairs particularly well with a strong dark-roast coffee or black tea, the bitterness of the drink balancing the spiced sweetness of the slice.