Cake Workshop

There are two kinds of people in the Netherlands: those who eat cakes and those who bake them. During a cake-making workshop, you’ll discover that you actually belong to both groups—because, of course, you’ll be tasting along the way, if only to “check if the whipped cream turned out right.” In Amsterdam, you’ll bake cakes with a view of the canals. Tourists watch enviously as you decorate your creation with marzipan, and you act as if this is your daily routine. In Rotterdam, your cake is bound to have an architectural look: sleek, modern, and perhaps topped with a fondant version of the Erasmus Bridge. The Hague gives the cake a royal touch—though it’s especially fun to watch a prim civil servant suddenly sprinkle chocolate sprinkles with abandon, as if he were decorating the Hofvijver. In Utrecht, the Dom Tower takes center stage, but rest assured: you don’t have to recreate it in cake form (unless you enjoy that, of course). In Eindhoven, the cakes are almost high-tech, because here even the kneading of dough is likely analyzed by a smart app. In Groningen, things take on a student-like vibe: a cake with a generous splash of liqueur is seen there more as a tradition than an experiment. In Breda, Tilburg, Maastricht, Arnhem, Nijmegen, or Zwolle, you can also go wild with whipped cream and chocolate swirls. Each city adds its own unique twist: in Maastricht, there’s a good chance someone will insist that a traditional vlaai should be made, while in Tilburg, they might try to recreate the Kermis in cake form.