Egg liqueur tray bake is the recipe we pull out when unexpected guests arrive on a Sunday morning. 35 minutes from first ingredient to last slice, one baking tray feeds 20, and the flavour is not a boozy bomb with a cream hat on top but an honestly moist sponge with a warm vanilla and cinnamon note.
We have been baking this cake for years because it has a trick that most egg liqueur cake recipes never explain: the advocaat is not just flavouring, it is the entire liquid in the batter. No milk, no buttermilk, no added water. Just 250 g advocaat, 200 g oil, 6 eggs and the flour and baking powder. That is why the crumb turns out so tender and the liqueur flavour actually comes through rather than disappearing into the background.
Egg Liqueur Tray Bake with the Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 12 ✓
- 340 g tinned pineapple (drained weight)
- 6 eggs
- 200 g sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 pinch salt
- 250 g advocaat (egg liqueur)
- 200 g sunflower oil or rapeseed oil
- 300 g flour
- 1 sachet baking powder
- 60 g sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions 0 / 7
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1
Drain the pineapple.
Drain the pineapple and cut into small pieces. Preheat the oven to 180°C top and bottom heat.
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2
Whip the batter ingredients until fluffy.
Fit the butterfly whisk. Add the eggs, sugar, vanilla sugar, ground cinnamon and salt to the mixing bowl and whip until fluffy for 1 minute / speed 4.
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3
Add the oil.
Set to speed 2 and slowly pour the advocaat and oil through the lid opening into the mixing bowl.
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4
Mix the batter.
Add the flour and baking powder and mix for 30 seconds / speed 4.
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5
Spread the batter.
Line a baking tray with baking paper and spread the batter evenly over it.
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6
Distribute the pineapple.
Scatter the pineapple pieces evenly over the batter and place the cake on the middle shelf of the oven for 5 minutes.
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7
Finish baking and serve.
Meanwhile, mix the sugar and cinnamon together. Remove the cake from the oven, sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar mixture and bake for a further 13 to 15 minutes.
Tip: Try the cake with banana slices or segmented mandarins too.
Video
Nutrition per serving
Advocaat instead of milk: why it works
Advocaat is made mainly from double cream, condensed milk, egg yolks, sugar and around 20 per cent alcohol. When we use it as the liquid in the batter, it brings three things at once: fat from the cream, egg yolk for binding, and alcohol that evaporates during baking and helps to make the crumb light. What remains is the characteristic creamy sweetness and the vanilla and egg yolk character. Exactly what we want.
If you replace the advocaat with milk you get an ordinary sponge. If you mix liqueur and milk you dilute the flavour. That is why we stick to the full 250 g of advocaat. We prefer our own homemade advocaat from the Thermomix®, because it tastes more intense and is less sweet than most shop-bought versions. If you buy a ready-made one, look for a liqueur with at least 20 per cent vol., otherwise the flavour will be flat.
The butterfly whisk is essential here, not optional
Three steps follow one another in the mixing bowl. Eggs, sugar, vanilla sugar, cinnamon and a pinch of salt go in first and are whipped with the butterfly whisk for 1 minute at speed 4. This is exactly where many people go wrong: without the butterfly whisk the eggs do not aerate properly. The blades will beat them, but no air gets incorporated. The result is a flat cake that resembles a baked pudding.
Next the Thermomix® goes to speed 2, and the advocaat and oil are poured in slowly through the lid opening. Slowly really does matter here. Pouring everything in at once breaks down the foam and the batter collapses. We pour in two thin streams, one stream of liqueur and one of oil, each taking about 30 seconds. Only at the end do the flour and baking powder go in, and they are mixed for just 30 seconds at speed 4. No longer, otherwise gluten develops and the cake turns tough.
The cinnamon sugar trick halfway through baking
What sets this cake apart from a hundred other egg liqueur tray bakes: we bake it in two phases. First the batter goes in with the pineapple pieces for 5 minutes at 180°C top and bottom heat in the preheated oven. In those 5 minutes the batter sets just enough on top that the cinnamon sugar no longer sinks in. We take the tray out, scatter 60 g sugar mixed with 1 tsp cinnamon evenly over the surface and slide it back into the oven for a further 13 to 15 minutes.
The effect: the cinnamon sugar layer caramelises lightly on the surface instead of sinking into the batter. When you cut the cake, every slice has a crisp, spiced crust on top, a moist advocaat interior underneath, and in the middle the pineapple pieces, which release their juice during baking and add extra moisture. If you scatter the sugar before baking you will not get this. The cinnamon sugar merges into the batter and vanishes.
Why tinned pineapple works better than fresh here
Fresh pineapple contains bromelain, an enzyme that breaks down protein. In its raw state it would not destroy the batter, but the cut surfaces would turn soft and mushy. While bromelain is inactivated by baking heat, the juice that escapes before that point is often too watery. Tinned pineapple has already been pasteurised during the canning process. The enzyme is gone, the fruit flesh is firmer, and the drained weight of 340 g gives exactly the right amount without excess juice.
We drain the pineapple in a sieve for at least 5 minutes, cut it into small cubes and scatter it evenly over the batter after pouring it onto the tray. Important: do not press the pieces in. They should sit on top and sink in slightly during baking. If you push them in too deep, hollow spaces form around the fruit as the batter rises.
What to do if your tray is too small or too large
The recipe is designed for a standard baking tray, roughly 40 by 30 cm. If you have a smaller tray or want to use a roasting dish, you need to adjust two things: the baking time increases because the batter is deeper, and the skewer test becomes more important. Test with a skewer after 20 minutes, then every 3 minutes from there. Using a 28 cm springform tin with half the quantity, we have ended up with a total baking time of 35 minutes.
If you want to bake the cake alcohol-free, you can replace the advocaat with a mixture of 200 g double cream, 50 g milk, 2 extra egg yolks and 1 sachet of vanilla sugar. It is not quite the same, but it comes close. For a fruity variation, banana slices or segmented mandarins work instead of pineapple. With banana, do not slice too thinly or they will turn black, around 5 mm thick is good. For a more colourful version, mix in raspberries, but then leave out the cinnamon sugar topping as the combination of acid and spice can clash.
Leave it to rest for 30 minutes: non-negotiable
Straight out of the oven the cake is unstable. The crumb is hot, the cinnamon sugar crust on top is still sticky and the pineapple is pressing its juice into the top layer. If you cut it now you will press the slice flat and tear the crust off. We leave the tray to cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before cutting the first slice. In that half hour the crumb firms up, the juice distributes evenly and the cinnamon sugar layer sets slightly.
Completely cold the cake is even better, because the advocaat flavour only comes through fully once the heat has gone. Fresh from the oven it tastes sweet and warm; the next day it tastes like a proper egg liqueur cake. If you have the patience, cover the tray with foil and leave it overnight. That is our experience from dozens of baking sessions.
How long it keeps and what happens when you freeze it
In the fridge, in a container with a lid, the cake keeps for 4 to 5 days. At room temperature under a glass dome, 2 days. We always keep it cool in summer because the cream component in the advocaat can turn otherwise. Before serving, leave it at room temperature for 30 minutes so the crumb softens again.
Freezing works, but only in individual slices. We wrap each slice in cling film and place them in a freezer container. Up to 6 weeks maximum. Defrost overnight in the fridge, then leave at room temperature for half an hour and it is almost as good as fresh. The advocaat flavour holds up well to freezing, though the pineapple pieces do become a little softer. If you freeze the whole tray, you will get puddles when it defrosts because the juice runs out.
What we serve alongside it
Plain is perfectly fine. A dusting of icing sugar makes it look nicer but makes little difference to the taste. If you want something more generous, add a dollop of whipped cream beside the slice and drizzle a tablespoon of advocaat over the top. That brings out the liqueur flavour without making the cake itself too sweet. If you are serving coffee with it, go for a strong espresso or cappuccino because the sweetness of the cake needs a counterpoint. Filter coffee disappears next to it.
If you want more egg liqueur recipes, have a look at our Thermomix® advocaat recipe, which is the base for everything. Anyone who wants to carry the liqueur character through into dessert will love our advocaat pudding. And for more tray bake inspiration there is our moist lemon cake and the classic Austrian apple tray bake.
What other recipes do differently
Find more liqueur ideas in our Thermomix® liqueur collection.
Goes well with: vanilla ice cream and icing sugar.
Also worth a try: burnt almond cake with the Thermomix®.
Many recipes use significantly more advocaat: some call for 375 g, others 340 g, and classic versions often 200 ml. We stick with 250 g because more liqueur makes the crumb moister but also stodgier. Most instructions bake at 180°C top and bottom heat for 20 to 25 minutes. For the topping every baker goes their own way: a plain icing sugar dusting, dark chocolate shavings in the batter, a layer of cream with flaked almonds or a simple glaze. We deliberately use cinnamon sugar applied just after the first 5 minutes of baking. This creates a delicate crust that holds without any extra cream or glaze and keeps the advocaat flavour in the foreground.
Find more liqueur ideas in our collection of the 17 best liqueur recipes with the Thermomix®, and for something sweet and small there are our party Amerikaner and 6 pudding variations with the Thermomix®.
