Breudher

Breudher, also known as Brueder or Bloeder (pronounced as broo-dhuh), is a traditional Sri Lankan Dutch Burgher buttery yeast cake, baked in a fluted mould.[1][2][3] A variation, Bleuda, Kueh Bleuda or Kue Bludder is also found in the Malacca Dutch Eurasian community and in Kochin, a city in the south-west of India.[4]

Breudher
Alternative namesBreuder, Bloeder
TypeCake
Place of originSri Lanka
Main ingredientsyeast, eggs, butter, sugar, nutmeg, raisins
Food energy
(per serving)
100 kcal (419 kJ)

The mould used to bake the Breudher is typically a heavy brass or iron mould with deep groves with a tube in the centre, so that when the cake is baked, it comes out in a grooved ring shape with a central cylindrical hole.[5]

Each family has its own variation, but essentially the recipe for Breudher consists of butter, sugar, eggs, bread dough, milk, nutmeg and raisins/sultanas. The end product is a bread like cake with a slight yeasty taste.[6]

Breudher is traditionally served at Christmas breakfast,[7] and New Years Day,[8] cut into slices, spread with butter and topped with Dutch Edam cheese or fruit, such as green skinned bananas.[9][10]

The difference in the recipe between the Sri Lanka Dutch Burgher and the Malacca Dutch Eurasian community, is that the Malaccan version uses toddy (fermented sap from the flower of the coconut tree) instead of yeast.[11][12] It is likely that toddy was used as a local substitute when yeast was difficult to source. In Kochin bakers use maida flour, ghee (instead of butter), candied orange peel, a blend of ground spices and serve it as a bread loaf. Traditionally the local Anglo-Indian community serve it as part of breakfast during a wake, seven days after a funeral.[13][14]

Origin

Breudher is most likely to have originated from traditional Dutch breakfast cakes and breads, such as Ontbijtkoek or the German Kugelhupf. Singaporean food writer, Sylvia Tan, in Forgotten Foods and Mealtime Memories, published by the National Library Board believes that breudher is a derivate of "the Dutch word, brood-tulband, referring to the fluted turban-shaped mould used to make it".[13] Brood-tulband literally translates to ‘bread turban’, a description of its peculiar shape. The flute turban shaped Breudher cake, has all the ingredients which were commonly used in Dutch East Indies households: butter, sugar, eggs and spices. The main feature which makes the Breudher cake, particular is its usage of nutmeg, some spices and egg yolks.

The Malacca Portuguese Eurasians claim it as originating from their community, which is said to be a traditional Malacca Portuguese cake. However there was a significant emigration of Ceylonese Burghers to Malacca in the early 1900s who brought with them their food and customs, assimilating into the local Eurasian community.[15] It is generally concluded that "Breudher" originated from the Dutch and that the Portuguese "Blueda" is derived from the Dutch version.

See also

References
  1. Bullis, Douglas; Hutton, Wendy (2001). Food of Sri Lanka. Tuttle Publishing. p. 18. ISBN 9781462907182.
  2. Kelegama, Thiruni. "Frikkadels and lamprais: The best of Burgher cooking". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  3. "Breudher". Glorious Food Glossary. Glorious Food. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  4. Priyadershini, S. (31 August 2017). "Bundt it like breudher". The Hindu. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  5. Tan, Christopher (2015). NerdBaker: Extraordinary Recipes, Stories & Baking Adventures from a True Oven Geek. Epigram Books. ISBN 9789814615761.
  6. Bullis, Douglas; Hutton, Wendy (2014). Sri Lankan Cooking. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 9781462905775.
  7. "Your guide to eating well this Christmas". The Sunday Morning. 9 December 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  8. Hansen, Barbara (3 December 1992). "Ethnic Cooking : Poffertjes of the Season". LA Times. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  9. Reeves, Peter, ed. (2013). The Encyclopedia of the Sri Lankan Diaspora. Editions Didier Millet. p. 43. ISBN 9789814260831.
  10. Farrer, James, ed. (2015). The Globalization of Asian Cuisines: Transnational Networks and Culinary. Springer. ISBN 9781137514080.
  11. Ng, Sheere (11 April 2018). "The Double Deaths of Toddy and Bluder Cake". Tuck Shop. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  12. Pereira, Alexius A. (2016). Singapore Eurasians: Memories, Hopes And Dreams. World Scientific. p. 254. ISBN 9789813109612.
  13. Rajoo, Ananya. "The Story of a Dutch Bread called Breudher". Route Cochin. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  14. Thomas, Elizabeth (24 September 2017). "Tracing Breudher". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  15. Kenneison, Rebecca (2013). Playing for Malaya. Flipside Digital Content Company Inc. ISBN 9789971697327.
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