Several parts of the Netherlands have their own local recipe, of which the most famous is oudewijvenkoek (old woman's cake), which is mostly eaten in the northern regions,[2] and is flavored with aniseed.

It is best eaten the day after it is baked,[3] but has a shelve life of several weeks at room temperatures, without it spoiling, due to the pH, sugar content and used spices.

[4] Ontbijtkoek resembles somewhat a soft gingerbread cake, but then with much less ginger, hardly any fat and more sugar.

Basterdsuiker is protected by the EU and acknowledged as a Traditional speciality guaranteed.

[6][7][8] It has been found that ontbijtkoek can contain high levels of acrylamide, which was once regarded as a potential carcinogen.